Draymond Green may think the play-in games to the playoffs are beneath him, but Steph Curry apparently is going to drag Green and the rest of the Warriors there by their collective dick if he has to. Curry went off for another 49 in a pretty gutsy 107-96 win in Philadelphia. As you have to note with every NBA game at the moment, someone(s) important didn’t play, and this time it was Ben Simmons and Tobias Harris of the Sixers. That shouldn’t take away from another virtuoso performance from Curry, who went 10-from-17 from three. It was the second-straight game Curry had 10 threes or more, and the fourth in the last five games. It was the 11th-straight game he had 30 points or more, the fourth out of five, and fifth out of eight, that he had more than 40. Curry is shooting 56 percent from the field in his last five games. His performance has been the catalyst for the Warriors to win six of their last eight, which has them a game-and-a-half behind Memphis for the eight seed, which at least comes with the bonus of having to win one game to get into the playoffs instead of two. Which might not mean much to a team with the recent prestige as the Warriors, but whatever. Curry at the moment is some sort of oracle. Curry iced the game with this three, and if you watch closely you can see Curry extract George Hill’s life-force through his pores right after the step-back: Hill knew what was coming, he knew what Steph wanted to do, yet still he got sold on the drive and then quickly realized he was sold a bill of goods and will just have to watch death from above. This is the good stuff. Speaking of great players winning games on their own, we present Connor McDavid from last night: That’s the Habs’ Joel Edmundson and Jeff Petry playing the roles of Rocksteady and Bebop. Edmundson, who has somehow shielded the fact that he’s been a bum-ass bum for nearly a decade from the greater hockey world, doesn’t even have that bad of a gap on McDavid. It’s not great, but would work against just about anyone else. Of course, somewhere around the blue line he realizes he’s totally fucked, and even goes to straight-up tackle McDavid and grabs nothing but a handful of himself. The Oilers won 4-1, which essentially locks up for good the third spot for the in the North, and puts the second spot very much in play. If they keep running into d-men who provide a torero’s cape for No. 97, they’ll get it. Also in the NHL, Patrick Marleau broke the all-time games played record last night, appearing in his 1,768th game, passing Mr. Hockey Gordie Howe. Marleau has taken a fair amount of shit in his career, from being accused of being a playoff ghost to not appearing in any games that mattered, to his ill-fated Cup chasing with the Maple Leafs and Penguins the past couple years. But to make the bell for 21 seasons worth of games (and he would have broken this record earlier if it wasn’t for two lockouts and a pandemic) is above reproach, especially in a game that exacts the toll that hockey does. It’s unlikely to be broken any time soon, if at all. The feat was also responsible for this: On a personal note, yesterday was the first time I watched Liverpool FC after the announcement of the Super League. While the actual activity of watching the game was much the same — the hope that the first half performance would portend to something better that’s been on offer all of 2021, the frustration growing as the second half made it clear it wouldn’t be, the knuckles into the wall at the equalizing goal given up at the final whistle — the confusion at the final whistle wasn’t. During the game, those reflexes and instincts are hard to turn off for a fan. But after…was I supposed to be upset? Does it matter that they blew a big chance to their hopes of finishing in the top four? Should I be happy that they did? Is that what they deserve? The players don’t, but there’s no other way. What’s the point of the rest of it? Aren’t they just going to kick us out of the Champions League anyway if the ESL doesn’t take off until 2022? What if it doesn’t happen at all? Missing out on the Champions League is what we deserve anyway, right? I can’t remember another time being so lost. One of the lesser crimes, out of the sea of them, of this ESL breakaway is that the rest of this season is basically chaos for fans like me, or Chelsea supporters, or others of these teams. What are we playing for? There’s no defined context. We’re just guessing. And without any context, it’s just stuff happening. It doesn’t mean anything. Which is hardly the point.
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Real Madrid head coach Zinedine Zidane said Eden Hazard needs time to return to his best and start games after making his return off the bench in Wednesday s draw with Elche.
Hazard was a substitute as LaLiga champions Madrid were held to a 1-1 draw at Elche midweek, having not featured for Los Blancos since injuring his thigh in November.
The Belgium international star, who was an unused substitute against Granada last week, was introduced with 13 minutes remaining and spurned a late chance for Madrid.
[Eden Hazard] needs time, he needs game time as well and slowly but surely he ll be back in the starting 11, Zidane told reporters.
I do think we should have scored a second goal in the first half because we played very well [against Elche] and we strugg…
Manchester City goalkeeper Ederson has signed a two-year contract extension, committing him to the Premier League champions for the next seven seasons.
The Brazil international joined Pep Guardiola s side from Benfica for £35million last June and, in stark contrast to Claudio Bravo s errant efforts between the posts in 2016-17, the 24-year-old quickly established himself as a pivotal figure in City s dominant title charge.
Along with 21 clean sheets in 45 appearances across all competitions, Ederson s audacious confidence with the ball at his feet made him vital to Guardiola s expansive tactical approach.
Despite penning an initial six-year deal when he moved to England, City have seen fit to tie their number one down to renewed terms that run until 2025.
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Belgium head coach Roberto Martinez has extended his contract by two years, the Royal Belgian Football Association (RBFA) has confirmed.
