WNBA star Kelsey Plum slams restaurant chain for making her sick READ MORE: A'ja Wilson slammed for claiming WNBA has toughest schedule By ERIC BLUM Published: 21:15, 25 November 2024 | Updated: 21:19, 25 November 2024 e-mail View comments Kelsey Plum took to social media to blame national restaurant chain, Jamba Juice, for making her sick over the weekend. The chain known for its creative smoothies apparently gave one to Plum that made her have diarrhea. The Las Vegas Aces point guard posted about her troubles to Instagram, with an image of a food-poisoning warning about the company that stated some of Jamba Juice's strawberries may contain a bacteria called Listeria. 'Peeps stay away.... I ordered double strawberries this weekend and my butt paying the price,' Plum said on her Instagram story. Jamba Juice has yet to publicly respond to the attention it is getting from Plum's troubles. Plum was a member of Team USA during the Summer Olympics , winning a gold medal. Plum took to social media to blame Jamba Juice for making her sick over the last few days Plum posted about the incident on social media alongside a warning about food poisoning Read More Shaquille O'Neal suggests huge WNBA rule change that will send ratings 'through the roof' Jamba Juice has over 850 locations nationwide and it is unclear which one Plum visited. It is also unclear which exact smoothie Plum ordered, as a few menu items contain strawberries. Plum has plenty of time to recover from his sickness before the new Unrivaled basketball league starts up. The former Washington Huskie will suit up for Laces BC as part of the inaugural 3-on-3 season. The WNBA season does not begin for several months as well, giving Plum plenty of time to get this sickness out of her system. WNBA Instagram Share or comment on this article: WNBA star Kelsey Plum slams restaurant chain for making her sick e-mail Add comment

Europeans tell UN ready to 'snap back' Iran sanctions if neededI am obviously gutted for the boys because they put in a hell of a shift, a big improvement from Saturday and we have just played the best team, or one of the best teams in the league. They have quality everywhere, they are strong, they don't give up, they kept going and going and going. I don't think we got the rub of the green tonight, from the ref. I am not blaming him and I will be careful what I say, but we were told there was 45 seconds added on. I don't know why because there is only 30 seconds added on for a substitution. They score on 93min and 54 seconds, they'll come out with the excuse now of it being a minimum of three minutes, but it was way over. It was three minutes added. It's really frustrating because they are a team that don't need any extra help, so I am a bit disappointed it's like that. If we'd been the ones to score late and got the draw, it would have felt like a win, so I am a little bit frustrated and annoyed, but I am proud of my players tonight because they have just gone against a team with a budget three times ours, a big club going for promotion, slinging everything at it and they are littered with good players, so I am more than proud of my boys tonight. I thought Joe (Day) was brilliant, comfortable, mopping up everything he had to do. A lot of it was straight at him and it is a hell of a strike, but Ronan (Curtis) was playing for Portsmouth and he is a very, very good player. As much as I have mentioned the referee, we have to look at ourselves as well. We have missed a header, misjudged, then we have allowed him to cut in on his right foot, then we have left somebody who has a lot of quality, with a bit too much space on the edge of the box. Things we can learn from are that we took a goal kick on 93 minutes and 36 seconds I think it was, can we just boot it over the stand? Little things like that because that is 12 points now we've thrown away and that would make us second, or third on goal difference. You can see where my frustration is. Of course, but we have won our fair share with late goals as well. I have to give Port Vale some credit as well because they didn't stop. Even though they didn't hit the target much, they kept knocking on the door. We have to be more savvy and switched on, to stop that happening, giving them an opportunity to get a shot off in those kind of timings of the game. I always look at myself and the team first and they did get a helping hand tonight. No because I don't think they are all going at the end of games. It's nothing to do with fitness, you can see them all running non-stop, the boys are giving their all, we have won a few late on too. We are making changes, bringing on experience with Tom Pett and Matty Taylor, but Levi Laing has been out for a while, so it is what it is. We can't bring the likes of Ronan Curtis on, we can't afford those luxuries, which makes me even prouder of the players we have got because they are really giving everything and doing what they can. It was chalk and cheese. It winds me up a bit because I know the importance of the finances for the football club and we didn't turn up on Saturday, we know that. We lost the game and as fate would have it, they go and draw Man City away. I did text Karl Robinson last night and said I hope it's 16-0! We spoke after the game and I wished him luck of course because he's one of the good lads. I can have that kind of message with him. But the draw for the lower league games and I've been on the other end of it when we've had a good draw and it's made the club a lot of money, so to see teams like Bromley going to Newcastle, Morecambe going to Chelsea, Accrington going to Liverpool, it's been a good draw in terms of the League Two clubs. I am not one of these who is bitter and I am glad that they have something we didn't end up achieving. Yes and I have said it on Saturday, when we do come off it and we are not at our best, we tend to get beaten. We could have played better tonight, to be honest, but our energy was there, determination, we won a lot of duels. I saw a quote about having all the tactics and technique and go through everything as a manager, but if you don't win your individual duels, your first and second balls, that all goes out of the window. That's at the top of the game and it is no different at our level. I don't care where they are from, or if it hits him on the back of the head and went in because usually we could see that out when it gets so late. It's just a miskick