Liverpool Defeat Arsenal 4 - 3

Rio Olympic 2016: Juan Martín Del Potro Defeated Rafa Nadal

Juan Martín del Potro has defeated Rafa Nadal 5-7, 6-4, 7-6 and will play Andy Murray in tomorrow's Rio 2016 tennis final at 3pm!

Former Everton Manager Roberto Martinez Appointed As Belgium New Head Coach

Roberto Martinez has been appointed as the new head coach of Belgium.

The former Everton boss had been linked with the vacancy at Hull but will now lead Belgium into the World Cup 2018 qualifiers after signing a two-year deal.

The 43-year-old is set to fly out to Belgium on Thursday, when a press conference to formally introduce Martinez to the media is due to take place in Brussels. 

His first match will be against Spain in a friendly on September 1 in the Belgian capital.

The Spaniard had been on a three-man shortlist for the vacant position at Hull after Steve Bruce left the Premier League new boys earlier this summer, but that job is now set to go to either Chris Coleman or Gianfranco Zola.

Marc Wilmots was sacked after Belgium were knocked out by Wales in the Euro 2016 quarter-finals by Wales.

The Red Devils emerged from Group E in second place before dispatching of Hungary in the last 16. However, they were beaten by Wales in the quarter-finals - a precursor for Wilmots' stay being ended.

Martinez previously took charge of Swansea and Wigan, with whom he won the FA Cup in 2013, before being appointed to the top job at Goodison Park.

After finishing fifth in the Premier League in his first season in charge, Martinez's tenure at the Toffees became more and more fragile.

Everton finished 11th in 2014-15 and replicated that position last term, with the Spaniard eventually sacked after weeks of protests from fans.  

Rio Olympics 2016: Andy Murray to be Team GB flag bearer

Olympic and Wimbledon champion Andy Murray has been chosen to carry the 
flag for Great Britain at Friday's Rio 2016 opening ceremony.

The 29-year-old was picked ahead of the likes of boxer Nicola Adams and rower Katherine Grainger.

Murray, who inspired Great Britain to the Davis Cup in November, is the first tennis player to fill the role.

"To lead out Team GB will be an incredible honour, the biggest in sport," he said.

As well as individual gold, the Scot also won doubles silver alongside Laura Robson at the London 2012 Games.

"I obviously have great memories of London and I am 100% focused on winning here in Rio," Murray added.

"The privilege of being the flag bearer is a moment I will remember for the rest of my life and will certainly be one of the highlights of my career."

Murray is seeded second in both the men's singles and the doubles tournament in which he is teaming up with brother Jamie.

Team-mate and fellow British number one Johanna Konta is seeded 10th in the women's draw.

A British Olympic Association panel selected Murray to be flag bearer after each sport put forward athletes to a shortlist.

Cyclist Sir Chris Hoy led Team GB into London's Olympic Stadium four years ago, while speed skater Jon Eley was selected for the Winter Olympics in Sochi in 2014.

The United States have nominated swimmer Michael Phelps, while hosts Brazil have chosen modern pentathlete Yana Marques.

The Russian team have selected volleyball player Sergey Tetyukhin after pole vaulter Yelena Isinbayeva and the rest of the Russian athletics team was banned in the wake of the country's doping scandal.

International CHAMPIONS CUP Result Matches

Barcelona 3 - 1 Celtic

Real Madrid 3 - 2 Chelsea

Inte 1 - 4 Bayern Munich

Liverpool 2 - 0 AC Milan

International Champions Cup: Liverpool Win Ac Milan 2 - 0

 Liverpool enjoyed a comfortable pre-season outing with a 2 - 0 win over AC Milan courtesy of second-half goals from Divock Origi and Roberto Firmino.

Congratulations to all Liverpool Fans!

Roger Federer To Miss Rio Olympics After Knee Injury Rules Him Out For Season

Roger Federer will miss the rest of the season, including the Rio Olympics and US Open.

The 34-year-old said he had been advised not to play again this year in order to fully recover from the knee surgery he had in February.

“I'm extremely disappointed to announce that I will not be able to represent Switzerland at the Olympic Games in Rio and that I will also miss the remainder of the season,” the 17-time grand slam champion said on his official Facebook page.

Federer, who was forced to undergo surgery for the first time after suffering a freak knee injury running his daughters a bath, missed the French Open with a back injury, ending his record-breaking run of 65 consecutive grand slam appearances, but returned to reach the semi-finals of Wimbledon, where he lost to Milos Raonic.

But he has now been advised that he needs more time off.

Federer, who lost to Andy Murray in the men's singles final at the London Olympics after winning gold alongside Stan Wawrinka in the doubles in Beijing in 2008, added: “Considering all options after consulting with my doctors and my team, I have made the very difficult decision to call an end to my 2016 season as I need more extensive rehabilitation following my knee surgery earlier this year.

