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Simone Magill: Birmingham City striker named new Northern Ireland captain

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Simone Magill: Birmingham City striker named new Northern Ireland captain

Striker Simone Magill has been named the new captain of Northern Ireland before the Euro 2025 play-off with Croatia.

Magill succeeds midfielder Marissa Callaghan, who stepped back as captain in May.

The 29-year-old has won 85 caps and scored 25 goals.

Only record goalscorer Rachel Furness has netted more times for Northern Ireland than Magill, who made her debut as a 15-year-old in 2010.

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Magill was key as Northern Ireland qualified for the Euro 2022 finals, but cruelly picked up a knee injury in their opening match with Norway.

She spent most of the first of her two seasons at Aston Villa recovering and signed for Birmingham City in the summer window.

Midfielder Callaghan, who was not included in the squad by manager Tanya Oxtoby, stepped back from her long-term role as captain in May – stating it was the “best decision” for the squad.

Defender Laura Rafferty had been handed the armband by Oxtoby on a regular basis but the Australian has now settled on Magill as her permanent skipper.

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“From our point of view we have gone through a diligent process,” said the manager.

“We have really defined what leadership is and what behaviours leaders in our group should have and, essentially, Simone epitomises everything a leader is in terms of her professionalism and behaviour, and also the way that she looks at how we develop, which is a massive part of what we’re trying to do.”

The first leg of the opening play-off round with Croatia takes place on Friday before the home leg at Windsor Park on Tuesday, 29 October.

Norway or Albania await the winner of the tie in the final play-off round in November with the victor then qualifying for the Euro 2025 finals.

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Horse racing tips: Templegate confident of firing in two winning NAPs in a row with top jockey taking over main pick

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Horse racing tips: Templegate's NAP can run them into submission under a jockey who dominates in front

TEMPLEGATE wants winners on Tuesday – after Sophia’s Starlight went in at 18-5 on Monday.

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COME ON YOU SPURS (4.10 Yarmouth, nap)

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She won back-to-back races over this trip on soft ground when held up so it was a surprise to see her front-running when coming home in fifth at Musselburgh last time. Neil Callan won the last time he rode Richard Spencer’s filly and the experienced pilot will surely ride a more measured race this time.

JACKPOT DES BORDES (2.10 Exeter, nb)

Did well in two bumpers last season and has a bright future over hurdles. Harry Cobden has an excellent strike-rate at Exeter too.

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BALMORAL LADY (4.45 Yarmouth, treble)

Didn’t break sweat when scoring in the mud at Windsor last week. She is best over this trip and can defy a 6lb penalty for that impressive success.

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BARNABY (7.25 Newcastle)

Completes the Lucky 15.  He had plenty in the tank when winning over course and distance last month. That was his first crack over seven furlongs and it brought major improvement.

Templegate’s tips

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MMA

Tatiana Suarez injured, out of fight vs. Virna Jandiroba

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Tatiana Suarez injured, out of fight vs. Virna Jandiroba

The UFC’s year-end pay-per-view event has taken its first significant hit just one week after the lineup was officially announced as Tatiana Suarez vs. Virna Jandiroba is no longer happening.

X user MMA Melotto reported Monday that Suarez suffered an injury that has forced her out of the UFC 310 matchup on Dec. 7 in Las Vegas. A person with knowledge of the situation confirmed the news to MMA Junkie. It’s unclear if Jandiroba will remain on the card against a replacement opponent.

The fight between Suarez and Jandiroba, who are ranked No. 1 and No. 3 in the strawweight division, respectively, was widely viewed as a title eliminator to determine the next challenger for champion Zhang Weili.

Suarez (10-0 MMA, 7-0 UFC), who hasn’t lost as a professional, most recently competed in August 2023 when she submitted former champion Jessica Andrade. Her other notable UFC wins include former champions Carla Esparza and Alexa Grasso. Suarez’s career has been riddled with injuries, which kept her out of action for three-and-a-half years before she returned in February 2023.

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Jandiroba (21-3 MMA, 7-3 UFC), a former Invicta FC champ, is on a four-fight winning streak after consecutive victories over Angela Hill, Marina Rodriguez, Loopy Godinez, and a Submission of the Year candidate armbar against Amanda Lemos in July.

With the change, the UFC 310 lineup includes:

  • Belal Muhammad vs. Shavkat Rakhmonov – for welterweight title
  • Alexandre Pantoja vs. Kai Asakura – for flyweight title
  • Ciryl Gane vs. Alexander Volkov
  • Nick Diaz vs. Vicente Luque
  • Movsar Evloev vs. Aljamain Sterling
  • Dominick Reyes vs. Anthony Smith
  • Virna Jandiroba vs. opponent TBD
  • Clay Guida vs. Chase Hooper
  • Michael Chiesa vs. Max Griffin
  • Cody Durden vs. Joshua Van

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 310.

