CONTACT US AT: LeBron struggles in loss to...
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Sports ❘ 07 CONTACT US AT: 8351-9190, [email protected] Wednesday January 10, 2018 MANCHESTER United and Tot- tenham will play away at fourth- tier clubs in the fourth round of the FA Cup. United was drawn Monday to face Yeovil in southwest England for the second time in four sea- sons. The 12-time cup winners won 2-0 on the 2015 trip in the third round. Tottenham will go to south Wales to play Newport in just under three weeks. English Premier League leader Manchester City could also be playing at a League Two side if Mansfield beats Cardiff of the second tier in a replay. There are two guaranteed all-Premier League encounters, with Liverpool hosting West Bromwich Albion, and South- ampton playing Watford. If Chelsea beats Norwich in a replay, the Premier League champion will play Newcastle. Nottingham Forest’s reward for eliminating holder Arsenal is an away game against fellow second-tier side Hull, which lost the 2014 final to the Gunners. Coventry, the 1987 cup winner who is in the fourth tier, will play MK Dons after ousting Premier League struggler Stoke. Another shock in the third round saw Leicester held by Fleetwood to 0-0. The replay winner plays Fleetwood’s fellow third-tier side, Peterborough. (SD-Agencies) Tottenham, Man U to play 4th-tier teams in FA Cup Rafael Nadal RAFAEL NADAL struggled with his timing and normally potent shot-making as he started his delayed preparations for the Australian Open with an error- filled 6-4, 7-5 loss to Richard Gasquet in the Kooyong Classic exhibition event yesterday. Nadal’s readiness for the first Grand Slam of the year had been in doubt after the top-ranked Spaniard pulled out of an exhi- bition in Abu Dhabi and a tour- nament in Brisbane to start the season, citing his lack of prepara- tion following an injury layoff at the end of 2017. Nadal didn’t appear to be hindered by the lingering right knee injury that forced him to withdraw from the ATP Finals in November, but his uneven performance will likely lead to other questions about his match form heading into the Australian Open next week. “It was a long year last year, so I had to start the preparation (for this season) a little bit later than usual. But here I arrive in plenty of time and it’s a good day to start feeling again ... of playing a match,” Nadal said in an on-court interview following the match. “It’s still a good test for me and a good practice and that’s the most important thing.” He downplayed any concerns about his knee, saying, “If I’m not feeling good, probably I will not be here. So that’s the good news.” Nadal had particular trouble with his forehand yesterday, repeatedly misfiring into the net or spraying his shots several feet beyond the baseline. After Gasquet broke Nadal twice to take a 3-0 lead in the second set, however, the Span- iard suddenly began hitting the lines and playing with his usual intensity, fighting back to level the match at 3-all. His concen- tration then appeared to dip again as he made several more unforced errors to drop serve to go down 6-5. Gasquet then served out the match. The Australian Open has already been hit by the with- drawal of three-time major winner Andy Murray, who has been sidelined by a hip injury since Wimbledon last year and underwent surgery Monday in Melbourne after pulling out of the tournament. (SD-Agencies) Nadal loses to Gasquet in exhibition match PHILIPPE COUTINHO said he is targeting titles at Barce- lona after finally completing his “dream” 160-million-euro (US$192-million) move from Liverpool on Monday. The Brazilian signed a five- year contract in a ceremony sit- ting alongside Barca president Josep Maria Bartomeu, making him the third-most expensive player in history. “It’s an honor for me, a great honor, but also a dream to be here,” Coutinho said after posing on the Camp Nou pitch in a Bar- celona shirt. “I have my goals; to get here, to be happy, win titles and have fun — I only think about that.” Minutes before the midfielder put pen to paper after a whirl- wind few days, the club said a thigh injury would delay his debut until the end of January. The runaway La Liga lead- ers also claimed that Liverpool had cut their original asking price from 200 million euros, after a long-running transfer saga dating back to the summer window. “Due to a contractual issue and due to Liverpool’s desire, we cannot provide the exact fig- ures, but there has been a very significant reduction (in price),” said Barcelona vice president Jordi Mestre. Barca’s