Anthony Joshua KOs Alexander Povetkin to retain world heavyweight title

Serena Williams vies for a record-equalling 24th major title at the US Open on Saturday, with Naomi Osaka out to deny her idol and become Japan’s first Grand Slam champion.

One of the two will make history on Arthur Ashe Stadium court, where Williams won the first of her six US Open titles at the age of 17.

Osaka was not yet two at the time, and the 20-year-old admits it’s “surreal” to think she’ll be taking on the woman who inspired her tennis career in her very first Grand Slam final.

The youngest woman to reach a US Open final since 2009, Osaka displayed poise and mental fortitude in saving all 13 break points she faced in a semi-final victory over American Madison Keys.

Her powerful ground game has carried her to the final with the loss of just one set, her infectious enthusiasm for the peculiar challenges of the US Open earning her a legion of fans along the way.

“I like to sweat,” Osaka declared of the punishing heat and humidity that has brought bigger names to their knees.

And she will against Williams, who is vintage form as she chases her first Grand Slam title since the birth of her daughter Olympia on September 1 2017.

One year ago at this time, Williams was in the midst of four post-natal surgeries.

After coming tantalizingly close to equalling Australian Margaret Court’s record of 24 Grand Slam singles titles with a runner-up finish at Wimbledon, Williams says the milestone isn’t her main focus.

“I’m just going to keep trying,” she said. “If it doesn’t happen, I’ll keep trying for the next one.”

That’s not the only record in Williams’s sights on Saturday.

With a seventh US Open title to go with those she won in 1999, 2002, 2008, 2012, 2013 and 2014 she can break out of a tie with Chris Evert for the most ever.

Williams says it’s hard to gauge just how close she is to her dominant best, but there’s no question she’s playing far and away above her number 26 world ranking and even the 17th seeding granted by US Open officials.

She leads the tournament with 64 aces and has been broken just six times in six matches while Osaka has dropped her serve just four times.

The numbers promise a scintillating match up, if the magnitude of the occasion doesn’t prove too much for the young Japanese.

“I feel like even though I should enjoy this moment, I should still think of it as another match,” she said. “I shouldn’t really think of her as my idol. I should just try to play her as an opponent.”

Williams isn’t worried that their only prior meeting, at Miami in March, was a victory for Osaka.

“It was good that I played her because I kind of know how she plays now,” Williams said. “I mean, I was breast-feeding at the time, so it was a totally different situation.

“I have nothing to lose,” added Williams, who can join Australians Court, Evonne Goolagong and Belgian Kim Clijsters as the only mothers to win a Grand Slam singles title. “I’m going to go out there and do what I can.”

Osaka, meanwhile, will do everything she can to bring the match-up to the conclusion of her youthful dream.

“I don’t dream to lose,” she said.

 AFP

FIFA has just released the shortlist of the 2018 men’s player of the year award, nominating Cristiano Ronaldo alongside Luka Modric and Mohamed Salah.

The FIFA announcement came as a shock, as Lionel Messi was left off the shortlist, to give the ground to Ronaldo, after a decade of fascinating duel for the sport’s top individual award.

The Portugal forward, lifted a 4th Champions League title in five years in May, to keep him in the FIFA shortlist this year, after he won the crown in 2008, 2013, 2014, 2016 and 2017.

Luka Modric also enjoyed a superb season for Real Madrid, helping the Galacticos with their Champions League triumph, and also the Croatia national team, in particular, helping his country reach the world cup final.

And finally, Liverpool and Egypt forward, Mohamed Salah, clinched a record-breaking Premier League first season with Liverpool, as his goals propelled Jurgen Klopp’s side to the Champions League final, and set a host of individual club landmarks.

Liverpool attacker Sadio Mane has been pictured cleaning the toilets and wudhu area of a mosque just hours after scoring in his side’s Premier League win over Leicester.

Mane, who is paid £90,000 a week at Anfield, fired home the first goal in Liverpool’s 2-1 win over the Foxes at the King Power Stadium on Saturday afternoon.

However, footage has now emerged of him helping to clean his local mosque and the clip has gone viral on social media, gaining 9,000 retweets and 18,000 likes on Twitter.

The video shows Mane filling buckets with water as a young boy grabs hold of a pressure washer to clean the floor. The wudhu area is where Muslims perform the washing ritual before prayer.

