1 week agoUSA UpdateComments Off on Boxing results LIVE: Cheavon Clarke DROPPED in shock loss, Natasha Jonas sets up Lauren Price fight, Viddal Riley KO win
A blockbuster night of boxing has concluded with stacked cards in Liverpool and Monte Carlo!
Natasha Jonas defeated Ivana Habazin on Merseyside, with Lauren Price and Viddal Riley both picked up KO wins earlier on in the huge Sky Sports bill.
But Cheavon Clarke suffered a shock loss in his quest for the vacant European cruiserweight title, being dropped en route to a points defeat to Leonardo Mosquea in DAZN‘s show in Monte Carlo.
Start time: Cards underway NOW
TV channels: Sky Sports Main Event (Liverpool show)/ DAZN (Monte Carlo show)
1 week agoUSA UpdateComments Off on ‘Won’t see me for 1 more minute’ says Pep Guardiola as he reveals what would make him QUIT Man City before Man Utd derby
PEP GUARDIOLA has long been in a league of his own for setting football firsts — but this was one no one saw coming.
The sight of the Manchester City manager, a man hailed as the best in the world, talking lost dressing rooms.
ReutersPep Guardiola says he would quit Man City if he felt he had lost the dressing room[/caption]
GettyCity have won just one of their last ten games[/caption]
Even more remarkable, he had raised the subject himself.
All of a sudden, even seven defeats in ten games for the four-time champions was knocked into a cocked hat. This was even more jaw-dropping.
Guardiola was addressing the worst run of his managerial career, and defiant that it has only given him a greater heart for the battle.
There is only one loss that would bring the serial-winning Spaniard to his knees — and it would not be on a pitch.
It is the moment Guardiola suspected his words were falling on deaf ears. When the players no longer saw him as a footballing Pied Piper. When the dressing room was no longer his.
Yet before City fans start calling the Samaritans, the Messiah has seen no hint of it yet.
But he admits that if he ever does, he will be out of the Etihad in the blink of an eye.
Guardiola insisted: “There is one thing when I would say, ‘Pep, you have to think about it’. And that’s when I lose the team.
“When I feel they do not run. When everyone says the manager has lost the team and they don’t follow me.
“In that moment I will not be here for one more minute.
The Spaniard appeared to scratch his head several times during Man City’s match against Feyenoord last month
Pep Guardiola's horror Man City run
PEP GUARDIOLA admitted he is having sleepless nights as he endures his worst-ever spell as a manager.
Here are the three-time defending Premier League champions’ nightmare last 10 games…
Oct 30: Tottenham 2 Man City 1 – DEFEAT
Nov 2: Bournemouth 2 Man City 1 – DEFEAT
Nov 5: Sporting Lisbon 4 Man City 1 – DEFEAT
Nov 9: Brighton 2 Man City 1 – DEFEAT
Nov 23 – Man City 0 Tottenham 4 – DEFEAT
Nov 26: Man City 3 Feyenoord 3 – DRAW
Dec 1: Liverpool 2 Man City 0 – DEFEAT
Dec 4: Man City 3 Nottingham Forest – WIN
Dec 7: Crystal Palace 2 Man City 2 – DRAW
Dec 11: Juventus 2 Man City 0 – DEFEAT
TOTAL – WINS 1, DRAWS 2, DEFEATS 7
“But at the moment it is there and more than ever I am there — no doubt about that.”
Guardiola knows the incredible run of defeats — as many as City suffered in their previous 105 games — is not down to a lack of inspiration from the dugout.
It is down to a horrendous casualty list, the long-term loss of key figures — none more than Rodri — and a schedule that would put a pack mule on its back.
There is one thing when I would say, ‘Pep, you have to think about it’. And that’s when I lose the team.
Pep Guardiola
He added: “I don’t know what would have happened with all the players there… with Rodri there, with Phil Foden there, with Oscar Bobb there, with the four central defenders there. I don’t know what position we would be in.
“I can imagine what it would be but I cannot prove it, right? We’d be a better team, everybody knows, but the reality is the complete opposite.
“In the past maybe we would go the whole season and losing seven didn’t happen. But it’s football, it’s life.
“Tell me a month ago, when we were top of the league and unbeaten, we were going to lose seven and I’d say, ‘Are you crazy? It’s not going to happen to my team’.
“But it’s happened — and maybe we are going to lose more. And the reason why is the schedule.
“Rodri played 75 games last season. He won the Euros with Spain, got injured with Spain and came back. Do you feel he was fresh for this year? No.
“As strong as he is, he came back tired. But I needed him against Arsenal, even though he was not at the top.
