New Cincinnati Reds manager Terry Francona plans to opt out of elective participation in the automated ball-strike challenge trial during spring training, but he is still willing to let the organization’s minor league players get accustomed to the system ABS is a system that is being tried out at 13 ballparks in spring training, and […]
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The Los Angeles Lakers have endured quite a bit of change over the past few weeks, as they have opted to pair up superstar point guard Luka Doncic with the legendary LeBron James. That has resulted in the team needing to adjust on the fly, with head coach JJ Redick working on figuring out how […]
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PHILIPPE CLEMENT’S time as Rangers manager is coming to an end.
Attention will now very quickly turn to exactly who could replace him at Ibrox.
SunSport were first to exclusively reveal that Clement is to be SACKED by Rangers.
Saturday’s 2-0 home defeat to St Mirren has proved the final straw for Ibrox chiefs.
The 50-year old Belgian has been under severe pressure for some time and official confirmation from the club is expected that the club have pulled the trigger.
Clement‘s spell at Ibrox started off well with a League Cup triumph a matter of weeks into his reign.
But an unexpected title challenge ended up collapsing towards the end of last season and this time around, the Gers have never been in the hunt.
The Gers trail Celtic by 13 points in the league, have already lost the League Cup Final and were dumped out of the Scottish Cup by Queen’s Park in humiliating fashion.
That defeat to the Buddies on Saturday will signal the end of Clement’s tenure.
There is of course plenty going on at Ibrox with the dramatic takeover talks between 49ers Enterprises – the financial arm of the San Francisco 49ers – and current Gers chiefs ongoing.
A stunning US takeover the Ibrox club looks set to go through in the coming months.
So a decision on who will be Clement’s long term replacement as Rangers manager will likely wait but as you can imagine, interest will be huge.
The early favourite for the role is Steven Gerrard.
It would be a sensational return to Ibrox for the 44-year old who is currently out of work after leaving Saudi club Al-Ettifaq.
Gerrard was of course in charge of Rangers between 2018 and 2021 and led the club to a first league title in a decade.
Just a few months after leading the Light Blues to the championship, Gerrard left to take over at Aston Villa.
He was sacked after less than a year in charge before making the move to Saudi Arabia in 2023, with that spell coming to an end earlier this year.
Betting experts OLBG have revealed Gerrard is the current FAVOURITE to take the helm and make a stunning return to Scottish football.
Steven Gerrard 4/1
Russell Martin 5/1
Kevin Muscat 6/1
Gary O’Neil 6/1
Steve Cooper 8/1
Source: OLBG – as of 8pm on February 23
The former Liverpool and England captain is priced at 4/1.
Just behind him, it’s two former Rangers PLAYERS who are also in the frame.
Russell Martin is out of work after being sacked by Southampton.
The former Scotland international had a brief loan spell at Rangers in 2018 and is priced at 5/1 to make a return to the club as manager.
Just behind him at 6/1 is Kevin Muscat, the man who Clement beat to the job towards the end of 2023.
Muscat is currently in China with Shanghai Port.
Two former English Premier League bosses are next in the list, with Gary O’Neil (6/1) and Steve Cooper (8/1) rounding-off the top five.
Keep up to date with ALL the latest news and transfers at the Scottish Sun football page
In a recent interview, Oklahoma City Thunder guard Lu Dort didn’t hold back while discussing his 2024-25 regular-season goal to win Defensive Player of the Year. While the Thunder are relatively healthy to finish the campaign, their longest-tenured player revealed his personal goal between now and the end of the postseason. As a team leader, […]
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Notre Dame football tailback Jadarian Price is revealing he has a very unique NIL deal. Price is working with jeweler to the stars Johnny Dang on a jewelry item that will help his NIL profits, per TMZ Sports. Their partnership in diamonds is a new, unique approach to the name, image and likeness craze. Price […]
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The schedule in SEC basketball this season is a grind week in and week out, and Texas A&M basketball is going through a low point over the last week. On Saturday, The No. 7-ranked Aggies lost to No. 6 Tennessee 77-69 in front of their home fans in College Station. Texas A&M will certainly be […]
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With recurring injury issues rearing its ugly head, almost nothing went right for the Miami Dolphins in 2024. Following an 8-9 season that ended in the regular season, the Dolphins enter free agency in the 2025 NFL offseason with a lot of roster issues to address. The Dolphins enter free agency with one of the […]
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EDDIE HEARN paid tribute to Martin Bakole’s bravery but believes he should not have fought Joseph Parker.
