Bugaluu :: Sports

For the first time since Dec. 5, 1953, the final game for Frank Leahy as Notre Dame’s head coach, the Fighting Irish will host a home game in December. Notre Dame was 10-0 and No. 1 back then, and now is 9-0 and No. 2. Amazingly this also could be the third time in the last eight seasons that 11th-year Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly could reach 10-0 in his career.

Tavon Austin was the Rams No. 8 overall pick back in 2013. He never lived up to that draft status with the team, spending the first five seasons of his career with the organization between St. Louis and Los Angeles. But after signing with the Packers this week, Austin’s new quarterback thinks the wide receiver [more]

The rust from UF’s season-opening win over Army was non-existent against Boston College on Thursday night.

Sullivan began the round ahead by three strokes and landed three birdies on the front nine after the start of the day’s play was delayed by 45 minutes due to fog. “… I’m going to have loads of chances.

Week Seven Big Ten action. Picking against the spread. How did I do last week? 1-4 vs. the line.For the year: 15-21 vs. the line.My selections this week …Ohio State (-24) at Michigan State: No Ryan Day, no problem.

Styles make fights and one of the Premier League’s most attractive qualities is the contrast in approaches the fixture list throws up on a weekly basis. Frank Lampard vs Marcelo Bielsa, Sean Dyche vs Carlo Ancelotti and Jose Mourinho vs Mikel Arteta are some of the managerial match-ups on offer this weekend. Measuring style of play, a nebulous concept, in a quantitative way is a difficult task, but one statistic becoming more widely quoted is Opta’s Build Up Attacks: sequences of 10 or more passes that end with a shot or touch in the box. This metric can help determine which teams attack in a more continuous, possession-based way and which create opportunities from staccato, direct moves. On the other side of the ledger, Build Up Attacks Against can indicate which teams disrupt opponents through proactive defending and which employ a more passive approach. “I knew from my stats before the game that they’ve scored the most goals from open play starting with the goalkeeper,” said Aston Villa manager Dean Smith after their 3-0 victory at Arsenal last month, in a revealing insight into the homework done by Premier League clubs. Burnley host Everton on Saturday, and are one of the league’s most distinctive teams. Dyche’s team have had fewer build up attacks than any other side, just five in nine games, which is no surprise given Burnley prioritise gaining territory rather than mastering possession. They have also allowed more build up attacks against them than any other team, 37, pointing to a deep-lying defensive strategy. Newcastle United and West Ham United are next on the list for allowing build attacks, with 35 and 33 against them respectively. Chelsea have established themselves as one of the most technically impressive teams in the division, their 40 build up attacks one clear of Manchester City’s 39. They are significantly clear of Liverpool on 29, with Manchester United and Arsenal level on 28. Unsurprisingly, Chelsea, City and Liverpool have also allowed relatively few of these types of attacks against them which is why they look strong. Ten teams have allowed fewer build up attacks against them than Mourinho’s Tottenham, which marries with the eye test that they are not especially keen to press high.

Saban missed the Iron Bowl after he tested positive for COVID-19

Worcester Warriors’ game against Gloucester-Hartpury will be one of only two Premier 15s fixtures to host fans this weekend following the controversial decision of the league leaders, Harlequins, not to open their doors. A maximum of 500 fans are expected to attend Sixways on Sunday, which will be the first time fans will be able to watch a women’s game since England’s victory over Wales in the Six Nations in March. Wasps Ladies have also released a limited number tickets for their home game against Loughborough Lightning. Despite being in a tier-two area, Harlequins’ decision will surprise some given the club’s track record in attracting record crowd attendances in recent years to the women’s domestic game. Some 4,837 watched the club’s 62-0 rout of Gloucester-Hartpury in March 2019, which remains the largest crowd attendance at a Premier 15s match. The club also had the highest average crowd attendance during the truncated 2019-20 season, which stood at 1,143. The Government announced on Nov 26 that up to 2,000 fans in tier-two regions could attend sporting events after the second lockdown, but Harlequins felt this was not “a long enough of a run-in to sell enough tickets to cover the costs of implementing the extra infrastructure we have to put in place for when fans attend.” Telegraph Sport understands Worcester are already prepared to operate at a loss even if they do welcome as many as 500 people on Sunday. Harlequins also took their decision with a view to drum up support for their top-of-the-table clash next weekend against Saracens on Dec 12. That game, however, has now been postponed after a Saracens player tested positive for the virus, with the league champions’ game against Exeter also called off on Saturday. Ten other Saracens players who have been identified as close contacts are currently self-isolating. “Given the positive test result along with other players isolating as well as out injured or returning from injury, the club [Saracens] do not feel confident they can field a side this weekend or next,” said Nicky Ponsford, the RFU’s head of women’s performance, who confirmed Harlequins v Saracens would be rearranged for January 2 next year. DMP Durham Sharks’ match against Sale Sharks this weekend has also been called off after three Durham players tested positive. The RFU is due to announce details of the rearranged fixture in due course.