According to viewers on social media, the footage was captured at the Al-Rahma mosque in Liverpool. Mane is a devout Muslim and celebrates goals by performing sujood – touching his head on the floor and praying.

© Provided by Associated Newspapers Limited Sujood sees Mane touch his head on the floor and praying after he has scored a goal

The 26-year-old grew up in the small village of Bambali, in the south of Senegal, where his father was the imam at the local mosque.

When a Senegalese reporter visited the region after Mane signed for Liverpool in 2016, he was told that the former Southampton winger had recently paid for the mosque to be reconstructed.

© Provided by Associated Newspapers Limited Mane has been deadly in front of goal so far this season, scoring four goals in four games

Mane has made a sensational start to the new Premier League season, scoring four goals in four games to help Liverpool to a 100 per cent record.

He scored twice on the opening day against West Ham, sealed the three points with a late goal at Crystal Palace and put the Reds in front at Leicester on Saturday.

Mane will now travel back to his homeland on the international break as Senegal prepare for a 2019 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier against Madagascar on Sunday.

Culled from MSN Sports

Maxim Choupo-Moting has joined French champions Paris St Germain on a free transfer after having his Stoke contract cancelled, the Potters have announced.

The 29-year-old Cameroon international was part of the City side which was relegated from the Premier League at the end of last season, but will now have the opportunity to play Champions League football during the new campaign.

A statement on Stoke’s official website said: “Maxim Choupo-Moting has joined Paris St Germain on a free transfer after his Stoke City contract was cancelled by mutual consent.

“The Cameroon international made 32 league and cup appearances for the Potters after joining the club in the summer of 2017.

“The club would like to take this opportunity to thank Maxim for his efforts and wish him well in the future.”

Hamburg-born Choupo-Moting arrived at the bet365 stadium from Schalke in August last year and scored both goals in a 2-2 home draw with Manchester United the following month.

He scored three more times, with his last coming in his final Stoke appearance in March, when City lost 2-1 to Everton.

Choupo-Moting told his new club’s website: “I am extremely honoured to be signing for this big European club.

“I will be playing with some extraordinary team-mates and I can’t wait to experience the atmosphere at the Parc des Princes.”

Source: Shropshirestar

Real Madrid and Croatia midfielder, Luka Modric, has been voted player of the year for last season, by European football body UEFA, ahead of Cristiano Ronaldo, Mohamed Salah and Lionel Messi.

Modric helped Real Madrid win the Champions League for a 3rd season running, and then led Croatia to the World Cup final.

Ronaldo, who was his Real Madrid teammate last season, and has now joined Juventus, was 2nd, with Liverpool and Egypt forward, Salah, back in 3rd.

Four Japanese basketball players kicked out of the Asian Games for paying prostitutes for sex will be suspended for a year, officials said Wednesday.

Japan Basketball Association chief Yuko Mitsuya told reporters the players would be barred from official tournaments for a year, adding their action “damages the honour and trust of Japan’s sporting world”.

They would be allowed to take part in training, however, Mitsuya added.

The players were spotted in a notorious red light district of the Indonesian capital Jakarta wearing their national jerseys and were promptly sent home in disgrace.

The expulsion of Yuya Nagayoshi, Takuya Hashimoto, Takuma Sato and Keita Imamura came as a major embarrassment for Japan, which is gearing up for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.

“I deeply apologise for our careless actions that have brought disgrace on not only basketball fans but also all Japanese people,” Sato told a news conference last week after the four returned to Tokyo.

They were believed to have been solicited by a pimp to go to a hotel with women but a reporter for Japan’s Asahi Shimbun newspaper spotted them and broke the story.

At the last Asian Games in 2014, Japan officials were forced to send home swimmer Naoya Tomita after he was caught on video stealing a journalist’s camera from the pool deck.

It is far from the first case of sexual misconduct at major multi-sport events, which typically draw thousands of athletes, officials and fans from around the world.

At the 2014 Asian Games, an Iranian official was kicked out for the verbal sexual harassment of a female volunteer, and a Palestinian footballer was accused of groping a female worker at the athletes’ village.

In April, at the Commonwealth Games in Australia, a Mauritian official was accused of sexually assaulting a female athlete during a photo shoot.

 AFP

The first bigwig convicted in the United States in the FIFA corruption scandal that disgraced world football awaited sentencing on Wednesday. US prosecutors are seeking 10 years in prison and a $6.6 million fine for Jose Maria Marin, 86, the former president of the Brazilian football federation.