“Normally when you have a game, the day after is recovery and the ones who didn’t play the day before train.
“But we have seven, eight or nine out. We’re not the best right now because we don’t have the players. We have made a lot of mistakes but we don’t have time. We have to practise, you have to know.
“To be a writer, it’s not necessary to read books, you have to practise to write a novel, unless you are William Shakespeare! After that, you don’t need anything.”
Yet for all the reasons, all the injuries, Guardiola needs no telling that ultimately the buck stops with him.
To be a writer, it’s not necessary to read books, you have to practise to write a novel, unless you are William Shakespeare! After that, you don’t need anything.
Pep Guardiola
And the bottom line is City have not been good enough.
Bragging rights from the Manchester derby would be a start, if little more than a sticking plaster on a gaping wound.
He admitted: “We don’t have a defence, my friends. We’ve lost too many games when this happened. All the criticisms and judging, it’s deserved.
“You can share opinions and listen to opinions but in the end it’s you that has to make them. It’s on me — that’s why I am well paid.
“If I don’t want that, all the comments after the games, I have to get another job — it’s not new.”
Fortunately for City, he has no intention of doing so just yet. At least that’s one bright spot, anyway.
1 week agoUSA UpdateComments Off on Shaq and Stephen A. Smith deliver ‘meme of the year’ as ESPN and TNT challenge goes terribly wrong
SHAQUILLE O’Neal and Stephen A. Smith didn’t cover themselves in glory during a live TV challenge.
And fans predicted the rival basketball analysts could end up being “meme of the year.”
TNTStephen A. Smith joined the TNT pregame show for a special challenge[/caption]
TNTSmith was with Shaquille O’Neal before the NBA Cup semifinals in Las Vegas[/caption]
Shaq and Stephen A. Smith struggled to make a single shotTNT
ESPN personality Smith joined the Inside the NBA crew on TNT Sports for a special showdown on Saturday.
Both networks were in Las Vegas, Nevada to broadcast the semifinals of the NBA Cup.
But before the action at T-Mobile Arena, Smith appeared on the TNT pregame show.
1 week agoUSA UpdateComments Off on Jamie Foxx forced to have stitches after ‘glass thrown at him’ during altercation on night out
HOLLYWOOD actor Jamie Foxx has been left injured after reportedly being involved in an altercation in a Beverly Hills restaurant.
The actor, who is known for his roles in films including Django Unchained and Baby Driver, has been left needing stitches following a fight that broke out at Mr Chow in Beverly Hills.
GettyHollywood actor Jamie Foxx is said to have been injured in an altercation at a Beverly Hills restaurant[/caption]
GettyJamie Foxx is reported to have needed stitches following the altercation, where ‘someone from another table threw a glass that hit him in the mouth’[/caption]
The 57-year-old actor is said to have had a glass thrown at him, before police were called.
The star was seen entering the restaurant on Friday night (13 December) alongside his daughters Corinne and Anelise Foxx, as well as his former partner Kristin Grannis.
A spokesperson for Foxx toldPage Sixthat Jamie was at his birthday dinner “when someone from another table threw a glass that hit him in the mouth“.
They added: “The police were called and the matter is now in law enforcement’s hands.”
He’s said to have left the restaurant by the time law authorities arrived, but not received any medical attention at the scene.
In October he told CBS Morning’s hostGayle Kingabout his concerns of talking about his health diagnosis for his comedy stand up.
Called ‘What Happened Was’, it takes a deep dive into the actor’s recent health scare.
Speaking to Gayle backstage after wrapping up the recording of his show in Atlanta, theCollateral actoradmitted to her that it was “an excruciating time to be able to open those wounds every single day for three nights”.
He added: “Usually, when you do a stand-up special, you go out for a year and work every nook and cranny, then you tape it.
“You don’t just show up in Atlanta and turn the camera. It was excruciating because the worry is what gets you.”
“We’ve got a great show in the room, but we don’t know what they may laugh or what they may not laugh at.”
“Any comedian will tell you that’s the thing, the worry is the thing.”
GettyThe actor attended Mr Chow restaurant alongside his two daughters and former partner on Friday night[/caption]
GettyThe 57-year-old actor did not receive medical attention at the scene, and had left by the time law authorities arrived[/caption]
AFPThe incident comes after Jamie Foxx suffered a health setback last year that saw him hospitalised[/caption]
Channel 4Russian troops preparing to get out of Syria following Assad’s ousting[/caption]
Channel 4Scores of Russian military trucks waving flags were seen leaving Syria[/caption]
Military sources said equipment and senior Syrian officers were also being evacuated.
Footage from Syria shows hordes of Putin’s troops fleeing the country in military trucks after a decade of bloodshed.