from them, that goes over the top and I don't think he actually meant to do that. It was frustrating and it's gone against us, but they are a very strong team and would we have taken a point before? Possibly. I don't mean this to be disrespectful, but they are bringing in Ben Heneghan, who has played at Sheffield Wednesday and in the Championship and we are getting Ibra, who was on trial looking for a club. That's where we're at, two different ends of the spectrum. I have a lot of respect for the efforts the players are giving me. They are giving their all, they are a good group and I have to keep on top of them because they are learning the game. Stubbs was brilliant, Youngy (Luke Young), Liam Kinsella, Tom Bradbury had a good game I thought, Joe Day was quality and a calming influence, but you get that with experience because they know how to see out these games. The younger ones like Ethan (Archer) and Jordan (Thomas), in flashes they were dangerous and good, but they have a bit of a lapse, even Joel (Colwill) I thought was in and out of the game tonight. But they have definitely got bright futures and they are learning their trade so to speak to with us and I am sure they will go on and have very good careers, as long as they keep learning. I thought they were going to go 3-4-3 to be honest. They were more a 3-5-2, their rotations are good and their touch is good, so when the ball is going up to the strikers, they are linking it, which allows their wing-backs to push higher. They are a good team. I said to the players and I hope Darren doesn't take this the wrong way, but I don't think they are great at anything, but they are good at everything - that's Port Vale I would say. They are a well-oiled machine and whoever finishes above them will go up automatically. No, because it was one of those games. They have some injuries, but they are almost spoiled for choice. We have to carry on, dust ourselves down and I can't emphasise how proud I was of the players tonight. I do feel hard done by with the goal that has gone in, way over the added time. It is weeks more than months and there is no major structural damage to the ligaments. We will now have to see how quickly the swelling goes down and the bone bruising is pain free. I am glad we had a bit of good news on that because not only would he be a big miss, it would have killed us in January because when we are having to wheel and deal, another injury out that we can't replace because of the finances would really hurt us. I am trying my hardest and the players are trying their hardest not to get injured!

Mace, activist dispute handshake that resulted in arrest

Bieber re-signs with GuardiansBoston Wood had a secret for Central Valley coach Chip Bartos after his postgame interview. Only there was no secret and it was a ploy to get Bartos off the playing surface and over to the bench. That’s where Wood and other players had readied a Gatorade jug to dump on Bartos. It worked and the celebration of winning the Class D-2 state championship against Riverside 52-12 continued. Bartos was soaked from the neck down as Wood, who stands at 5-feet-6-inches tall, couldn’t get the jug over Bartos’s head. The celebrations started as the game neared the end with Central Valley in the lead 52-12 in the fourth quarter. About midway through the fourth quarter the starters were pulled and the seniors gathered together on the sideline for a photo together. They’d dreamed of this moment, of playing on the biggest stage, and on Monday they put the cherry on top of a season they won’t ever forget. “Eighth grade year – that was when the high school got to the semifinals and we knew that we wanted it. That was a dream come true to play here,” senior Grady Kelly said. The season ended how Kelly wanted, but the regular season didn’t go how he envisioned it. After running for 2,006 yards his junior season, Kelly played just three regular season games. He came back in time for the playoffs. “It really sucked being on the sideline for those couple of games, but I kept cheering my boys on and they stepped up, especially Luke Shoemaker stepped up for me and I was able to come back and very excited about that,” Kelly said. Zaden Wolf stepped up big as the quarterback in his senior season after being the backup last season. He finished the year with 1,480 passing yards, 20 passing touchdowns and just two interceptions. On the ground, he was even better with 1,574 rushing yards and 35 rushing touchdowns. Wolf, who was honored as one of Believers and Achievers Award winners in the Class A game later in the day, had statement plays in his final game as a Cougar with touchdown runs of 60, 41 and nine yards. “Just amazing with the read-option offense. How he’s able to read the defensive end and read the linebacker in that case and then just make a miss with his speed around the edge,” Bartos said. “That’s pretty special to have power and speed with Luke and Grady and then just have his breakout speed and he can pull away from people when he is keeping the ball around the edge.” Wood had his moment too with a 68-yard return on an interception to put six points on the board. Taesion Soto, another senior and defensive stalwart, helped lead the defense that was too much for Riverside. He had seven solo tackles, two sacks, 2.5 tackles for loss and three pass breakups. All the seniors had a hand in the win. Taylor Jensen finished with eight total tackles, with three being of the solo variety. There was a student in the makeshift student section with a sign that read “you can’t catch #6 he’s the gingerbread man” in reference to Jensen. A Central Valley fan holds up a sign during the Class D-2 state championship game Monday in Lincoln. The Cougar fans did plenty of cheering during their team’s 52-12 win over Riverside. Jairo Lazos finished with five tackles. Cordell Wagner was a key part of the offensive line. Cooper Perrot and Eli Pedersen each had a tackle and Canon Holley helped defend in the secondary. They balled out on the biggest stage, in the biggest game and in their last game as Central Valley Cougars, just like they drew it up. “It’s incredible. We talked about, if the year was going to be, it would be senior year. And that happened,” Wolf said. Ben Schultz Ben Schultz is a sports writer for the Independent. Sent weekly directly to your inbox! Sports Reporter {{description}} Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items.

SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) — San Francisco quarterback Brock Purdy took part in some light throwing on Monday after missing his first career game because of an injury and the 49ers are hoping he can return this week. Purdy hurt his throwing shoulder during a loss to Seattle on Nov. 17. Purdy underwent two MRIs last week that showed no structural damage. But Purdy he felt discomfort after making a few throws at practice on Thursday and was shut down for the game at Green Bay on Sunday that San Francisco lost 38-10 . Coach Kyle Shanahan said Monday that Purdy made it through the session without pain and will rest on Tuesday and hopefully be able to return to practice on Wednesday as the Niners prepare to play at Buffalo this coming week. “We rested it throughout the weekend hoping that would help,” Shanahan said. “He threw lighter today to see if that rest helps and the rest did help him. So we’ll see again, going through the same things we did last week. We’re going to let him rest all the way up to Wednesday. We’ll see how it feels on Wednesday and then we’ll take the exact same course throughout the week. Hopefully it responds better this week than it did last week with the rest.” Brandon Allen went 17 for 29 for 199 yards with a touchdown, an interception and a lost fumble in his first start since the 2021 season. Allen would play once again if Purdy is unable to go on Sunday at Buffalo. Purdy wasn't the only star player missing for the 49ers on Sunday with defensive end Nick Bosa missing the game with injuries to his left hip and oblique and left tackle Trent Williams out with an ankle injury. “Just waiting to see how they respond,” Shanahan said. “They didn’t respond great last week. That’s why they weren’t able to go. Nick and Trent are both in the same boat. ... We’ll evaluate as this week progresses and hopefully it turns a better corner than it did last week.” In other injury news, linebacker Dre Greenlaw will return to practice this week for the first time since tearing his Achilles tendon in the Super Bowl last season. Greenlaw will likely need at least a couple of weeks of practice before being able to return to play. Offensive lineman Jon Feliciano will be shut down for the rest of the season after his knee injury didn't fully heal. Feliciano's three-week practice window ended Monday and the Niners decided to keep him on injured reserve instead of activating him. Left guard Aaron Banks, defensive tackle Jordan Elliott and receiver Jacob Cowing all remain in concussion protocol to start this week and their status is unknown. Right guard Dominick Puni (shoulder) and cornerback Deommodore Lenoir (knee) underwent MRIs on Monday and the team is waiting for results. Cornerback Renardo Green (neck) and linebacker Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles (knee) are day to day. Defensive tackle Kevin Givens is expected to return to practice this week after missing the past four games with a groin injury. AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl

The new, 12-team College Football Playoff brings with it a promise to be bigger, more exciting, more lucrative. Perfect or 100% fair? Well, nobody ever believed that. The first expanded playoff bracket unveiled Sunday left a presumably deserving Alabama team on the sideline in favor of an SMU squad that finished with a better record after playing a schedule that was not as difficult. It ranked undefeated Oregon first but set up a possible rematch against Ohio State, the team that came closest to beating the Ducks this year. It treated underdog Boise State like a favorite and banged-up Georgia like a world beater at No. 2. It gave Ohio State home-field advantage against Tennessee for reasons it would take a supercomputer to figure out. It gave the sport the multiweek tournament it has longed for, but also ensured there will be plenty to grouse about between now and when the trophy is handed out on Jan. 20 after what will easily be the longest college football season in history. All of it, thankfully, will be sorted out on the field starting with first-round games on campuses Dec. 20 and 21, then over three succeeding rounds that will wind their way through traditional bowl sites. Maybe Oregon coach Dan Lanning, whose undefeated Ducks are the favorite to win it all, put it best when he offered: "Winning a national championship is not supposed to be easy.” Neither, it turns out, is figuring out who should play for it. The Big Ten will lead the way with four teams in the tournament, followed by the SEC with three and the ACC with two. The lasting memory from the inaugural bracket will involve the decision that handed the ACC that second bid. Alabama of the SEC didn't play Saturday. SMU of the ACC did. The Mustangs fell behind by three touchdowns to Clemson before coming back to tie. But they ultimately lost 34-31 on a 56-yard field goal as time expired. “We were on pins and needles,” SMU coach Rhett Lashley said. “Until we saw the name ‘SMU’ up there, we were hanging on the edge. We're really, really happy and thankful to the committee for rewarding our guys for their total body of work." The Mustangs only had two losses, compared to three for the Crimson Tide. Even though SMU's schedule wasn't nearly as tough, the committee was impressed by the way the Mustangs came back against Clemson. “We just felt, in this particular case, SMU had the nod above Alabama,” said Michigan athletic director Warde Manuel, the chairman of the selection committee. “But it’s no disrespect to Alabama’s strength of schedule. We looked at the entire body of work for both teams.” Alabama athletic director Greg Byrne was gracious, up to a point. “Disappointed with the outcome and felt we were one of the 12 best teams in the country,” he said on social media. He acknowledged — despite all of Alabama’s losses coming against conference opponents this season — that the Tide’s push to schedule more games against teams from other major conferences in order to improve its strength of schedule did not pay off this time. “That is not good for college football," Byrne said. Georgia, the SEC champion, was seeded second; Boise State, the Mountain West champion, earned the third seed; and Big 12 titlist Arizona State got the fourth seed and the fourth and final first-round bye. All will play in quarterfinals at bowl games on Dec. 31-Jan. 1. Clemson stole a bid and the 12th seed with its crazy win over SMU, the result that ultimately cost Alabama a spot in the field. The Tigers moved to No. 16 in the rankings, but got in as the fifth-best conference winner. The conference commissioners' idea to