The heavyweight stepped in at short notice after Daniel Dubois was ruled out days before the fight with sickness.
Bakole travelled from the Congo and only arrived in Riyadh in the early hours on the day of the bout.
He weighed in considerably higher than his usual fight weight and looked rusty before being knocked out in the second round by a big Parker right hand.
Hearn questioned his decision to fight and suggested a member of his team should have intervened to prevent it from going ahead.
He told The Stomping Ground: “I don’t think the fight should have happened, if I’m honest.
“I don’t think anybody did anything wrong.
“But when you’re representing Martin Bakole, you’ve got to ask yourself [if it was the right decision]. For a long time, he struggled to get opportunities.
“Now he’s found his way in Riyadh Season. He’s developing a name, a brand. He’s got an IBF final eliminator to become the mandatory to Daniel Dubois against Efe Ajagba.
“Obviously, there’s more money tonight, but he did it [on a day’s notice]. He took two flights, indirect, across Africa and landed [in the] morning [before the fight].
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“I think sometimes, you just need to take a step back and think about what you are doing. [He] probably [does not] know what day of the week it is. I think it was a bad decision.
“Respect to the bravery, but sometimes, you’ve got to be a bit smarter than that. You need people around you to say absolutely not. I couldn’t be happier for Joe.”
JURGEN KLOPP described his never-say-die Liverpool team as mentality monsters.
So what are Arsenal under Mikel Arteta?
On the back of this latest title collapse, they are English football’s mentality muppets.
Saturday’s abject display at the Emirates was surely confirmation the club’s wait for a title, which now stands at 21 years, will continue.
It is Arsenal’s longest gap for a title post-war and you have to wonder if Arteta is actually capable of getting them over the line.
This was their first Premier League defeat in 16 matches and only the third of the season.
But this was an absolute must-win and Arsenal bottled it just when they needed to show some b******s.
You can see why Arteta was so angry afterwards.
Conspiracy theorists — and there are certainly a few of them about — will complain about Myles Lewis-Skelly’s red card, their fifth of the season, with the team dropping ten points in those games.
Incredibly, this was the 20th sending-off in the top flight under Arteta, so it is absurd to blame the officials for all of them.
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Arsenal have had some bad decisions go against them this term and Lewis-Skelly’s foul on Mohammed Kudus was on the halfway line.
But it was still a red card. Arteta has spent over £600million, so he has been backed heavily by the club.
The decision not to sign a No 9 in the summer — or in January — was obviously ludicrous.
It would have helped. But looking at this current team, you have to wonder whether that will have solved all their problems because there are just so many flaky players in this squad.
Due to the spectacular fall of Manchester City, this season was a great opportunity for Arteta.
You can see why some of the club’s fans are now having major reservations over their manager.
He will be given even more cash next summer.
But if Arsenal find themselves in a similar situation in 12 months’ time, then the club may consider a change – even though it would break hearts.
Arteta has been hit badly by injuries this season which is why the team have gone backwards.
And maybe they can still deliver something magical in the Champions League.
Yet Liverpool suffered unbelievably bad luck last term with injuries and, while they fell away in the league, Klopp’s team somehow managed to win the Carabao Cup final against Chelsea — even though they ended the game with a bunch of teenagers.
Arsenal’s approach to the West Ham game was completely wrong. There was a lack of belief, desire and intensity, as well as quality.