Marin was convicted of accepting bribes from sports marketing companies in exchange for contracts to broadcast major tournaments like the Copa America and the Copa Libertadores. Citing his age and frail health, prosecutors are asking that he be sentenced to 13 months in prison.

US District Court Judge Pamela Chen was expected to announce her decision at 1430 GMT. Marin was one of the FIFA executives arrested in May 2015 at a luxury hotel in Zurich in a raid requested by the United States.

The US probe revealed the corrupt, ugly underbelly of world football and the lavish lifestyle of FIFA executives who traveled around in private planes and were treated like royalty as they arrived for conferences in places like the Bahamas or Mauritius.

The scandal rocked football around the world. US prosecutors ultimately indicted 42 people and sports companies, accusing them of multiple crimes and of accepting more than $200 million in bribes. Of the 42, three have since died. Of the rest, 22 pleaded guilty and two have already been sentenced by judge Chen.

Another 14 remain in their own countries, where they have been either tried by local courts, are fighting extradition or are still free.

Marin spent five months in a prison in Switzerland before being extradited to the US. He posted bail of $15 million and spent two years under house arrest. He stayed in Trump Tower on 5th Avenue in New York. He ventured out only a few times a week, to go to mass.

Marin was imprisoned immediately after his conviction on December 22 on six counts of racketeering, money laundering and bank fraud. During the trial, defense attorneys depicted Marin as an innocent, unsuspecting elderly man that Brazil’s football federation tapped out of the blue to fill the vacancy left by the sudden resignation of the powerful Ricardo Texeira.

These lawyers said Marin did nothing without the guidance of his right hand man, Marco Polo del Nero, with whom, according to prosecutors, he shared bribe payments.

AFP

Usain Bolt has taken the first tentative steps towards his Manchester United dream after the sprint king joined Australian side Central Coast Mariners for his first training session Tuesday.

Wearing gloves and tracksuit bottoms despite a mild winter’s day, the Jamaican did some light stretching, jogging and ball work with the rest of the squad in his maiden drill since being given the chance to win a playing contract by the A-League team.

He showed glimpses of good control, but also some heavy touches, favouring his left foot. “It’s just like track and field — the first day of training is always the roughest one. You can tell how much work you need to put in. But it felt OK, you know,” said Bolt after the 45-minute workout.

The superstar athlete, who also celebrated his 32nd birthday Tuesday, has been given an opportunity by the Mariners despite already trying out with teams in Germany, Norway and South Africa to no avail since retiring from athletics last year.

They hope to turn him into A-League material in time for the start of the 2018/19 season in late October, with the club saying he can stay indefinitely to prove his credentials.

A 70-strong media pack made the trek to the club’s base in the town of Gosford, 75 kilometres (47 miles) north of Sydney, to witness Bolt ease into his new life.

The eight-time Olympic champion and the fastest man on earth said he was determined to prove any doubters wrong.

“I’m not setting myself any targets, I’m just going to put in the work,” he said.

“This is my first chance to get to a level to play as a professional, so I don’t know what to expect. I’m just here to push myself. I’m here with a blank slate, I’m here to learn and get better.”

– One of the boys –

Bolt dominated sprinting since taking double individual gold at the Beijing Olympics in 2008.

He went on to win a further six Olympic golds and pick up 11 world titles before deciding to pursue his real passion — football.

His love of football began at school, where he was a goalkeeper before moving to centre back, left wing and finally striker.

He would prefer to play up front for the Mariners, promising his trademark lightning bolt celebration if he gets a goal, but said he had no idea where the coach would use him.

“I’m OK on the wing, good at centre forward, but the coach will determine where I play and in what formation. I don’t even know,” he said, sitting alongside club coach Mike Mulvey.

Asked his first impressions, Mulvey said it was clear Bolt had been nervous, but added: “It’s just his first day. He’s a fantastic athlete and we’re absolutely delighted to have him here with us.”

Bolt said he wanted to be treated “as one of the boys” and that his strengths were keeping cool under pressure and an ability to read the game well.

Despite starting a football career at an age when many are thinking about calling it quits, Bolt said he thrived on challenges and admitted in the back of his mind was a dream to play at Old Trafford.

“I daydream all the time about big things,” he said.

“One of my biggest dreams is to play for Manchester United, that could be my biggest dream even if it is just for five games, one game, it would be a dream come true because I am a massive fan.”

© 2018 AFP