give conference champions preferable treatment in this first iteration of the 12-team playoff could be up for reconsideration after this season. The committee actually ranked Boise State, the Mountain West Champion, at No. 9 and Big 12 champion Arizona State at No. 12, but both get to skip the first round. Another CFP guideline: There’s no reseeding of teams after each round, which means no break for Oregon. The top-seeded Ducks will face the winner of Tennessee-Ohio State in the Rose Bowl. Oregon beat Ohio State 32-31 earlier this year in one of the season’s best games. No. 12 Clemson at No. 5 Texas, Dec. 21. Clemson is riding high after the SMU upset, while Texas is 0-2 against Georgia and 11-0 vs. everyone else this season. The winner faces ... Arizona State in the Peach Bowl. Huh? No. 11 SMU at No. 6 Penn State, Dec. 21. The biggest knock against the Mustangs was that they didn't play any big boys with that 60th-ranked strength of schedule. Well, now they get to. The winner faces ... Boise State in the Fiesta Bowl. Yes, SMU vs. Boise was the quarterfinal we all expected. No. 10 Indiana at No. 7 Notre Dame, Dec. 20. Hoosiers coach Curt Cignetti thought his team deserved a home game. Well, not quite but close. The winner faces ... Georgia in the Sugar Bowl. The Bulldogs got the No. 2 seed despite a throwing-arm injury to QB Carson Beck. But what else was the committee supposed to do? No. 9 Tennessee at No. 8 Ohio State , Dec. 21. The Buckeyes (losses to Oregon, Michigan) got home field over the Volunteers (losses to Arkansas, Georgia) in a matchup of programs with two of the biggest stadiums in football. The winner faces ... Oregon in the Rose Bowl. Feels like that matchup should come in the semifinals or later. Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here . AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-football-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-football

Justice Department announces sweeping reforms to curb suicides in federal prisons and jailsSANTA CLARA, Calif. — At this point the past two seasons, the San Francisco 49ers were fighting for playoff positioning rather than their playoff lives. After snapping a three-game losing streak with a lopsided win last week against Chicago, the Niners head into a Thursday night division showdown against the Los Angeles Rams hoping to play with the same kind of desperation in a game they almost certainly need to win to get to the postseason. "I think just across the board as a team, everybody had just a bit more of sense of urgency and I think we executed and played together as a team, and we didn't let off," quarterback Brock Purdy said. "Really liked that. But, that was last week so now it's on to this week and how can we do that again?" After getting outscored by 53 points in losses at Green Bay and Buffalo, the 49ers (6-7) played their most complete game of the season to keep their playoff hopes alive. While some credited a feeling of desperation or speeches from players such as Purdy and Deommodore Lenoir for the turnaround, linebacker Fred Warner said it was more about execution than anything else. "We didn't go out there in Green Bay, we didn't go out there in Buffalo saying, 'Let's just hope that we win.' Trust me, I felt desperate as hell going into both those games," he said. "It just didn't work out. ... It didn't happen because last week we decided we wanted to. This was weeks in the making." Whatever the reason, the results were obvious to anyone watching, including the Rams (7-6), who had their own signature performance to boost their playoff chances. Los Angeles held off Buffalo 44-42 to remain one game behind Seattle in the NFC West race and a game ahead of the 49ers and Arizona in the tightly packed division. Coach Sean McVay knows his team will need a similar performance to beat San Francisco and earn a season sweep. "I saw they certainly had a very dominant performance," he said. "If there's anything that you do know, it's a week-to-week league. Humility is only a week away. They have excellent coaches, excellent personnel and really good schemes. No matter what's really happened in terms of the trajectory of the injuries, they're going to be ready to go." Puka power Puka Nacua is in dominant form with 33 catches for 458 yards and three TDs in the Rams' past four games, highlighted by a 162-yard performance last week against Buffalo in which he also scored his first rushing TD. Nacua was injured for these clubs' first meeting this season — but last year, he broke the NFL's single-game rookie receptions record with 15 in his first game against San Francisco, and he set the NFL rookie season records for catches and yards receiving during his visit to Santa Clara last January. "He's a tough football player," 49ers defensive coordinator Nick Sorensen said. "Some guys are just competitive. He's got size, he doesn't go down easy. Some things you can't measure and he's just got it." Deebo's struggles The least productive four-game stretch of Deebo Samuel's career sent the frustrated wide receiver for the San Francisco 49ers to social media. In a now-deleted post on X, formerly known as Twitter, Samuel said the reason he gained only 97 yards from scrimmage the past four games was not that he was struggling but that he wasn't getting the ball. His teammates and coaches believe he will get back to his All-Pro form soon. "I want to get Deebo the ball every play if I could," Purdy said. "I want to have him break all the records as best as possible. I want Deebo to do Deebo things." Defense declining The Rams defense got shredded twice in the past three weeks by Saquon Barkley's Eagles and Josh Allen's Bills, dropping the unit to 27th in total defense. LA's vaunted young pass rush led by rookie Jared Verse has no sacks in its past two games and just three in the past four games. Considering Purdy drove the Niners to 425 yards in the teams' first meeting this season without Christian McCaffrey, George Kittle or Samuel, the Rams' offense might need yet another prolific game to overcome its defense's weaknesses. Under pressure With Nick Bosa sidelined the past three games, the 49ers have had to generate pass rushes from different sources. They had a season-high seven sacks last week with Yetur Gross-Matos getting three and Leonard Floyd two. The 32-year-old Floyd has 5 1/2 sacks in his past four games. "Leonard's just an Energizer bunny," Shanahan said. "It's crazy with him being one of the older guys and stuff and how many different teams he's been to, but I've played against him enough and felt that." Bosa has a chance to return this week and is listed as questionable.

