Ramos the hero again as Neymar & Messi miss chance to close Liga gap Barca headed into the contest at Camp Nou six points adrift of leaders Madrid, but appeared on track to close the gap when Luis Suarez put the hosts ahead early in the second half. Lionel Messi and Neymar wasted fine opportunities to extend Barca’s lead and the misses proved costly when Sergio Ramos headed home a 90th-minute equaliser....
Barcelona went into the game three points ahead of Juventus on the night, knowing that any result, barring a loss by a deficit of three goals or more, would confirm them as group leaders heading into the Round of 16. Both teams have had a rough start to their seasons. Perennial champions Juventus currently sit 4th in Serie A, six points behind AC Milan. Meanwhile, Barcelona have been uncharacteristically poor this season as they sit 9th in La Liga....
The era of Lionel Messi is proving relentlessly painful for Real Madrid, who have a considerable gap to close as Zinedine Zidane eyes a close-season overhaul. Bolstered by his leading man’s astounding brilliance, there is perhaps an impression that all Ernesto Valverde had to do this time around was keep his Barca team on track, while Madrid lurched from one implosion to the next. And what of Atletico Madrid? With Antoine Griezmann locked into a fresh contract and an impressive few months in the transfer market to bolster them, this felt like prime time for Diego Simeone’s men to throw off their underdogs’ tag....
Having moved to the Spanish capital as part of a record-breaking transfer in 2013, the Wales international has now hinted that he could soon be heading for the exits. He admitted after a match-winning performance in the Champions League final that he will be weighing up his options this summer as he seeks to find a starting berth “week in, week out”. If he is to leave Madrid, then the 28-year-old will depart with a Liga title and four Champions League crowns under his belt....
I found it amusing that Serbs would envision themselves as modern-era Asterixes. At about the same time, the Yugoslav newspapers started running stories about “clan gatherings” and “tribal meetings.” Another spoof about rebellious Gaul plotting against Julius Caesar, right? Wrong! Those are dead-serious protests by anti-independence Montenegrins who resist the split with Serbia and want to preserve Yugoslavia in its present (already very truncated) form. Three months ago Montenegro presented Serbia with a platform redefining the relations between the two republics within Yugoslavia....
Luka Modric controversially took home the Golden Ball last year in recognition of his exploits for Real Madrid in the Champions League and Croatia in the FIFA World Cup. The battle for football’s most prestigious individual award is looking more like a two-horse race at the moment with Messi and Virgil van Dijk having emerged as the main contenders to lift the award at the end of the year....
Boston Police on Monday announced they had made an arrest after a ballot drop box outside the Boston Public Library in Copley Square was set alight in the early hours of Sunday morning, damaging dozens of ballots. The incident, a week after another ballot drop box in Los Angeles County, California was set on fire, fueled fears that the drop boxes may have targeted to undermine democracy. But on Monday, Suffolk County District Attorney Rachael Rollins said the suspect in the Boston arson attack, 39-year-old Worldy Armand, appears to be “emotionally disturbed” and she does not believe Armand is “plotting against our democracy....
The Italy international, who was overlooked for a recall to the Azzurri this weekend despite his excellent form in France, shot brilliantly into the top corner with a curling shot from the edge of the box with four minutes to restore his side’s advantage after Benjamin Moukandjo cancelled out Ricardo Pereira’s opener. Balotelli, however, was booked for his celebration as he removed his shirt following what proved the game’s decisive moment....
Fox 45 Baltimore reporter Maxine Streicher was engaged in a live broadcast from the city’s Sandtown-Winchester neighborhood on Monday when the camera panned over to an alley just as a rat scurried out from under trash and along a wall. The live shot prompted widespread mockery from supporters of the president who touted the video as “proof” the president was correct in telling Maryland’s 7th District Democratic congressman Elijah Cummings via Twitter to “clean up this very dangerous & filthy place....