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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Nottingham Forest 1-0 Crystal Palace: What has gone wrong for Eagles?

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Nottingham Forest 1-0 Crystal Palace: What has gone wrong for Eagles?

Crystal Palace spent much of the summer fending off interest in their best players, but while Eberechi Eze and Marc Guehi both stayed, they were unable to keep hold of star man Michael Olise.

Bayern Munich spent about £50m to lure him from south London and he has proved impossible to replace.

The 22-year-old scored 10 goals in 19 league appearances for Palace last season and was key to their strong finish. Indeed, Glasner has only won one game without Olise in his team – a 3-0 victory over 10-man Burnley.

“Olise is a massive miss. What he’s doing now for Bayern Munich and the quality of player that he is,” former Arsenal midfielder Aaron Ramsey said on Sky Sports. “He’s maybe one of the best that’s ever come out of Palace.

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“The impact he had on that team last year was remarkable, so that’s not so easy to replace.”

While the departure of centre-half Joachim Andersen to Fulham did not attract the same attention as Olise’s move, it has arguably had as big an impact.

They conceded just 14 times in 13 matches under Glasner last season, with the 28-year-old key to a stingy Eagles defence. This season, they have already let in 11.

At both ends of the pitch Palace are not the team they were six months ago.

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“When you’re losing one of your best defenders and one of your best attackers, no matter what your set-up is as a manager, it’s difficult to replace that quality,” added former Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher.

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MMA

Tatiana Suarez out of UFC 310 fight against Virna Jandiroba

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Tatiana Suarez out of UFC 310 fight against Virna Jandiroba

Top ranked strawweight contender Tatiana Suarez will have to wait until 2025 to make her return after she was forced out of her upcoming fight against Virna Jandiroba, which was scheduled for UFC 310 on Dec. 7 in Las Vegas.

Sources told MMA Fighting on Monday that Suarez is dealing with a health issue that will prevent her from competing in December in what was expected to be a No. 1 contender’s bout at 115 pounds. MMA Melotto first reported the news.

It’s an unfortunate setback for Suarez, who has long been considered a popular pick as a future champion in the UFC but health problems have continued to plague her career. After she dispatched Nina Nunes back in 2019, Suarez appeared on the cusp of title contention but injuries kept her sidelined for more than three years.

When she finally returned to action, Suarez jumped right back into the deep end of the waters with a submission win over Montana De La Rosa at flyweight and then finishing former UFC champion Jessica Andrade to earn a Performance of the Night bonus back in August 2023.

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Suarez was then scheduled to face Amanda Lemos in February but an injury knocked her out of that matchup before she was then set to clash with Jandiroba in December.

Sadly now that fight has also been cancelled.

There’s no word yet on how long Suarez is expected to be sidelined after falling out of her upcoming fight in December. It’s unclear if Jandiroba plans to remain on the UFC 310 card against a new opponent or potentially wait for a future date to compete again.

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Ken Griffey Sr. and Jr. will be at Lakers’ opener to see LeBron and Bronny James

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Ken Griffey Sr. and Jr. will be at Lakers' opener to see LeBron and Bronny James


If LeBron James Sr. and his son, Bronny, make NBA history Tuesday night by playing in the same game for the Los Angeles Lakers, Ken Griffey Sr. and Ken Griffey Jr. will be there to witness it.

The first father-son duo to play together in Major League Baseball plans to be in attendance at the Lakers’ season opener in their downtown arena, where the entire crowd will be hoping the James family accomplishes the same rare sporting feat for the NBA.

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“First father and son to play baseball, (and) now the first father and son to play basketball,” the younger Griffey told MLB Network Radio. “It’s a big deal for my dad and I to be there. We made history. Now we get to watch history, so that’s what’s going to be cool about it.”

Bronny James is already excited to make his official NBA debut, but the Griffeys’ presence adds an extra layer of anticipation for the Lakers’ second-round pick.

“Yeah, it’s gonna be insane,” the 20-year-old Bronny said after practice Monday at the Lakers’ training complex. “I mean, only two families to do it, so it’s going to be a crazy experience, especially (with) what they’ve done.”

Bronny made it clear that he doesn’t know if he’ll actually get to play against the Minnesota Timberwolves, and Lakers coach JJ Redick said “nothing has been finalized or anything” about Los Angeles’ playing rotation.