swoop for Coutinho is outranked only by Paris Saint- Germain’s stunning world record 222-million-euro signing of Neymar from Barcelona last Coutinho completes ‘dream’ Barcelona move year, and the Paris club’s capture of French striker Kylian Mbappe in a deal that will be worth 180 million euros when the teenager completes his initial loan deal later this year. Coutinho’s arrival will help Barcelona move on from the humiliation of losing Neymar, and his presence alongside Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez will help take the pressure off another of the club’s stars, 33-year-old midfielder Andres Iniesta. But the Brazilian international insisted he would not be replac- ing Neymar or Iniesta in Ernesto Valverde’s side. “Neymar is a huge player... But we have different characteristics and I’ve come here to find my space,” Coutinho said. “I spoke with him. He told me about the city, the players and told me that this club has an amazing dressing room. “Iniesta, for me, is a genius. What I like most is being in the group and being able to play, the rest is a question for the coach.” Bartomeu said the club had secured “one of the stars of world football” and admitted that Liverpool had put up a fight to keep the player. “It was not easy and other clubs expressed an interest in him, but he was determined to come here,” the president said. Barcelona made three bids for Coutinho last year, but Liverpool stood firm. In the end, the lure of a huge profit on a player they paid just 8.5 million euros for when he joined from Inter Milan in 2013 proved too strong for the English club. Coach Valverde predicted Coutinho will comfortably fit into his star-studded team, and he could now make his debut at home to Alaves on Jan. 28. Coutinho played with Suarez for 18 months at Liverpool before the Uruguayan made the same move to Spain in 2014. “It’s an honor to be able to play with him (Suarez) again,” Coutinho added. “He’s helped me a lot, wrote to me a lot and explained to me about the club and city... He even visited a few houses for me! He’s a very close friend.” (SD-Agencies) FC Barcelona’s new signing Philippe Coutinho (R) and FC Barcelona presi- dent Josep Maria Bartomeu pose with the club shirt at Camp Nou in Barcelona on Monday. SD-Agencies LEBRON JAMES had one of the worst performances of his career as the Cleveland Cavaliers were thrashed by the Minnesota Timberwolves in the NBA on Monday. It was not a good night for two of the Eastern Conference’s better players with James strug- gling and Toronto Raptors All-Star Kyle Lowry unable to walk off the court under his own power after landing hard on his back in an overtime win over the Brooklyn Nets. Lowry attempted to walk off the injury but fell to the court before his teammates carried him to the locker room. The Raptors said after the game Lowry sustained an acute back spasm and will be reevaluated Tuesday. James and the Cavaliers had a night to forget as the Timber- wolves opened a 41-point lead in the third quarter of a 127-99 rout of the Cavs. James managed just 10 points on four-for-eight shooting and registered a minus-39, the worst plus-minus in a game in his career, according to ESPN. Playing in only his third game in a Cavs uniform since return- ing from a hip injury, Isaiah Thomas finished the night with nine points after being ejected in the third quarter. As T-Wolves LeBron struggles in loss to Timberwolves forward Andrew Wiggins drove into the paint, Thomas stepped in and slapped him in the throat, earning the Flagrant 2 foul. Meanwhile, Anthony Davis scored 30 points with 10 rebounds as the Pelicans held off the Pistons 112-109. Davis scored all 30 points before leaving with a right ankle injury with four minutes, 41 seconds remaining in the third quarter. Fellow Peli- cans big man DeMarcus Cousins scored 16 of his 20 points after Davis’ injury. MVP candidate Giannis Ante- tokounmpo registered a minus- 17 and knocked down just three field goals in a 109-96 loss to the Pacers. The Bucks opened up a 37-16 first-quarter lead thanks to a 22-2 run. Antetokounmpo and Eric Bledsoe combined for eight of the Bucks’ 17 turnovers. Chris Paul and Eric Gordon each had 24 points and nine assists and Gerald Green scored 22 points as the Rockets beat the Bulls 116-107 without star James Harden. (SD-Agencies) Minnesota Timberwolves center Karl-Anthony Towns (R) shoots in the third quarter against Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James (C) at Target Center in Minneapolis on Monday. SD-Agencies
Transcript of CONTACT US AT: LeBron struggles in loss to...
