Category: Sports

Karim Benzema appears to label Mbappe a traitor following Real Madrid snub


By Conor Laird


Published: May 21, 2022 11:57 pm

Last Updated: May 22, 2022 12:01 am

Karim Benzema appears to label Kylian Mbappe a traitor following Real Madrid snub

 

The latest social media activity on the part of Real Madrid star Karim Benzema has piqued widespread attentions late on Saturday evening.

Benzema’s Blancos have of course taken their place front and centre in the European football headlines across the day to date.

Unfortunately for the La Liga champions, though, this has come for an altogether less than positive reason.

Kylian Mbappe, long expected to call time on his stint with Paris Saint-Germain in favour of taking his talents to the Spanish capital, shocked the masses in instead putting pen to paper on a new contract at the Parc des Princes on Saturday.

The 23-year-old has committed his future to PSG through the summer of 2025, after coming to an agreement on the terms of a potentially record-breaking financial package.

Benzema fumes

All associated with Real Madrid, in turn, have been left understandably bemused by Mbappe’s actions, with fans, pundits and more having not been at all shy in making their frustrations with the French international known in the aftermath of today’s announcement.

And now, as alluded to above, one key member of Carlo Ancelotti’s squad has not held back in his own criticism of Mbappe’s actions.

The player in question? Karim Benzema.

Taking to his official Instagram account late on Saturday night, ‘Benz’ unveiled a photo of music icon Tupac Shakur, backed by the man who is widely understood to have betrayed him before the rapper’s untimely death.

The assumption, in turn, is that the Blancos hitman, of course a fellow countryman and international teammate of Mbappe, is insinuating that the PSG star is essentially a traitor for staying put in Paris.

 

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Cristiano Ronaldo to miss Man United’s clash with Crystal Palace


By Conor Laird


Published: May 21, 2022 10:46 pm

Last Updated: May 21, 2022 11:24 pm


 

Manchester United star Cristiano Ronaldo is in line to miss the club’s meeting with Crystal Palace on Sunday, according to reports.

The Red Devils, of course, are set to bring what has proven an altogether disappointing campaign to a close in a little less than 24 hours’ time.

In the knowledge that a defeat could see them leapfrogged by 7th-placed West Ham in the Premier League table, Ralf Rangnick and co. will make the trip to Selhurst Park, for a meeting with an always-dangerous Crystal Palace outfit.

And, as alluded to above, if the latest word stemming from the media on Saturday evening is anything to go by, then United’s efforts to see out the season on a high look set to come sans the services of one of the club’s star performers.

The player in question? Cristiano Ronaldo.

As per the reliable Samuel Luckhurst, 37-year-old Ronaldo is expected to play no part in south London owing to an unspecified fitness problem.

Youngsters Shola Shoretire, Charlie Savage and Alvaro Fernandez, on the other hand, are in line to feature.

‘Magnificent’

Word of Ronaldo’s impending absence on Sunday of course comes fresh on the back of the man set to oversee the Portuguese superstar’s exploits next season revealing his excitement to work alongside him.

Speaking to the media this weekend, Erik ten Hag, set to take up the reins at Old Trafford in the summer, confirmed that he ‘can’t wait’ to link up with CR7, a player he went on to label as ‘magnificent’:

 

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Steve Kerr wants people to give Kevon Looney his flowers

Photo: Gene Sweeney Jr./Getty Images

Stephen Curry scored 32 points and eight rebounds, Kevon Looney had a career-high 21 points and 12 rebounds and the Golden State Warriors rallied past the Dallas Mavericks 126-117 on Friday for a 2-0 lead in the Western Conference finals.

On the other hand, the Slovenian star Luka Doncic led the Dallas Mavericks with 42 points, five rebounds, three steals, and eight assists. The series shifts to Dallas for Game 3 on Sunday.

Following a costly win over the Dallas Mavericks in Game 2, the Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr talked about big man Kevon Looney: “You can’t keep saying somebody is underrated over and over again… I just think it’s time that people recognize his impact on the game…”



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Anadolu Efes repeats as EuroLeague champions

Anadolu Efes secured back-to-back EuroLeague titles with a nail-biting 58-57 win over Real Madrid in Belgrade.

The competition’s bottom side in 2018, the Istanbul outfit recovered to reach the final a year later and become tog dogs for two straight seasons.