The events in question are the SoulCalibur and Tekken World Tour events. Both are losing official qualifiers, which aren’t being rescheduled according to Bandai Namco’s news updates. Additionally, the World Tour events for both games have now been pushed back, with new dates still listed as “TBD.” Coronavirus has many companies and officials worried. Even SXSW was canceled due to coronavirus, marking the first cancelation in its 34-year history....
It’s the firm’s first foray into the sporting arena and as such these true wireless earbuds are designed to ‘improve performance though music’. To this end, Christoffer Poulsen, VP of product management says the E8 Sport provide the three things that the target audience look for: “a waterproof and customizable design that brings comfort to long runs and workouts, playtime that lasts way beyond the finish line and, most importantly, excellent sound quality....
Strikers are currently at the top of the points table with two points and a net run rate of +2.750. The Challengers, on the other hand, didn’t make the most of the first match of the competition and fell to the bottom of the table with a net run rate of -2.750. Strikers race to victory in the BPL After being put in to bat first, the Challengers couldn’t inject any sort of momentum into their innings....
Matthew Hartwig, USAA’s director of communications, said Thursday the policy change was something the company had considered but was magnified when a USAA customer in Minneapolis revealed her family’s entire stimulus check of $3,450 was delivered to a closed account with the bank. The customer, who was featured in The American Prospect, said the funds were direct deposited into the closed account and used to pay outstanding bank fees, even though the account had been written off by the bank....
That was then. Until recently, Chinese artists could be frank about everything but communism. But last week the communist leadership, locked in power struggles and determined to keep order, announced a much tougher campaign for a “spiritual civilization.” A new 15,000-word directive rules out not just slander against the party but anything that encourages “social vices” and makes people “doubt the future of socialism.” The declaration calls on cadres to be China’s “soul engineers” and attacks those who “pander to low tastes....
MLB commissioner Rob Manfred said in 2016 Mejia would be given fair consideration for reinstatement after his permanent suspension and he kept true to his word. “Under the terms of our collectively bargained Joint Drug Program, a permanently suspended player like Mr. Mejia has the right to apply to me for discretionary reinstatement after serving a minimum of two years,” Manfred said in a release. “Upon receiving Mr. Mejia’s application for reinstatement last year, I invited him to New York to meet with me....
The trip comes on the heels of Obama’s visit to Sen. Tom Harkin’s annual Steak Fry, a legendary gathering viewed as one of the most important platforms in Democratic presidential politics. Former Sen. John Edwards, who is considering a second go at the Democratic nomination in 2008, headlined the event last year, while Bill Clinton has spoken there three times. More than 3,500 people showed up last week to see Obama–a number that organizers said ranked second only to Clinton’s crowds, which exceeded 10,000 back in 1996....
Yatom’s mission now is to complete the peace process. And to pull it off, he’ll be relying mostly on military men. While generals are nothing new in Israeli politics, Barak has culled his peace junta almost exclusively from the elite troops who served under him in the Army, sidelining prominent political figures in the process. His bureau chief, Mendel Shaked, served under him in the Sayeret Matkal or general reconnaissance unit....
Two defeats in two games for Barca have started the rumour mill and Aguero’s name was published in the Spanish press Wednesday with the pro-Barca newspaper, Diario Sport insisting that club had maintained contacts with the Manchester City striker who has been in outstanding form this season, reports Xinhua. Bartomeu acted quickly to deny this saying, “there is no contact with him and I am in a position to deny that....
Despite flickering in-and-out of the game with limited success to this point, Suarez provided the killer blow with six minutes to play after a deft flick left Diego Godin in his wake. It was a complete turnaround from a worrying first-half, where Lautaro Martinez broke the deadlock after just three minutes. He unleashed a clever sliding finish under pressure in the box. The 22-year-old could’ve doubled his tally after powering a header goalward but was denied by ter Stegen, who was determined not to be beaten a second time....