Sports x 07CONTACT US AT: 8351-9190, [email protected]
Wednesday January 10, 2018
MANCHESTER United and Tot-tenham will play away at fourth-tier clubs in the fourth round of the FA Cup.
United was drawn Monday to face Yeovil in southwest England for the second time in four sea-sons. The 12-time cup winners won 2-0 on the 2015 trip in the third round.
Tottenham will go to south Wales to play Newport in just under three weeks.
English Premier League leader Manchester City could also be playing at a League Two side if Mansfi eld beats Cardiff of the second tier in a replay.
There are two guaranteed all-Premier League encounters, with Liverpool hosting West Bromwich Albion, and South-ampton playing Watford.
If Chelsea beats Norwich in a replay, the Premier League champion will play Newcastle.
Nottingham Forest’s reward for eliminating holder Arsenal is an away game against fellow second-tier side Hull, which lost the 2014 fi nal to the Gunners. Coventry, the 1987 cup winner who is in the fourth tier, will play MK Dons after ousting Premier League struggler Stoke.
Another shock in the third round saw Leicester held by Fleetwood to 0-0. The replay winner plays Fleetwood’s fellow third-tier side, Peterborough.
(SD-Agencies)
Tottenham, Man U to play 4th-tier teams in FA Cup
Rafael Nadal
RAFAEL NADAL struggled with his timing and normally potent shot-making as he started his delayed preparations for the Australian Open with an error-fi lled 6-4, 7-5 loss to Richard Gasquet in the Kooyong Classic exhibition event yesterday.
Nadal’s readiness for the fi rst Grand Slam of the year had been in doubt after the top-ranked Spaniard pulled out of an exhi-bition in Abu Dhabi and a tour-nament in Brisbane to start the season, citing his lack of prepara-tion following an injury layoff at the end of 2017.
Nadal didn’t appear to be hindered by the lingering right knee injury that forced him to withdraw from the ATP Finals in November, but his uneven performance will likely lead to other questions about his match form heading into the Australian Open next week.
“It was a long year last year, so I had to start the preparation (for this season) a little bit later than usual. But here I arrive in plenty of time and it’s a good day to start feeling again ... of playing a match,” Nadal said in an on-court interview following the match.
“It’s still a good test for me and a good practice and that’s the most important thing.”
He downplayed any concerns about his knee, saying, “If I’m not feeling good, probably I will not be here. So that’s the good news.”
Nadal had particular trouble with his forehand yesterday, repeatedly misfi ring into the net or spraying his shots several feet beyond the baseline.
After Gasquet broke Nadal twice to take a 3-0 lead in the second set, however, the Span-iard suddenly began hitting the lines and playing with his usual intensity, fi ghting back to level the match at 3-all. His concen-tration then appeared to dip again as he made several more unforced errors to drop serve to go down 6-5. Gasquet then served out the match.
The Australian Open has already been hit by the with-drawal of three-time major winner Andy Murray, who has been sidelined by a hip injury since Wimbledon last year and underwent surgery Monday in Melbourne after pulling out of the tournament. (SD-Agencies)
Nadal loses to Gasquet in exhibition match
PHILIPPE COUTINHO said he is targeting titles at Barce-lona after fi nally completing his “dream” 160-million-euro (US$192-million) move from Liverpool on Monday.
The Brazilian signed a fi ve-year contract in a ceremony sit-ting alongside Barca president Josep Maria Bartomeu, making him the third-most expensive player in history.
“It’s an honor for me, a great honor, but also a dream to be here,” Coutinho said after posing on the Camp Nou pitch in a Bar-celona shirt.
“I have my goals; to get here, to be happy, win titles and have fun — I only think about that.”
Minutes before the midfi elder put pen to paper after a whirl-wind few days, the club said a thigh injury would delay his debut until the end of January.
The runaway La Liga lead-ers also claimed that Liverpool had cut their original asking price from 200 million euros, after a long-running transfer saga dating back to the summer window.
“Due to a contractual issue and due to Liverpool’s desire, we cannot provide the exact fi g-ures, but there has been a very signifi cant reduction (in price),” said Barcelona vice president Jordi Mestre.