Last season’s EuroLeague Final Four MVP, Vasilije Micic paced the winners with 23 points.

“I am honestly very speechless because four years ago I played here and I won third place and I was short,” Micic said.

“But this time we won the title, and I want to congratulate my teammates, congrats to Real Madrid for an amazing game and thank you once again.

“This [MVP award] feels amazing. It will stay forever with me, it will be marked on my heart until I play basketball and afterwards. Nothing is possible without my teammates – four amazing years together, two titles.

“The team result is more important. Everybody knows that tonight will be very hot all over Belgrade, I’m going to take all my team together and we’re going to celebrate like never before.”

Tibor Pleiss and Shane Larkin added 19 and 10 points, respectively.

And it was Pleiss who scored the decisive bucket for the Turkish side, as he made up for Micic’s missed layup with a tip-in for a 58-55 advantage with 1:05 remaining.

Sergio Llull would reply, but Real Madrid – who last won the EuroLeague title in 2018, in Belgrade – were unable to get another score.

Anadolu Efes’ glory now begs the question of what next ahead of next season? Many of its current players are on expiring deals, including Shane Larkin, Bryant Dunston, Chris Singleton and Pleiss. So who knows what will be of the champions next season.

But for now … it’s party time.

“It’s incredible,” Pleiss commented.

“As a kid, I always looked up to the two teams that played the Final Four and now I’ve won it back to back, it’s incredible. I’m full of emotions, I’m tired, but I’m so happy it’s incredible, I have no words for it.”

Walter Tavares was the only player for Real in double digits, dropping 14 points along with 11 rebounds. 

“Of course I’m happy the way we played, congratulations to Efes for the win, it was a great final,” Madrid coach Pablo Laso said.

“Everybody fighting for every ball. We were missing some open shots that we didn’t score, and missing those baskets at the end.

“On a do or die, probably on my mind is gonna be the last play: should we foul, shouldn’t we foul? We didn’t get the rebound. I think if we had got the rebound we could have had a last shot, but we couldn’t get a clean rebound…well, congratulations Efes, that’s it.”

Photo: EuroLeague

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L’Jarius Sneed update provides more context

L’Jarius Sneed, Kansas City Chiefs. (Photo by David Eulitt/Getty Images)

More information has come about regarding the situation involving L’Jarius Sneed’s car.

Kansas City Chiefs cornerback L’Jarius Sneed had his car shot up in his native Louisiana on Friday.

While it was a scary incident in Minden, Louisiana, FanSided‘s Matt Verderame reported on Friday evening that Sneed was not at the scene of the crime, nor even in his hometown just yet. The car in question was registered in his name though, thus why news of his potential involvement in the matter first surfaced on Friday afternoon. Thankfully, Sneed is alright, but this will be investigated.

Sneed is entering his third NFL season with the Chiefs out of Louisiana Tech.

L’Jarius Sneed car shooting: More information from the Friday afternoon incident

The Chiefs are counting on Sneed to have a big year for them in the back-end of their defense. Kansas City may be the slight favorites to repeat in the AFC West race, but all three of the Chiefs’ divisional rivals are certainly capable of making the playoffs this fall. After losing Tyrann Mathieu and Charvarius Ward in free agency, look for Sneed to take on a bigger role on the Chiefs’ defense.

Frankly, even if Sneed had nothing to do with the incident taking place in Minden, Louisiana over the weekend, this should not land well with the Chiefs organization. Again, they are trusting a third-year pro and a former fourth-round pick to do big things in the defense this year. One could argue the secondary is this team’s Achilles heel. This is not the attention Sneed should be wanting.

As soon as more information comes out from the car shooting, FanSided will keep you up to date.



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Tottenham handed Harry Kane boost ahead of Norwich showdown


 

Tottenham Hotspur have been afforded a timely boost on the personnel front, ahead of the club’s crunch showdown with Norwich City.

Antonio Conte’s troops, of course, are primed to return to action in just shy of 24 hours’ time.

As part of the final round of Premier League fixtures, Spurs will make the trip to Carrow Road, for what it could be argued marks the club’s most important outing of the campaign.

This comes with the Lilywhites, as things stand, sitting 4th in the English top-flight table.