The new, 12-team College Football Playoff brings with it a promise to be bigger, more exciting, more lucrative. Perfect or 100% fair? Well, nobody ever believed that. The first expanded playoff bracket unveiled Sunday left a presumably deserving Alabama team on the sideline in favor of an SMU squad that finished with a better record after playing a schedule that was not as difficult. It ranked undefeated Oregon first but set up a possible rematch against Ohio State, the team that came closest to beating the Ducks this year. It treated underdog Boise State like a favorite and banged-up Georgia like a world beater at No. 2. It gave Ohio State home-field advantage against Tennessee for reasons it would take a supercomputer to figure out. It gave the sport the multiweek tournament it has longed for, but also ensured there will be plenty to grouse about between now and when the trophy is handed out on Jan. 20 after what will easily be the longest college football season in history. All of it, thankfully, will be sorted out on the field starting with first-round games on campuses Dec. 20 and 21, then over three succeeding rounds that will wind their way through traditional bowl sites. Maybe Oregon coach Dan Lanning, whose undefeated Ducks are the favorite to win it all, put it best when he offered: "Winning a national championship is not supposed to be easy.” Neither, it turns out, is figuring out who should play for it. Alabama comes up short in the bracket’s biggest debate The Big Ten will lead the way with four teams in the tournament, followed by the SEC with three and the ACC with two. The lasting memory from the inaugural bracket will involve the decision that handed the ACC that second bid. Alabama of the SEC didn't play Saturday. SMU of the ACC did. The Mustangs fell behind by three touchdowns to Clemson before coming back to tie. But they ultimately lost 34-31 on a 56-yard field goal as time expired. “We were on pins and needles,” SMU coach Rhett Lashley said. “Until we saw the name ‘SMU’ up there, we were hanging on the edge. We're really, really happy and thankful to the committee for rewarding our guys for their total body of work." The Mustangs only had two losses, compared to three for the Crimson Tide. Even though SMU's schedule wasn't nearly as tough, the committee was impressed by the way the Mustangs came back against Clemson. “We just felt, in this particular case, SMU had the nod above Alabama,” said Michigan athletic director Warde Manuel, the chairman of the selection committee. “But it’s no disrespect to Alabama’s strength of schedule. We looked at the entire body of work for both teams.” Crimson Tide AD gracious, but looking for answers Alabama athletic director Greg Byrne was gracious, up to a point. “Disappointed with the outcome and felt we were one of the 12 best teams in the country,” he said on social media. He acknowledged — despite all of Alabama’s losses coming against conference opponents this season — that the Tide’s push to schedule more games against teams from other major conferences in order to improve its strength of schedule did not pay off this time. “That is not good for college football," Byrne said. Georgia, Boise State and Arizona State join Oregon with first-round byes Georgia, the SEC champion, was seeded second; Boise State, the Mountain West champion, earned the third seed; and Big 12 titlist Arizona State got the fourth seed and the fourth and final first-round bye. All will play in quarterfinals at bowl games on Dec. 31-Jan. 1. Clemson stole a bid and the 12th seed with its crazy win over SMU, the result that ultimately cost Alabama a spot in the field. The Tigers moved to No. 16 in the rankings, but got in as the fifth-best conference winner. Automatic byes and bids made the bracket strange The conference commissioners' idea to give conference champions preferable treatment in this first iteration of the 12-team playoff could be up for reconsideration after this season. The committee actually ranked Boise State, the Mountain West Champion, at No. 9 and Big 12 champion Arizona State at No. 12, but both get to skip the first round. Another CFP guideline: There’s no reseeding of teams after each round, which means no break for Oregon. The top-seeded Ducks will face the winner of Tennessee-Ohio State in the Rose Bowl. Oregon beat Ohio State 32-31 earlier this year in one of the season’s best games. What the matchups look like No. 12 Clemson at No. 5 Texas, Dec. 21. Clemson is riding high after the SMU upset, while Texas is 0-2 against Georgia and 11-0 vs. everyone else this season. The winner faces ... Arizona State in the Peach Bowl. Huh? No. 11 SMU at No. 6 Penn State, Dec. 21. The biggest knock against the Mustangs was that they didn't play any big boys with that 60th-ranked strength of schedule. Well, now they get to. The winner faces ... Boise State in the Fiesta Bowl. Yes, SMU vs. Boise was the quarterfinal we all expected. No. 10 Indiana at No. 7 Notre Dame, Dec. 20. Hoosiers coach Curt Cignetti thought his team deserved a home game. Well, not quite but close. The winner faces ... Georgia in the Sugar Bowl. The Bulldogs got the No. 2 seed despite a throwing-arm injury to QB Carson Beck. But what else was the committee supposed to do? No. 9 Tennessee at No. 8 Ohio State , Dec. 21. The Buckeyes (losses to Oregon, Michigan) got home field over the Volunteers (losses to Arkansas, Georgia) in a matchup of programs with two of the biggest stadiums in football. The winner faces ... Oregon in the Rose Bowl. Feels like that matchup should come in the semifinals or later. Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here . AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-football-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-footballTECVAYLI® (teclistamab-cqyv) demonstrates potential as frontline combination therapy for patients with newly diagnosed multiple myeloma

Bieber re-signs with Guardians