Equally, the visitors defended superbly and new boss Graham Potter seems a perfect fit.
Over the last couple of seasons, the atmosphere at the Emirates has been superb, the best since the move to the stadium in 2006.
Yet there was no buzz before or during this game. And it seemed as though the supporters were resigned to their team’s fate.
Mikel Merino was the two-goal hero against Leicester a week earlier in his first ever-game as a central striker.
You can see why Arteta started him in this position owing to the lack of options but the Spaniard looked lost up front.
The defending for the opening goal from Jarrod Bowen before half-time was embarrassing, with Riccardo Calafiori deciding not to bother to stop a cross from Aaron Wan-Bissaka.
Calafiori, a £42m summer buy from Bologna, is still adjusting to the Prem but this display was just not good enough.
Arteta’s decision to relegate Lewis-Skelly to the bench was curious, particularly as he was also substituted at Leicester just minutes after he delivered a stunning goal-saving intervention.
The one positive was the sight of defender Ben White returning to action after three months out.
Now Arteta must lift his team for Wednesday’s tricky trip to Nottingham Forest.
And at the very least, Arsenal’s players need to start showing that they actually care.
MYLES Lewis-Skelly’s second red card of 2025 appeared to put the final nail in Arsenal’s title dreams and any chances of them catching Liverpool.
The Gunners lost 1-0 to West Ham and failed to respond to Jarrod Bowen’s opener on the brink of half-time.
The Hammers’ wall stood firm as Arsenal registered just two shots on target before Lewis-Skelly’s last-man foul on Mohammed Kudus was upgraded to a red after ref Craig Pawson went to the monitor.
And Liverpool fans will breathe a sigh of relief given their recent dip in form as Arsenal remain EIGHT points behind Arne Slot’s men.
Here SunSport’s Charlie Wyett rates every Arsenal player from the Emirates Stadium.
DAVID RAYA – 5
Declan Rice indicated to Raya that he expected him to come off his line to deal with the cross for the goal.
Maybe he had a point but ultimately, Raya was let down by his defenders.
JURRIEN TIMBER – 6
West Ham did not offer much of a threat down their left so Timber had a reasonably comfortable game while he did try and get forward.
WILLIAM SALIBA – 6
Was ordered by Mikel Arteta to push forward more in the second half when Arsenal had possession and in the closing stages, seemed to spend more of his time in West Ham’s area.
GABRIEL MAGALHAES – 5
Switched off for the Bowen goal but he was not the only one.
Also found the impressive Kudus tough to handle when he cut inside.
Guilty of delivering an abysmal cross late in the game when Arsenal needed a bit of quality.
RICCARDO CALAFIORI – 4
A poor performance. Given the nod ahead of Lewis-Skelly but badly at fault for the opening goal as he did not get close enough to Aaron Wan-Bissaka who delivered the cross to Bowen.
Was replaced after he kept losing the ball.
DECLAN RICE – 5
Not a day he will want to remember against his former club and he got plenty of stick from West Ham’s fans, as you would expect.
Wasted one chance before the break and failed to track Bowen for the goal. Substituted shortly into the second half which was a surprise.
THOMAS PARTEY – 5
A sluggish performance from Partey whose passing was also poor. Lucky not to be replaced.
ETHAN NWANERI – 6
Had a fascinating battle with West Ham teenager Ollie Scaries, who was making his first Premier League start.
Nwaneri was excellent at Leicester but had less success against his fellow youngster although still had some bright moments.
But, at least he has a bit of a spark unlike some of his more experienced team-mates. The 17-year-old sparked concern when he came off injured in the final 10.
MARTIN ODEGAARD – 5
Not having his best season at Arsenal.
This was the sort of game Arsenal needed their captain to deliver a moment of inspiration but he failed to do so.
LEANDRO TROSSARD – 5
Not a surprise that he was not used as a false nine like that disastrous experiment against Leicester.