With north London rivals Arsenal two points adrift in 5th, and in possession of a considerably less impressive goal difference, all associated with Tottenham are therefore aware that securing even a solitary point up against a Norwich outfit who have long been condemned to life back in the Championship will secure their place back in the Champions League for next season.

LONDON, ENGLAND – APRIL 03: Antonio Conte reacts during the Premier League match between Tottenham Hotspur and Newcastle United at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on April 03, 2022 in London, England. (Photo by Ryan Pierse/Getty Images)

Kane latest

And, as alluded to above, on Saturday, Spurs’ hopes of securing a positive result in East Anglia have been afforded a timely boost.

This comes in the form of confirmation that star man Harry Kane has returned to training alongside the rest of Antonio Conte’s squad.

For those not aware, Kane set pulses racing across the Lilywhites’ fanbase on Friday, after sitting out a press conference with the media owing to what was described as a bout of illness.

As confirmed by the reliable Alasdair Gold, though, the English international has since stepped back into the fold, primed to take his place at the heart of Tottenham’s frontline on Sunday evening.

 

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Charles Barkley defends Chris Paul after his poor Playoff showing

Photo: Getty Images

Chris Paul struggled in the second round series against the Mavericks that ended with the Suns getting eliminated in seven games.

The 37-year-old superstar point guard did not look like his usual self during the final five games of the series. He averaged just 9.4 points over those games.

His performances received criticism from analysts and fans alike. But NBA legend Charles Barkley thinks that it is unfair to expect Paul to play the way he did 5 or 10 years ago.

Instead, according to him, people should appreciate what the Phoenix star has achieved over his long career.

Via Gerard Samillano of ClutchPoints:

“As a guy gets older, it’s unfair for us to ask him to still be the same guy he was 5, 10 years ago. Listen, playing point guard at Chris’s size, he’s the best leader I’ve seen in the NBA, think about this, he’s won every single place he’s been and if you can’t appreciate that you really don’t know anything about basketball as a fan.”

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Draymond Green on comparing Luka Doncic to LeBron James

Photo: Marcio Jose Sanchez/AP

With the way the Dallas Mavericks guard Luka Doncic has been playing this season, especially in the playoffs, he’s gotten some comparisons to the Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James. A sports analyst and the Golden State Warriors player Draymond Green explains why there’s some merit to those comparisons, and where the two players differ:

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Sambi Lokonga’s brother speaks out on midfielder’s Arsenal future


Albert Sambi Lokonga would join Arsenal during the summer of 2021.

The midfielder came from Anderlecht with very little experience at the top level. Despite this, Mikel Arteta was using him on a  regular basis early in the campaign.

However, as the seaosn wore on, Lokonga saw his minutes gradually declining. In fact, from gameweek 14 to gameweek 37, the 22-year-old made just six appearances, only three of which saw him feature for more than 15 minutes.

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This of course came with Thomas Partey sidelined for a while and Granit Xhaka, due to the injury to Kieran Tierney, being used at left-back several times over the last couple of months.

Despite his lack of playing time, however, the brother of Lokonga, Paul Jose Mpoku, has suggested that a move away from Arsenal is out of the question:

“It’s out of the question, at least for him. He is very well integrated into the club & the city, he is happy, although he hopes to play more next season & his potential would deserve that.”

“There will be European games. I talked to him on the phone on Monday; he was disappointed because, with the defeat in Newcastle, the Champions League has moved away, but there will be the Europa League & he is positive about his season.”

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Luka Doncic after Game 2: “I think we rely too much on the three”

Photo: Ashley Landis/Dallas News

The Mavericks went 0-2 in the Western Conference Finals against the Warriors after they lost Game 2. Luka Doncic bounced back after a difficult Game 1 and dropped 42 points, grabbed 5 rebounds and also dished out 8 assists.

However, it wasn’t enough for Dallas to tie the series. The Mavs were vey much focused on three-pointers. They took 45 three-point attempts against 28 of the Dubs.

“I think we rely too much on the three,” Doncic said postgame. “We weren’t attacking the paint that much. We got to attack the paint more like [the Warriors] did.

“They attack the paint a lot. They have two of the best shooters in the world and they still attack the paint. So, I think we gotta to rely less on the three. Obviously, it’s a good percentage, but I think we gotta rely more on getting to the paint and then kick out.”

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