Niko Kovac’s men completed a domestic double by crushing RB Leipzig 3-0 in the final in May and begin their defence of the trophy with a trip to Brandenburg in early August. Their opponents, former Bundesliga side Cottbus, are at a low ebb, having been relegated back to Regionalliga level just 12 months after winning promotion to the third division. Beaten finalists Leipzig will visit Osnabruck – newly promoted to the 2....
In a game that featured four goals after the 82nd minute, two red cards and two penalties, substitute Kingsley Coman looked to have grabbed a winner for Bayern in the 90th before defender Tagliafico tapped in the equalizer five minutes into stoppage time. Robert Lewandowski scored twice for Bayern, including an equalizer for 2-2 in the 87th. “It was a great match, I want to congratulate both teams for reaching the next round,” Bayern coach Niko Kovac said....
Ever since the Bundesliga was first established back in 1963, 21 of the 24 Bundesliga titles have been won by either Bayern Munich or Borussia Dortmund, a clear illustration of their dominance in the division. However, the rivalry between the two clubs was relatively tame for a long time until it began to grow fierce during the 1990s. Dortmund had started to make a lot of progress with regards to the quality in their squad and were finally strong enough to challenge Munich for the Bundesliga title, which they won twice in a row (1994/95 season and 1995/96 season)....
On Tuesday, Stokes was found not guilty of the charge at Bristol Crown Court, following an incident outside a nightclub in the city in September last year. The case caused Stokes to miss England’s 4-0 Ashes drubbing in Australia either side of the new year, while he was also absent for the recent second-Test win over India at Lord’s, having played a starring role in the opening victory at Edgbaston....
The Bayonetta franchise is in an awkward place right now. Past the prequel game Bayonetta Origins: Cereza and the Lost Demon releasing later this year, Bayonetta’s future is uncertain. Feedback for Bayonetta 3 has been mixed, as the core gameplay was well-received while the story attracted criticism. The characters and writing provoked a frenzied response, as many players felt like the plot was both more meandering than past Bayonetta games and actively disrespectful towards its characters....
The Melbourne Stars have already been knocked out of the playoff contention. Despite that, there was a lot of excitement around the all-rounder putting on a show to mark his 100th appearance and the ‘Big Show’ didn’t disappoint. Maxwell opened the batting alongside Joe Clarke and got the Stars off to a flier. The pair notched up the highest powerplay score of the season, scoring 63 runs in the first four overs....
So, Dravid is given an extended run with the India-A and Under-19 sides as a coach, only for him to be later named as a ‘batting consultant’ for overseas test tours for the Senior team. All of this while Ramchandra Guha’s allegations of conflict-of-interest loomed large. Zaheer is also called up as a ‘bowling consultant’ for the senior side. This, in addition to, of course, naming the man himself, Ravi Shastri as India’s head coach till the 2019 World Cup....
The national cricket board adjourned its SGM after it was discovered that some of the authority letters from different associations representing their respective states were defective. The BCCI will now meet on Saturday to take a decision on the committee’s reforms, which effectively means that the board has missed the apex court’s September 30 deadline for implementing the Lodha panel recommendations to bring in sweeping reforms. The board had drawn the Supreme Court’s ire on Wednesday with the special bench headed by Chief Justice T....
“After discussions we have taken a final call that for one year Anil Kumble will be the head coach,” BCCI President Anurag Thakur told reporters in Dharamsala. Former leg-spinner Kumble, 45, is India’s most successful bowler and took 619 wickets in 132 tests and 337 from 271 one-day internationals. The coach’s post was vacant since Ravi Shastri’s tenure as the team director ended with India’s semi-final exit at the World Twenty20 tournament on home soil earlier this year....
“A traveller sought entry for essential reasons, but had no travel documents,” Canada Border Services Agency posted on Facebook. “After a forceful attempt on its part to cross the border, our officers moved quickly to apprehend and transfer it to the Smithers’ Northern Lights Wildlife Society for the winter.” Images of the black bear show it climbing a waiting zone sign, approaching a door to the agency offices and, climbing up and peering through at a border agent on the other side....
