[ad_1] Only 62 men have done it. They’ve used their right foot 43 times, their left foot 21 times. There have been a dozen headers, only five penalties and a solitary own goal (should Mario Mandzukic’s accidental flick-on make it 13 headers? We’re in uncharted territory already.) The average World Cup final goal is scored in the 55th minute — whatever that average manager said at the average half-time, it’s worked, on average — and has made the score, on average, 1.92-0.94. Let’s call it 2-1. Game on! But that’s…

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[ad_1] Joel Robles is used to the supporting-cast role in a way that Illan Meslier would not want to replicate. Meslier is 10 years Robles’ junior but the Frenchman’s league appearances are coming up on the rails, short of Robles by fewer than 30 despite the gulf in age. There is a tradition in goalkeeping of certain players building a career by sitting in the wings, some through choice and some by default, and Robles was promised very little when Leeds United signed him in August. He was older and…

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[ad_1] We’ve reached the point of the season when you’re getting Saturday games and you might have shifted your attention away from your fantasy team that didn’t make the playoffs. That makes these picks become even more fun to track. Let’s try to find winners and break the run of back-to-back .500 weeks. With four weeks to go in the regular season, the record stands 10 games over .500 against the spread and four bets over .500 overall (including underdogs on the moneyline and player props). Last week’s record: 3-3…

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[ad_1] Patrick Mahomes, Tua Tagovailoa and Josh Allen have consistently been atop the league in 2022, even despite some blips along the way. Jalen Hurts is the current favorite to win the NFL MVP. And Jimmy Garoppolo played about as well as the 49ers would’ve liked in relief of Trey Lance before suffering a foot injury. But is Jared Goff a top-five quarterback? And what about Trevor Lawrence being a top-10 quarterback? And what about so many household names being so far down the list? In this dive, I’m revisiting…

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[ad_1] For 2018 runners-up Croatia, reaching a second consecutive final looked unlikely when they won just one group game. But through sheer graft and tenacity, two penalty shootout wins over Japan and favourites Brazil earned them a semi-final match with Argentina, where an in-form Lionel Messi caused chaos. “Realistically speaking, before the start of the tournament, we would all have accepted reaching the semi-finals. However, we started to dream about the trophy,” Croatia midfielder Lovro Majer said. “Still, we will give everything we’ve got on Saturday and try to win…

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[ad_1] CLEVELAND —  As Cleveland Cavaliers star guard Donovan Mitchell defended Indiana Pacers rookie Bennedict Mathurin on the perimeter in the opening minutes of the fourth quarter Friday night, Mitchell was called for a foul. The whistles blew, but Mathurin and Mitchell continued to hold onto the ball, neither letting go. They stood at the top of the key, arms locked around the ball. They each held on firmly as teammates from both the Cavaliers and Pacers surrounded them, and two of the referees approached to break up the standoff.…

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[ad_1] Now this is more like it. Between the boring first week and the slow pace of December, what with all those final exams and the holidays, we could use a day like this one. We have five games between Top 25 teams and one between a ranked team and the preseason No. 1 squad. Things will get a lot quieter between now and the end of the year, so gather your multiple screens, settle into the couch and enjoy an amazing slate of games. The drill, as usual, is…

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[ad_1] The Sabres are 30 games into what has been a whirlwind season. They started off hot, winning seven of their first 10 games. Injuries contributed to the team hitting a roadblock in November and losing eight straight games without even collecting an overtime point. Since that streak ended, the Sabres are 7-3-2 and have worked themselves back to 14-14-2. They’re the highest-scoring team in hockey and are starting to slowly inch up the standings in the Eastern Conference. But questions still linger — both short and long-term — about…

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[ad_1] FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Mark Fletcher lost his final high school football game Friday night in heartbreaking fashion, and his top priority when the game was over was to find the freshman who lost the fumble on his team’s final possession. He just wanted to console him. “One mistake — that doesn’t define you as a player,” said Fletcher, who ran for 106 yards and a touchdown and did his best to console talented freshman receiver Malachi Toney, who was distraught after Plantation American Heritage’s fourth-quarter rally fell short…

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