“The doctors advised that if I want to play on the ATP World Tour injury free for another few years, as I intend to do, I must give both my knee and body the proper time to fully recover.

“It is tough to miss the rest of the year. However, the silver lining is that this experience has made me realise how lucky I have been throughout my career with very few injuries.

“The love I have for tennis, the competition, tournaments and of course you, the fans, remains intact. I am as motivated as ever and plan to put all my energy towards coming back strong, healthy and in shape to play attacking tennis in 2017.”

Juventus Sign Argentina Striker Gonzalo Higuain From Napoli For £75.3m

Gonzalo Higuain has completed his move to Juventus from Napoli for a fee understood to be worth £75.3m.

Higuain has signed a four-year contract worth £6.3m per season that will keep the forward at the club until 2020, according to Sky Sports.

At £75.3m, this makes the Argentine the third most expensive footballer in history - behind Gareth Bale and Cristiano Ronaldo.

The move has bumped Neymar out the third spot who moved to Barcelona for a club record £71.5m.

Arsenal had been extensively linked with the 28-year-old but the high-asking fee proved too much for the north London club. 

Juventus have paid his full release clause after Higuain completed his medical in Madrid on Friday. 

Once confirmed by the clubs, the transfer will become the most expensive deal in Serie A history.

Higuain is set to replace Alvaro Morata who recently returned to the Bernabeu after Real Madrid activated his buyback clause.

Having scored 36 goals in 35 appearances last season - a Serie A record - Higuain will provide a more than suitable replacement to the Spaniard.

Stoke Sign Egypt International: Ramadan Sobhi

STOKE CITY are proud to announce they have completed the signing of teenage Egyptian star Ramadan Sobhi from Al Ahly after being granted a work permit.

The Potters have agreed a fee that could rise to €6million for the 19-year-old, who has been capped six times by his country and is widely regarded as the most exciting prospect in African football.

Ramadan becomes City’s first signing ahead of the 2016/17 Premier League season.

Ramadan becomes City’s first signing ahead of the 2016/17 Premier League season.

Chief Executive Tony Scholes said: “We are absolutely delighted to have signed a player of Ramadan’s undoubted quality and potential.

“He’s a special young talent who is excited about the prospect of making an impact in the Premier League and we’re looking forward to giving him that platform.”

Sobhi, who is expected to receive his UK visa over the next 48 hours, is likely to join his new teammates in the US city of Orlando later this week where they are preparing for the new campaign.

Sobhi is a graduate of the Al Ahly youth system and made his professional debut as a 16-year-old, earning his international cap a year later.

He helped Al Ahly win a string of domestic honours, including the 2015/16 Egyptian League title under the guidance of former Tottenham and Fulham manager Martin Jol.

Bayern Munich Star Ribery Praises Ancelotti And Indirectly Criticizes Guardiola

Munich (SID) – Football superstar Franck Ribéry from football Bayern Munich has indirectly criticized his predecessor Pep Guardiola with an exuberant praise for coach Carlo Ancelotti. “Under Ancelotti I finally feel back confidence,” the Frenchman told the kicker, “he is a great coach. I need people like him, Jupp Heynckes and Ottmar Hitzfeld.” For Guardiola Ribéry had a professional but cool relationship.

The 33-year-old stressed that he needed this confidence, this close to the coach, “playing off to my strengths. Then I will eat grass for the coach.” Under Ancelotti, the him to Chelsea had wanted to bring in 2009 that he felt “free, fully motivated, he is a gift for the club”.

have the Italians him to in the very first days in Munich taken side and explained to him how he planned with him. He also praised him publicly as a “fantastic player. I like his style, like the way he is focused. It can still be very important for us. He has great quality and experience.”

Ancelotti was a great coach, Ribéry gave the praise back now, “he knows how to deal with players. I am glad that he is there because he is the right coach for us. with Ancelotti we can do great things.”

Rio Olympics 2016: Australia Refuse To Move Into Athletes' Village

Australia are refusing to move their athletes into the Rio Olympic Village because of concerns about the state of their accommodation.

Problems include "blocked toilets, leaking pipes and exposed wiring", according to team boss Kitty Chiller.

Chiller said she had raised concerns with local event organisers and the International Olympic Committee, and was "pushing hard for a solution".

Australian staff are in nearby hotels with the first athletes due on Monday.

Alternative accommodation for team members arriving over the next three days has been arranged.

The $1.5bn (£1.14bn) 31-building village has tennis courts, football pitches, seven swimming pools and will house 18,000 athletes and officials at the height of the Games, which start on 5 August, less than two weeks away.

Chiller, the head of Australia's Olympic delegation, said extra maintenance staff and more than 1,000 cleaners have been engaged to fix the problems but the faults, particularly the plumbing issues, have not been resolved.