In a puzzling decision, quarterback Justin Fields lined up in shotgun formation. He took the snap, rushed ahead and then leaned into the scrum at the goal line. He was ruled short on the field. Chicago challenged but the call stood. To add insult to injury, the Packers responded by driving 89 yards and kicking a field goal to push their lead to 27-10 with 2:28 left. That turned out to be the final score....
Shepherd, a junior at BYU, and her friends all hang out at one table in the Wilkinson Student Center, not because it’s in an ideal location nor because of some social order that separates kids by club affiliation, but mainly because there’s only enough of them to take up one table. Of the university’s more than 30,000 undergraduate students, less than one percent are Black. The school’s white population is higher than any other university in the state, both public and private (although these figures do mirror Utah’s membership of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), which operates BYU)....
Bellarabi - a second-half substitute during Leverkusen’s 3-1 defeat at Allianz Arena - was on the pitch just seven minutes before he lunged in on Bayern’s full-back, rightly receiving a straight red card. Rafinha had to be helped from the field by Bayern’s medical staff, and although Niko Kovac was unsure as to the extent of the injury, Hoeness did not hold back in his criticism of the Germany international....
The Germany defender has been on loan at Bundesliga rivals Schalke since January, but the Gelsenkirchen side confirmed on Thursday that they would not be making his transfer permanent. Mourinho thanks referee for Herrera red card Badstuber has been linked with a move to the Premier League where a reunion with former Bayern boss Pep Guardiola at Manchester City is being tipped. Addressing Badstuber’s exit, Bayern CEO Karl-Heinz Rummenigge told the club’s official website: “It was clear from the outset that after his loan at FC Schalke 04 that Holger Badstuber is likely to look for a new experience abroad....
“We are ready to extend it,” said the boss of Bayern in statements published on Friday by the popular newspaper Bild, which reported that Real Madrid are interested in signing the striker. Rummenigge confirmed that Bayern do not want to lose the 27-year-old and said that the club is already in talks with the representatives of the former Borussia Dortmund player on the extension of his contract, reports Efe....
The 29-year-old required treatment following a heavy collision and left the field in pain with 20 minutes remaining. Speaking after the match, returning Bayern boss Jupp Heynckes confirmed the Spaniard is likely to miss Wednesday’s Champions League clash at home to Celtic. But Martinez took to social media to insist his lay-off would be a brief one. “It won’t be a long pause, just some days to be back,” he wrote....
In case you didn’t know… Gnabry joined Arsenal in 2011 and made his debut at the age of 17. A serious knee injury in 2014 forced the German to miss over a year of football before his infamous loan spell at West Brom under Tony Pulis. Gnabry left Arsenal in 2016 to join Werder Bremen where he impressed in his only spell with the club. The German international then joined Bayern Munich in 2017 but spent the first season on loan with Hoffenheim....
The 23-year-old also reveals why his father once gave him a Borussia Dortmund jersey and remembers sometimes tedious training sessions in the family garden, which occasionally ended in tears!
All of that was born out of trying do the one thing any school wants to do — build a lucrative winning football program. MORE: 10 potential replacements | Real human consequences Baylor fired Art Briles on Thursday, a move expected after Baylor released a statement that showed “a failure to identify and respond to a pattern of sexual violence by a football player, to take action in response to reports of a sexual assault by multiple football players, and to take action in response to a report of dating violence....
Strikers’ last-gasp win over the Hobart Hurricanes on Wednesday night at the Adelaide Oval cemented the Strikers a top-2 spot and, therefore, the right to host a home semi-final. Cricket Australia (CA) confirmed the semifinal scheduling given considerations around the BBL final weekend taking place at the same time as the final stage of the Tour Down Under bicycle event in Adelaide. “We have decided to schedule the Strikers home semifinal on January 21, irrespective of whether they finish the regular season first or second on the ladder,” BBL head Anthony Everard said on Thursday....