Every top head coach is only as good as the sporting director charged with building the squad from which they select their team. So 's decision to , just five months after hiring him from Newcastle United in the first place, highlights how much of a hurry the club are in to become competitive under new boss Ruben Amorim. One source has told ESPN that Sir Jim Ratcliffe, United's minority owner and principle decision-maker, had quickly become unimpressed by Ashworth, believing he lacked the personality and skillset to do the job. So, rather than allow an unsatisfactory situation to deteriorate, a decision was made to act now in a dramatic damage-limitation exercise. Sources said that relations between Ashworth and Ratcliffe had been "rocky" for weeks, but that the swiftness of the decision to part company on Sunday morning has surprised many at the club. Ashworth had been in charge of United's summer recruitment strategy, when £182 million was spent on five players. Yet less than six months on, arguably only £12.8m-defender has shown himself to be value for money. The rest have been distinctly underwhelming. And although Ashworth was involved in the decision to fire manager Erik ten Hag in October, the identification and recruitment of highly-rated 39-year-old coach Amorim from Portuguese champions was overseen and executed by CEO Omar Berrada. Since assuming full control of football operations at Old Trafford in February following the acquisition of a 25% stake as minority owners, Ratcliffe's INEOS group have torn up the existing structure at the club. Senior executives from the previous regime have gone, including football director John Murtough, and subsequently Ten Hag, following a dismal start to the season. Ashworth, previously technical director at the English Football Association and sporting director at both Brighton and Newcastle, was supposed to be part of the new era as INEOS moved quickly to hire experts with successful track records to fill the vacuum of knowledge at United that had developed and grown since Sir Alex Ferguson's retirement as manager in 2013. Ashworth was recruited from Newcastle after a lengthy compensation battle with the St James' Park club -- United ultimately paid £3m for him to start work on July 1 -- and Berrada (CEO hired from ), Jason Wilcox (technical director recruited from ) and Christopher Vivell (interim director of recruitment, formerly at and ) were also hired to form part of the senior leadership team under INEOS. Sources have told ESPN that INEOS spoke to , the former sporting director credited with building the squad with which Jurgen Klopp turned the team into and Champions League winners, in the months prior to their United investment in the hope of persuading him to return to football at Old Trafford. The 45-year-old had been out of work since leaving Liverpool in the summer of 2022 and had rejected a number of offers to work again in football, but despite holding talks with INEOS, Edwards rejected the opportunity. Shortly after those talks with INEOS, Edwards returned to Liverpool in March this year in a role as CEO of football operations for the club's owners, Fenway Sports Group. Edwards was immediately tasked with finding a successor for Klopp, who had announced his decision to stand down as manager at the end of the season, and Liverpool ultimately appointed Feyenoord coach Arne Slot, who has guided to the team to top spot in the Premier League and Champions League tables, losing just once all season. Ashworth had less immediate success at United. His start date came after INEOS had decided to retain Ten Hag as manager, despite speaking to several potential successors in the run-up to the FA Cup final win over Manchester City in May, but he was nonetheless charged with overhauling Ten Hag's failing squad. Sources have told ESPN that aside from , the international centre-back signed from in a combined £50.5m deal with Mazraoui, every summer signing was driven by the recruitment department headed up by Ashworth. Ten Hag wanted De Ligt and, despite believing the squad was already well stocked with centre-backs, Ashworth sanctioned the move in order to show faith in the manager following his retention in the role weeks earlier. Sources added that the decision to sign forward , a £36m signing from , was driven by Ashworth's team based on data analytics, and the Netherlands forward has so far looked out of his depth in the United team, scoring just three goals in 21 appearances. Defensive midfielder (£42.2m from PSG) has had a disrupted start at United and yet to secure a regular place in the team, while centre-back (£52m from ) only made his debut in last Wednesday's 2-0 defeat at after suffering a foot injury during preseason. So the jury is still out on Ashworth's one, and only, summer window, but United have little time to waste. The club's finances are stretched to the limit due to losses of £113.2m in their most recent accounts and continued struggles on the pitch will only deepen the problem if they fail return to the riches of the Champions League. Astute recruitment has always been a key factor in success, but with so many teams now mastering the art of data analytics, United are playing catchup. Ratcliffe was damning of United's recruitment in an interview with the fanzine United We Stand this weekend, saying the club were a long way behind in data analysis. "It doesn't really exist here," he said. "We're still in the last century on data analysis here. There's immense amount of useful data that we can get from data analysis and we're in the 'very poor' bracket with data analysis here." None of that can be blamed on Ashworth, who only started work in July, but the signings made on his watch were not good enough to buy him more time. Edwards has shown at Liverpool how the right person with the crucial expertise can make an instant impact and the challenge for Hugo Viana, who will replace the hugely successful Txiki Begiristain as Manchester City sporting director next summer, is to be more like Edwards than Ashworth. Viana made his name at Sporting CP, alongside Amorim, and one of his most impressive deals was the £17m signing of , a relatively unknown forward playing for Coventry City in the EFL Championship, in 2023. After scoring 