But he had no joy against the impressive Wan-Bissaka.
MIKEL MERINO – 5
Was the two-goal hero in his first ever appearance as a substitute striker at Leicester but had no success against West Ham’s well-drilled defence.
He looked lost out there as the makeshift No 9.
SUBS:
Myles Lewis-Skelly (for Calafiori 56 minutes) – 4
Got a red card – Arsenal’s fifth of the campaign – and although he was a long way out could have no complaints.
Oleksandr Zinchenko (for Rice 56 minutes) – 6
Raheem Sterling (for Nwaneri 81 minutes) – N/A
Ben White (for Saliba 87 minutes) – 5
Was handed his first Premier League minutes since returning to the squad for last week’s Leicester win.
Subs not used: Neto, Tierney, Kiwior, Jorginho, Butler-Oyedeji.
JUDD TRUMP has returned to the table in China as he eyes World Open glory.
The World No1 is the defending champion and is eyeing a three-peat this year, having won the event in 2019 and 2024, the last two stages of the tournament.
But Trump will face some fierce competition from some of the biggest names in the sport, with the likes of Kyren Wilson and Shaun Murphy in action.
SunSport has the guide on everything you need to know ahead of World Open snooker 2025.
Ronnie O’Sullivan will not be playing in the World Open this year.
Rocket was due to play Stuart Carrington in his tournament opener before he withdrew from the event on medical grounds.
The seven-time world champion has pulled out of numerous tournaments this season, but it is expected that O’Sullivan will return to snooker at the World Grand Prix in March.
The tournament will consist of a top half and a bottom half, with the winner of either half facing off in the final on Saturday, March 1.
The order of rounds is:
The last 64, last 32, last 16 and quarter-finals will be best of nine frames.
The semi-final is best of 11 frames, and the final is best of 19 frames, played over two sessions.
Sunday, February 23
All times GMT
From 1.30am
Elliot Slessor 5-2 Lyu Haotian
Sanderson Lam 1-5 Zhou Jinhao
David Lilley 5-4 Cao Jin
Scott Donaldson 5-0 Wang Yuhang
Zhang Anda 3-5 Stan Moody
Xu Si 5-3 Zou Pengfei
Kyren Wilson 5-2 Hammad Miah
From 6am
Mark Selby 2-5 Liu Hongyu
Jimmy Robertson 5-3 Noppon Saengkham
Aaron Hill 5-3 Sunny Akani
Mark Davis 1-5 John Higgins
Daniel Womersley 2-5 Stuart Carrington
From 11.30am
Antoni Kowalski 5-3 Matthew Stevens
Michael Holt 5-3 Martin O’Donnell
Wu Yize 5-4 Jackson Page
Ali Carter 5-3 He Guoqiang
M Phetmalaikul 1-5 Zhou Yuelong
Judd Trump 5-0 Xing Zihao
Ding Junhui 5-1 Jiang Jun
Monday, February 24
From 1.30am
Zhou Jinhao vs Shaun Murphy
Mark Allen vs David Lilley
Jack Lisowski vs Scott Donaldson
Zak Surety vs Jordan Brown
From 6am
Ben Woollaston vs Amir Sarkosh
Jamie Jones vs Barry Hawkins
Louis Heathcote vs Stuart Carrington
Xiao Guodong vs Duane Jones
Pang Junxu vs Anthony McGill
Zhang/Moody vs Graeme Dott
Lei Peifan vs Kyren Wilson
From 11.30am
Judd Trump vs Long Zehuang
Alfie Burden vs Joe O’Connor
Yuan Sijun vs Hossein Vafaei
Joe Perry vs Ding Junhui
Ishpreet Singh Chadha vs Tom Ford
Daniel Wells vs Gary Wilson
Robert Milkins vs Xu Si
Wednesday, February 26 – Last-16
Thursday, February 27 – Quarter-finals
Friday, February 28 – Semi-finals
Saturday, March 1 – Final