Martinez, who was appointed after Euro 2016, successfully guided the team to the World Cup finals with nine wins and one draw from 10 qualifying matches.
RBFA bosses have been sufficiently impressed to hand him a contract extension, which will keep him in charge throughout the qualifying phase of Euro 2020.
The board of the Royal Belgian Football Association (RBFA) and Roberto Martinez have extended their collaboration for another two years. Roberto Martinez, will therefore continue to coach the Red Devils after the Russian World Cup and will prepare them for Euro 2020, it said in a statement.
Since his appointment in …
Chelsea full-back Filipe Luis is convinced former team-mate Radamel Falcao is better at Manchester United than he was at Atletico Madrid.
Falcao has only managed one goal since joining United at the start of September but Filipe Luis insisted the Colombian striker who he played alongside at Atletico is stronger than when he scored a hat-trick against Chelsea in the 2012 UEFA Super Cup.
Filipe Luis considers Falcao to be the best in the world with his head , while he said the 28-year-old has an insatiable hunger for goals ahead of Sunday s clash between United and Chelsea at Old Trafford.
Falcao is a better striker now than he was at Atletico for sure. He was injured and changed clubs so he wants more. He is not resting right now. He is a tiger and wants to score…
Arsenal should sell polarising playmaker Mesut Ozil and sign Hakim Ziyech from Ajax, according to former Gunners star Marc Overmars.
Ozil has long been a contentious figure at Arsenal, with many supporters underwhelmed by his performances in recent years despite being one of the Premier League s highest-paid players.
The German seemingly failed to endear him to head coach Unai Emery, who afforded Ozil only 20 league starts in 2018-19.
In contrast, Ziyech, a hard-working attacking midfielder, was inspirational in Ajax s run to the Champions League semi-finals and is reportedly available for the relatively low figure of €35million.
Dutchman Overmars who is technical director at Ajax claims he told Arsenal to replace Ozil with Morocco international Z…
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has told Anthony Martial and Marcus Rashford to be ready to rotate roles in Manchester United s frontline next season.
The forward duo were each on target in Wednesday s 4-0 friendly victory over Leeds United as part of the Red Devils pre-season tour.
Manager Solskjaer has deployed both at the focal point of his three-man attack across two matches in Australia, but says he is ready to use them in wider positions too in the forthcoming campaign.
With Marcus, he can play along the frontline, Solskjaer said.
Sometimes he likes to drift to the left, same with Anthony, both of them can play at nine and 11, also together as a pair as a nine and a 10, also sometimes on the right-hand side.
Elite mentality has hit the ground runnin…
Brazilian midfielder Geovanni has signed a new two-year contract with Hull committing him to the club until 2011, the English Premier League side confirmed on Friday.
The 29-year-old former Barcelona and Benfica player arrived on a free transfer in July 2008 after being released by Manchester City.
He was one of the stars of Hull s first season in the Premier League scoring 10 goals in 44 appearances, including their first in the top flight against Fulham 13 months ago.
Manager Phil Brown said: It s fantastic, great news for me and great news for the club. He has committed for another two years and, who knows, maybe further.
Maybe that could be a catalyst. He was a big player for us last year. I m not just happy with his form, I m happy with his work-ra…
English football icon David Beckham is set to make his much anticipated debut for AC Milan in a friendly against German side Hamburg on Tuesday, club coach Carlo Ancelotti said Monday.
Speaking on Monday from Dubai, where the squad is at a training camp, Ancelotti said: there has been a lot of curiosity surrounding David Beckham.
And I can calmly say that he is available and that he can therefore play.
Ancelotti added: The past few days he (Beckham) has been working hard and I ve noticed his commitment to showing that he wants to play for the team.
Former Manchester United and Real Madrid star Beckham plays for Los Angeles Galaxy in the United States but has joined AC Milan on a short-term loan as he bids to extend his England career.
LA G…
Aston Villa midfielder Leandro Bacuna has signed a new five-year deal with the Premier League club that will keep him at Villa Park until 2020.
Bacuna was a first-team regular during his first season at Villa after moving from Groningen in 2013, but found opportunities hard to come by under Tim Sherwood last term.
The 23-year-old only made 10 league starts in 2014-15, but his performances have impressed the Villa hierarchy and he has been rewarded with a new deal.
I am absolutely thrilled to sign a new contract and continue my time at Aston Villa, he told the club s official website.
I love it here and am really excited about my future in claret and blue under the manager.
I feel I can really develop here and show my worth to the team and I t…
Galatasaray forward Didier Drogba believes he and his team-mates can shock Real Madrid in their UEFA Champions League clash on Tuesday.
The teams have been drawn together in Group B of Europe s premier cup competition and will kick off their 2013-14 campaign with a meeting at the Turk Telekom Arena in Istanbul.
The pair also met in last year s tournament at the quarter-final stage, with Galatasaray winning the second leg 3-2 but suffering a 5-3 aggregate defeat which halted their progress.
And Drogba believes the Turkish club can earn a repeat result with the vociferous backing of their supporters.
With our game we can get the fans to cheer, he told the club s official website.
Last season, Madrid’s players were in shock. After the game they said it wa…