And satellite pics from a Russian airbase on the west coast reveals how Vlad’s men have been forced to take apart their attack helicopters and air defence units before leaving hot on Assad’s tail.
Bloodthirsty dictator President Bashar al-Assad was removed from power last week in an incredible 10-day blitz by rebel forces.
He fled to Russia – where longtime pal Putin gave him sanctuary – and where the twisted pair will now be licking their wounds after a double-pronged defeat.
Putin had sent his forces to Syria some nine years ago to help keep Assad in power during unrest in the country.
But on Friday footage captured by Channel 4 showed a long convoy of Russian military vehicles pouring down a road as they made their way quickly out of the country.
It is a great victory and a great joy
An onlooking Syrian
Dozens of troops were seen crammed inside army trucks flying the Russian flag.
Together are responsible for killing thousands of Syrians throughout the bloody Civil War that started in 2012.
A happy Syrian watching as Russian soldiers drove past told Channel 4: “It is a great victory and a great joy.
“[Russians] They killed us and destroyed us. Thank god.”
Meanwhile, the satellite pics captured by Maxar and Planet Labs show at least two Antonov AN-124s, one of the world’s largest cargo planes, at the Khmeimim air base.
The huge jets were stationed with their nose cones open – allowing for Vlad’s men to pile in dismantled army kit.
Three Il-76 transport aircraft, Russia’s workhorse heavy lifters, were also on the ground.
And three An-32s and one An-72, smaller models of transport aircraft, were visible in the satellite images.
An analyst at Maxar noted that a Ka-52 attack helicopter “was being dismantled and likely prepared for transport”.
Parts of an S-400 air defence unit were also seen breaking up for a return to Mother Russia.
Putin’s naval base at Tartous, Russia’s only Mediterranean repair and replenishment hub, “remains largely unchanged”, Maxar added.
Moscow has backed Syria since the early days of the Cold War, recognising its independence in 1944 as Damascus sought to throw off French colonial rule.
The West long regarded Syria as a Soviet satellite.
The Kremlin has said its focus since Assad’s fall was to ensure the security of its military bases in Syria and of its diplomatic missions.
ReutersA satellite image shows An-124 heavy transport aircraft with its nose cone lifted, at Russian Khmeimim airbase[/caption]
Youtube/ Chanel 4Russian troops bundled inside trucks leaving Syria[/caption]
The dramatic rise and fall of dictator Bashar al-Assad
ASSAD’S rule over Syria ended in dramatic fashion after rebel forces stormed Damascus in a surprise offensive, forcing the dictator to flee to Russia.
His life took a dramatic turn in 1994 when his elder brother, Bassel, the family’s chosen heir, died in a car accident.
Bashar was abruptly recalled to Syria and groomed for power.
Initially, hope stirred for reform as Bashar promised modernisation, anti-corruption measures, and political openness.
But the so-called “Damascus Spring” was short-lived.
Within a year, Assad cracked down on dissenters, signalling the beginning of his authoritarian rule.
The Assad regime quickly devolved into a kleptocracy, with Assad and his extended family siphoning wealth while suppressing opposition.
The Syrian Civil War became a geopolitical quagmire.
Assad, backed by Russia and Iran, portrayed himself as a bulwark against terrorism while cynically releasing jihadist prisoners to bolster extremist factions.
This fuelled the rise of groups like ISIS, reshaping global terror.
Assad left aboard a military plane amid rumours of its crash before resurfacing in Moscow, where Vladimir Putin granted him asylum.
It comes as an apparent Russian conspiracy to distribute false news about an al-Assad ‘aircraft accident’ has been exposed.
The Ukrainian Centre for Strategic Communication and Information Security claimed on X that Russia “hid their trail” in assisting al-Assad’s escape by circulating fake claims that he died in a crash.
Meanwhile, opposition forces took control of key cities, toppled Assad’s statues, and announced plans for a transitional government.
The fall of Assad deals a blow to allies Russia and Iran, with both withdrawing assets from Syria.
1 week agoUSA UpdateComments Off on US working directly with rebels that overthrew Assad in search for American hostage Austin Tice
The US is working directly with the Islamist rebel group that led the overthrow of the Syrian government last week, with the goal of finding an American journalist held hostage top of mind, according to reports.
1 week agoUSA UpdateComments Off on Seoul’s constitutional crisis has upset East Asia’s security status quo
South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol’s misuse of his authority to declare martial law earlier this month has placed his nation in a constitutional crisis that will have a lasting impact on US strategic interests across Asia just as Donald Trump returns to the White House. Yoon’s martial law decree was quickly rescinded and South...