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Yet it seems unlikely the Lakers will wait to make the moment of history they’ve been planning ever since the franchise chose Bronny with the 55th overall pick this summer to play with LeBron, the 39-year-old top scorer in NBA history. The father and son already played together in the preseason, first taking the court together outside Palm Springs earlier this month.

A father and son play together roughly once in a generation in North American professional sports. The Griffeys accomplished the feat in 1990 and 1991, playing in 51 games for the Seattle Mariners — and even homering in the same game on Sept. 14, 1990.

Tim Raines and his namesake son also played four games together for the Baltimore Orioles at the end of the 2001 season. Before that, Gordie Howe suited up with his sons Mark and Marty in the WHA and the NHL and for Team Canada in the 1970s.

LeBron and Bronny share court for 1st time in preseason | The Facility

Bronny grew up in his father’s locker rooms and arenas in Cleveland, Miami and Los Angeles, so he’s more than ready to get beyond the historic moment and into the day-to-day grind of becoming a contributing NBA player. The Lakers begin the season with three home games in five days.

“I think it will be different,” Bronny said of the opener. “No different than me getting ready for any other game, but just a feeling of being in our home arena for the first time and playing a game will be a special experience. … I’m just trying to come in and get better every day, learn from the guys that have been here before me. Just take it all in and enjoy the experience.”

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Bronny played in all six of the Lakers’ preseason games, but his 4.2 points per game average was boosted greatly by his 17-point performance in last week’s preseason finale in which the Lakers and Warriors both rested most of their key players.

Bronny hit 29.7% of his shots in the preseason while averaging 1.7 rebounds and 0.3 assists, playing 16.2 minutes per game. His defensive work was praised by Redick, who sees the 6-foot-2 guard becoming a solid perimeter player in the future.

“Had some bad games, some rough starts, so (I’ve been) just continuing to play my game and play hard,” Bronny said.

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Bronny isn’t expected to be an immediate rotation player for the Lakers, who already have D’Angelo Russell, Gabe Vincent and 2023 first-round pick Jalen Hood-Schifino ahead of him at point guard. There’s a good chance Bronny will begin the season with the Lakers before heading to the G League to get the consistent playing time he probably needs to improve.

But he’s still thrilled to reach this milestone moment — and he’s even pretty sure what he’ll call his father on the court after LeBron prohibited him from using “Dad.”

“Probably Bron,” Bronny said with a smile. “That will probably be the easiest one.”

Reporting by The Associated Press.

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Gary O’Neil at centre of FA probe after Wolves boss claimed refs have ‘subconscious’ bias towards big clubs

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Gary O'Neil at centre of FA probe after Wolves boss claimed refs have 'subconscious' bias towards big clubs

THE FA have launched a probe into Gary O’Neil’s claims that refs have a “subconscious” bias to the Prem’s big clubs.

Wolves boss O’Neil has been contacted by football chiefs after his  post-match comments following John Stones’ controversial 95th-minute winner for Manchester City on Sunday.

Gary O'Neil is facing a probe after his comments

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Gary O’Neil is facing a probe after his commentsCredit: Reuters
Bernardo Silva was judged to have not impeded Jose Sa

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Bernardo Silva was judged to have not impeded Jose SaCredit: Sky Sports

Referee Chris Kavanagh ruled out Stones’ header for offside against  Bernardo Silva — but changed his mind in a pitchside review after VAR intervened to hand City a 2-1 win.

Now O’Neil will have to explain his remarks before the FA decide on any further action.

O’Neil said: “There’s no chance people are purposely against Wolves.

“But is there something in the subconscious around the decision-making, without even knowing it? Are you more likely to give it to Man City than Wolves?

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“My senses are heightened when we are facing Man City. Are the officials the same?

“If I had to upset someone and there’s a big and a little guy, I’m upsetting the little guy.”

City’s winner hinged on whether Silva, who was standing in an offside position, had unsighted Sa as he attempted to keep out Stones’ bullet header.

Silva appeared to step away from the keeper just before Stones’ effort, with Kavanagh judging Sa was not prevented from being able to see the ball.

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The Premier League explained the decision in a statement that read: “Stones’ goal was disallowed on-field due to Bernardo Silva being in an offside position and in the goalkeeper’s line of vision.

“The VAR deemed Bernardo Silva wasn’t in the line of vision and had no impact on the goalkeeper and recommended an on-field review.

“The referee overturned his original decision and a goal was awarded.”

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Man City match-winner John Stones reflects after controversial win against Wolves

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