68 goals in 72 games, Gyökeresis now one of the hottest prospects in Europe and being linked with an £80m move next summer, with United and Amorim high on the Sweden forward's list of admirers. Ashworth knows all about Gyökeres, having sanctioned his £1m transfer from Brighton to Coventry in 2021. That's the price on the ticket for all sporting directors. Managers and coaches are judged on results, but sporting directors are only as good as the decisions they make on players and Ashworth has already paid the price for his.GREEN BAY, Wis. (AP) — While other teams around the NFL are seeing their injury lists grow as the season winds down, the Green Bay Packers appear to be getting healthy at just the right time. Not only is quarterback Jordan Love looking like himself after dealing with early-season left knee and groin injuries, but the rest of the roster is getting better, too. “I think every team that can realize their potential needs to be as healthy as they can be. And injuries are a part of this business,” coach Matt LaFleur said. “It is what it is in terms of the next man up, but obviously, you want the guys that are your starters to be available — especially as you get closer to the end of the year.” Love certainly has been rolling of late, completing 67.1% of his passes for 904 yards with six touchdowns and one interception (118.8 passer rating) over the past four games, owing some of his hot streak to simply being healthy again. “The name of the game is trying to stay as healthy as possible, especially late into the season,” Love said. “There’s definitely injuries that stack up and guys being out. To have everybody relatively healthy and to be able to have our top guys out there would be huge for us." The Packers (9-4) head into their Sunday night matchup with the Seahawks (8-5) in Seattle with only one player having been unable to take part in Wednesday’s practice at all: safety Javon Bullard. LaFleur said Bullard is week-to-week with an ankle injury he suffered in the team’s Dec. 5 loss at Detroit . The Packers got full participation from Jaire Alexander, who has missed four of the team’s last five games with a knee injury suffered at Jacksonville on Oct. 27, and wide receiver Romeo Doubs, who has missed the last two games with a concussion he suffered against San Francisco on Nov. 24. Although Alexander had practiced on a limited basis in recent weeks, he has missed the last three games and pulled himself out of the team’s Nov. 17 win at Chicago because of his knee. Getting Alexander back to face Seahawks receivers DK Metcalf, Tyler Lockett and Jaxon Smith-Njigba would give a major lift to the Packers’ pass defense, currently ranked 21st with 222.2 yards per game allowed. “When I was watching him, he looked like he was moving around well, and we’ll just see how it transpires throughout the course of the week,” LaFleur said. “Hopefully, he’ll be ready to roll.” LaFleur said Doubs and rookie safety Evan Williams, who left the Packers’ 34-31 loss to the Lions because of a concussion, are still in the concussion protocol. But Williams was able to practice on a limited basis. Meanwhile, tight end Luke Musgrave, who hasn’t played a snap since injuring his left ankle during a a Sept. 29 loss to the Minnesota Vikings, has been designated for return from injured reserve. Musgrave took part in practice for the first time since undergoing surgery in early October to repair a torn ligament in the ankle. He said he only did individual drill work Wednesday, making it unlikely he would be activated this week. “Just going to ease back into it, but I feel good,” Musgrave said. “Still getting the cutting back, but overall, it feels good.” AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl

ZURICH (AP) — Saudi Arabia scored a major win in its campaign to attract major sports events to the kingdom when it was formally appointed as the 2034 World Cup host on Wednesday. Still, many questions remain about the tournament as well as the 2030 World Cup, which will be co-hosted by Spain, Portugal and Morocco, with three games in South America. Here are some of the key issues that need to be answered over the next decade: Saudi Arabia proposes 15 stadiums — eight still on paper — in five cities: Eight in the capital Riyadh, four in the Red Sea port city Jeddah, and one each in Abha, Al Khobar and Neom, the planned futuristic mega-project. Each would have at least 40,000 seats for World Cup games. The opening game and final are set for a 92,000-seat venue planned in Riyadh. Some designs are vivid . In Neom, the stadium is planned 350 meters (yards) above street level and one near Riyadh is designed to be atop a 200-meter cliff with a retractable wall of LED screens. Saudi Arabia aims to host all 104 games, though there has been speculation that some games could be played in neighboring or nearby countries. Surely not in the traditional World Cup period of June-July, when temperatures in Saudi Arabia routinely exceed 40 Celsius (104 degrees). FIFA moved the Qatar-hosted World Cup to November-December 2022, though those dates were not loved by most European clubs and leagues whose seasons were interrupted. Also, that slot is complicated in 2034 by the holy month of Ramadan through mid-December and Riyadh hosting the multi-sport Asian Games. January 2034 could be a possibility even though that would be just before the Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City. The International Olympic Committee has signaled it won’t be opposed to back-to-back major events. In an interview with The Associated Press on Wednesday, Saudi World Cup bid official Hammad Albalawi said the precise dates of the tournament are up the world soccer body. “That’s a decision by FIFA. We stand ready to be part of this conversation. But ultimately it’s a FIFA decision together with the confederations,” Albalawi said. Giving more rights and freedoms to women in a traditionally conservative society is fundamental to Saudi messaging around the modernization program known as Vision 2030. The kingdom decided in 2017 to let women attend sports events, initially in