She said in a statement on the Australian Olympic website: "Due to a variety of problems in the Village, including gas, electricity and plumbing, I have decided that no Australian team member will move into our allocated building.

"Problems include blocked toilets, leaking pipes, exposed wiring, darkened stairwells where no lighting has been installed and dirty floors in need of a massive clean."

Organisers have conceded there have been "teething troubles" and promised that crews would be "working 24 hours a day until the issues are resolved".

Source: bbc

Ken Griffey Jr. Inducted Into Baseball Hall Of Fame

Cooperstown, N.Y. (Ap) — Ken Griffey Jr. has been inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame.

Griffey, the first No. 1 draft pick to be selected for enshrinement, played 22 big-league seasons with the Mariners, Reds and White Sox and was selected on a record 99.32 percent of ballots cast, an affirmation of sorts for his clean performance during baseball's so-called Steroids Era.

A 13-time All-Star selection and 10-time Gold Glove Award winner, Griffey hit 630 home runs, sixth all-time, and drove in 1,836 runs.

Griffey also was the American League MVP in 1997, drove in at least 100 runs in eight seasons, and won seven Silver Slugger Awards.

In the 1995 ALDS, he became just the second player in major league history to hit five home runs in a postseason series.


Source:  usnews

     

Lionel Messi Coming To England With Barcelona Squad

The superstar has been named in a 25-man squad for the trip to the UK which also features Luis Suarez, Arda Turan and Aleix Vidal.

Messi was not due back in training until the start of August after helping Argentina to the final of the Copa America, where defeat to Chile prompted his international retirement.

Barca will be visiting England's headquarters for the second time and will have five days' training at the £105m complex ahead of Saturday's friendly with Celtic in Dublin.

The likes of Gerard Pique, Andres Iniesta and Ivan Rakitic remain on holiday following Euro 2016, and 12 of the travelling party are from the club's youth ranks.

New signings Samuel Umtiti and Lucas Digne will also be missing.

Liverpool Accept £6m Bournemouth Bid For Brad Smith

The 22-year-old Australian international is now free to discuss personal terms with the Cherries, and could then join up with Jordon Ibe – who joined Eddie Howe’s side for £15 million earlier this month.

Smith broke into the Liverpool team under Jurgen Klopp last season, playing a back-up role to Alberto Moreno and making 10 appearances in total.

Liverpool have been chasing a new left-back to compete with Moreno all summer, and by allowing Smith to leave indicates that they have made progress on acquiring a new left-back.

Liverpool are expected to include a buy-back clause in the deal for Smith, as they have done with Ibe and Sergi Canos already this summer.

Smith made his debut for the club under Brendan Rodgers at Chelsea in December 2013, but almost left the club a year ago when his contract expired and a new deal couldn’t be agreed. Eventually a deal was agreed shortly after Klopp’s arrival and he found himself given an opportunity in the FA Cup, scoring at Exeter City.

Smith will now leave the tour in the US in order to return to England to discuss the move.

He could be one of two full-backs to depart, with Jon Flanagan also expected to complete a loan move to Burnley.

Smith would be the 11th departure so far this summer, including loans, with Mario Balotelli, Christian Benteke, Joe Allen, Flanagan, Andre Wisdom and Tiago Ilorialso set to leave as Klopp trims the squad ahead of his first full season in charge.

Cristiano Ronaldo Pays A Visit To His Museum On Portuguese Island Of Madeira

Cristiano Ronaldo has taken a trip to his own museum on his home island of Madeira in Portugal.

Ronaldo opened a museum dedicated to his own success in 2013 but it recently underwent a massive refurbishment before reopening on July 1.

The museum contains some of the Real Madrid forward’s greatest prizes, including Champions League, La Liga and Premier League medals as well as shirts, boots and personal trinkets.

It is located near the bronze statue of Ronaldo in Funchal’s Plaza del Mar and close to his new CR7 hotel - the first of four to be built worldwide.

Ronaldo posed alongside a waxwork of himself, as well as a Champions League trophy and numerous pieces of memorabilia.

The 31-year-old remains on holiday two weeks on from Portugal's historic triumph at Euro 2016.

Ronaldo was stretchered off in tears just 25 minutes into the final against France after picking up a knee injury following a challenge by Dimitri Payet.

Portugal were cheered on by their skipper in extra-time though, as he returned to the touchline to will his teammates to victory.

Sam Allardyce Has Been Appointed As England Manager On A Two-Year Deal

The 61-year-old has signed a contract with the FA that will run until the 2018 World Cup.

The FA were expected to announce his appointment on Thursday but were held up by Sunderland's demands for compensation.

Sunderland allowed the FA to discuss terms with their manager, but asked for a swift decision to allow them to prepare for the new season.