Barca’s swoop for Coutinho is outranked only by Paris Saint-Germain’s stunning world record 222-million-euro signing of Neymar from Barcelona last
Coutinho completes ‘dream’ Barcelona move
year, and the Paris club’s capture of French striker Kylian Mbappe in a deal that will be worth 180 million euros when the teenager completes his initial loan deal later this year.
Coutinho’s arrival will help Barcelona move on from the humiliation of losing Neymar, and his presence alongside Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez will help take the pressure off another of the club’s stars, 33-year-old midfi elder Andres Iniesta.
But the Brazilian international insisted he would not be replac-ing Neymar or Iniesta in Ernesto Valverde’s side.
“Neymar is a huge player... But we have different characteristics
and I’ve come here to fi nd my space,” Coutinho said.
“I spoke with him. He told me about the city, the players and told me that this club has an amazing dressing room.
“Iniesta, for me, is a genius. What I like most is being in the group and being able to play, the rest is a question for the coach.”
Bartomeu said the club had secured “one of the stars of world football” and admitted that Liverpool had put up a fi ght to keep the player.
“It was not easy and other clubs expressed an interest in him, but he was determined to come here,” the president said.
Barcelona made three bids for Coutinho last year, but Liverpool stood fi rm. In the end, the lure of a huge profi t on a player they paid just 8.5 million euros for when he joined from Inter Milan in 2013 proved too strong for the English club.
Coach Valverde predicted Coutinho will comfortably fi t into his star-studded team, and he could now make his debut at home to Alaves on Jan. 28.
Coutinho played with Suarez for 18 months at Liverpool before the Uruguayan made the same move to Spain in 2014.
“It’s an honor to be able to play with him (Suarez) again,” Coutinho added.
“He’s helped me a lot, wrote to me a lot and explained to me about the club and city... He even visited a few houses for me! He’s a very close friend.” (SD-Agencies)
FC Barcelona’s new signing Philippe Coutinho (R) and FC Barcelona presi-dent Josep Maria Bartomeu pose with the club shirt at Camp Nou in Barcelona on Monday. SD-Agencies
LEBRON JAMES had one of the worst performances of his career as the Cleveland Cavaliers were thrashed by the Minnesota Timberwolves in the NBA on Monday.
It was not a good night for two of the Eastern Conference’s better players with James strug-gling and Toronto Raptors All-Star Kyle Lowry unable to walk off the court under his own power after landing hard on his back in an overtime win over the Brooklyn Nets.
Lowry attempted to walk off the injury but fell to the court before his teammates carried him to the locker room. The Raptors said after the game Lowry sustained an acute back spasm and will be reevaluated Tuesday.
James and the Cavaliers had a night to forget as the Timber-wolves opened a 41-point lead in the third quarter of a 127-99 rout of the Cavs.
James managed just 10 points on four-for-eight shooting and registered a minus-39, the worst plus-minus in a game in his career, according to ESPN.
Playing in only his third game in a Cavs uniform since return-ing from a hip injury, Isaiah Thomas fi nished the night with nine points after being ejected in the third quarter. As T-Wolves
LeBron struggles in loss to Timberwolves
forward Andrew Wiggins drove into the paint, Thomas stepped in and slapped him in the throat, earning the Flagrant 2 foul.
Meanwhile, Anthony Davis scored 30 points with 10 rebounds as the Pelicans held off the Pistons 112-109. Davis scored all 30 points before leaving with a right ankle injury with four
minutes, 41 seconds remaining in the third quarter. Fellow Peli-cans big man DeMarcus Cousins scored 16 of his 20 points after Davis’ injury.
MVP candidate Giannis Ante-tokounmpo registered a minus-17 and knocked down just three fi eld goals in a 109-96 loss to the Pacers. The Bucks opened up a
37-16 fi rst-quarter lead thanks to a 22-2 run. Antetokounmpo and Eric Bledsoe combined for eight of the Bucks’ 17 turnovers.
Chris Paul and Eric Gordon each had 24 points and nine assists and Gerald Green scored 22 points as the Rockets beat the Bulls 116-107 without star James Harden. (SD-Agencies)
Minnesota Timberwolves center Karl-Anthony Towns (R) shoots in the third quarter against Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James (C) at Target Center in Minneapolis on Monday. SD-Agencies