major cities and in family zones separate from men-only sections. By 2034, at the promised pace of social reforms, female fans should not be restricted. Saudi Arabia launched a women’s professional soccer league in 2022 with players joining from clubs in Europe. They face no restrictions playing in shorts and with hair uncovered. The Saudi prohibition of alcohol is clear and understood before FIFA signs any sponsor deals for 2034. But will there be any exceptions? The alcohol issue was problematic for the World Cup in Qatar because the expectation was created that beer sales would be allowed at stadiums even before Qatar won its bid in 2010. One year later, FIFA extended a long-time deal to have Budweiser as the official World Cup beer through 2022. Qatar then backtracked on that promise three days before the first game, causing confusion and the sense of a promise broken. In Qatar, alcohol was served only at luxury suites at the stadiums. Visitors could also have a drink in some hotel bars. But Saudi Arabia has even stricter rules on alcohol — and there is no indication that will change. Albalawi noted that Saudi Arabia has successfully hosted dozens of sports events where alcohol wasn't served. “We’re creating a safe and secure family environment for fans to bring their families into our stadiums,” he said. Saudi promises to reform and enforce labor laws, and fully respect migrant workers, have been accepted by FIFA but face broad skepticism from rights groups and trade unions. A formal complaint is being investigated by the U.N.-backed International Labor Organization. Protecting the migrant workers needed to build stadiums and other tournament projects — a decade after it was a defining issue for Qatar — looms as a signature challenge for Saudi Arabia. Saudi-Israeli relations had been improving when FIFA all but gave the 2034 World Cup to the kingdom on Oct. 4 last year. Three days later Hamas attacked Israel and diplomacy got more complicated. Any soccer federation bidding to host a FIFA tournament accepts a basic principle that whichever team qualifies is welcome. That did not stop Indonesia putting up barriers last year to Israel coming for the men’s Under-20 World Cup. Indonesia does not have formal diplomatic relations with Israel which had qualified through a European tournament nine months before the issue flared. FIFA moved the entire tournament to Argentina and the Israeli team reached the semifinals. Israel played at the 1970 World Cup but has never advanced through qualifying in Europe, where it has been a member of UEFA for 30 years. Europe should have 16 places in the 48-team World Cup in Saudi Arabia. Most of the attention at the FIFA Congress on Wednesday was on the Saudi decision, but the soccer body and its members also formally approved the hosts of the 2030 World Cup — the most spread out and longest ever. One game each in Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay, the original host in 1930, will be played from June 8-9. The tournament resumes four days later for the other 101 games shared between Spain, Portugal and Morocco. Six countries, three continents, multiple languages and currencies. Fans traveling on planes, trains, automobiles and boats across about 14 kilometers (10 miles) of water between Spain and Morocco. The final is due on July 21, 2030 and a decision on where it will be played could cause some tension between the host countries. Morocco wants it in the world’s biggest soccer venue — the planned 115,000-seat King Hassan II Stadium in Casablanca. Spain, meanwhile, has proposed to host the final in either of the remodeled home stadiums of club giants Real Madrid or Barcelona. Associated Press writer Baraa Anwer in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, contributed to this report.While promoter Peak XV dumped 53.5 Lakh shares of Awfis at INR 709.9 apiece, Bisque offloaded 31.81 Lakh shares at the same price The shares that flooded the market were lapped up by Invesco, Goldman Sachs India, Citigroup, Morgan Stanley, Societe Generale, Whiteoak Capital, among others Shares of Awfis ended 8.61% higher at INR 778.65 on the BSE on December 11 VC giant Peak XV Partners offloaded Awfis shares worth INR 379.8 Cr via multiple bulk deals. As per NSE data, Mauritius-based investment firm Bisque Limited also sold shares worth INR 225.84 Cr of the listed coworking space provider. Together, the two investment firms sold Awfis shares worth INR 605.65 Cr on Wednesday (December 11). While promoter Peak XV dumped 53.5 Lakh shares at INR 709.9 apiece, Bisque offloaded 31.81 Lakh shares at the same price. The shares that flooded the market were lapped up by Invesco, Goldman Sachs India, Citigroup, Morgan Stanley Asia Singapore, Societe Generale, Whiteoak Capital, among others. This came a day after reports surfaced that Peak XV, Bisque Limited, and Delhi-based Link Investment Trust were planning to offload 85.8 Lakh Awfis shares worth INR 583 Cr . It is pertinent to note that Peak XV held a 10.92% stake in the coworking space provider at the end of September 2024, while Bisque owned a 14.38% stake. The bulk deals come as investors look to book profits on their early investment in the company. Awfis shares are up over 80% since its listing at INR 432.25 apiece in May. The surge in the stock price came largely on the back of brokerages expressing bullishness on the company, with five analysts tracking the company maintaining a ‘BUY’ rating on the stock. Awfis’ rapidly expanding footprint and deals to sign up new office spaces gave further momentum. Founded in 2015 by Amit Ramani, Awfis is a coworking space provider that claims to operate 181 centres with 1.1 Lakh seats and about 5.6 Mn sq ft of chargeable area, as of March 2024. Awfis posted a consolidated net profit of INR 38.67 Cr in the second quarter (Q2) of the financial year 2024-25 (FY25) as against a net loss of INR 4.34 Cr in the year ago period. Operating revenue jumped 40.46% to INR 292.38 Cr during the quarter under review from INR 208.15 Cr in Q2 FY24. Shares of Awfis ended 8.61% higher at INR 778.65 on the BSE on Wednesday.