They have now come to an agreement and the former West Ham and Newcastle boss will now be in charge of England's first World Cup qualifier against Slovakia on 4 September.

He will be unveiled as England's new manager on Monday.

Manchester City Chase Gabriel Jesus, Ivan Rakitic To Quit Barcelona?

Manchester City are in talks to sign Brazilian sensation Gabriel Jesus, a source in South America has told ESPN FC's Peter O'Rourke. City are hoping to beat a host of top clubs including Manchester United, Real Madrid,Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain to bring the Palmeiras forward to the Premier League.

Jesus is regarded as one of the brightest prospects to emerge from Brazil in recent years and has been likened to Brazil star Neymar for his style of play. The 19-year-old was named Best Newcomer in the Brazilian championship this year and he has scored 26 goals in 67 games for Palmeiras. City are prepared to steal a march on their rivals for Jesus by offering Palmeiras a fee in the region of €32 million as well as allowing the player to stay on loan until the conclusion of the Brazilian championship in December.

Meanwhile, is Barcelona's Ivan Rakitic set to leave the Camp Nou? Following Andre Gomes' arrival, the Croatian midfielder's agent tweeted "It's time to go."

Rio Olympics 2016: Russia Set To Be Banned From The Olympics

The Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) and 68 Russian athletes attempted to overturn the suspension, implemented by the body that governs world athletics.

But the Court of Arbitration for Sport (Cas) has ruled it can stand.

A handful of Russian athletes could still compete as neutrals at the Rio Games, which start on 5 August.

"It's sad but rules are rules," said Olympic 100m and 200m champion Usain Bolt, who is targeting more gold medals in Rio.

He said it was important to send a strong message to the dopers.

"Doping violations in track and field is getting really bad," said the Jamaican, 29. "If you cheat or go or against the rules, this will scare a lot of people."

However, Russian pole vaulter Yelena Isinbayeva - one of the 68 to appeal to Cas - said the ruling was "a blatant political order".

The 2012 gold medallist, 34, told the Tass news agency: "Thank you all for this funeral for athletics."

The International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) said it was "pleased Cas has supported its position", adding that the judgement had "created a level playing field for athletes".

IAAF president Lord Coe added: "This is not a day for triumphant statements. I didn't come into this sport to stop athletes from competing.

"Beyond Rio, the IAAF taskforce will continue to work with Russia to establish a clean safe environment for its athletes so that its federation and team can return to international recognition and competition."

Separately, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) is considering calls to ban all Russian competitors from the Rio Games following a second report into state-sponsored doping.

The Beckhams All Set To Relocate To Their Renovated £30million Town Home

It's an exciting time for David and Victoria Beckham, who are preparing to move into their dream home with their four children. After a number of years living in a rented property in Holland Park, the couple have started to move furniture and other possessions into their newly-renovated town house just across the street.

David and Victoria bought the property back in September 2013 and have spent an estimated £5million doing it up. With work almost complete on their family home, a convoy of vans have been spotted outside both properties this week, helping to relocate possessions and deliver new items of furniture to the Beckhams' town house.

Luckily the family have been absent for much of the move. David, 41, arrived in LA with his two youngest children, Harper, six, and Cruz, 11, earlier this month, while Brooklyn, 17, has been spending time in New York with his girlfriend Chloe Moretz. Then, on Saturday, Victoria, 42, and 13-year-old Romeo touched down in California to join David, Harper and Cruz and make the most of some family time together now that school has finished.

David and Victoria have put a great deal of thought into creating their perfect home. Once work has finished on the five-storey Holland Park house, the Beckhams will have use of six bedrooms, a gym, a study, and office, a playroom and a large drawing room.

According to building plans, the renovation has also included the enlargement of the lower ground floor wine cellar and the installation of a family cinema room.

Helping to oversee the renovations on their London property is top designer Rose Uniacke. Known for her cool, calm and collected luxe designs, Rose has been tasked with creating the perfect interior throughout the whole house, and has no doubt been working closely with stylish Victoria to ensure she constructs the perfect setting for her famous clients.

Sam Allardyce to be confirmed as new England manager – live!

LONDON (Reuters) - Sam Allardyce moved a step closer to becoming England manager on Thursday after English FA chairman Greg Dyke said a three-man selection panel will recommend him for the job.

Sunderland boss Allardyce is set to replace Roy Hodgson, who stepped down as England manager following their embarrassing European Championship exit to Iceland in the last 16 last month.

"Clearly the three-man group are convinced he (Allardyce) is the right man," Dyke told Sky Sports. "I'd go along with that as well.

"You'd have to ask them but as far as I understand it that's the discussion. We appointed a three-man committee to go out and look at the candidates and they've come back with a decision about who they think is the best man."

The three-man selection group is made up of FA chief executive Martin Glenn, FA technical director Dan Ashworth and FA vice-chairman David Gill.