The Argentina international was handed the jail term last July after being found guilty – alongside his father Jorge – of three counts of tax fraud relating to earnings from image rights which was deemed to have defrauded Spain of €4.1million between 2007 and 2009. Barca’s Pique talks up Valverde Messi’s appeal against the verdict has now been turned down, but Barcelona stick by their star player and his family....
The World Cup winner at Camp Nou is set to turn 32 in February 2019 and the Blaugrana believe a man currently at Stamford Bridge is capable of one day filling a void at the heart of their defence. The versatile Alonso does have experience of playing as a centre-back from his time at Serie A side Fiorentina, but he has never operated there under Antonio Conte at Chelsea since completing a £23 million move in August 2016....
The France international, 20, has been sidelined since September due to a torn hamstring. Blaugrana 13/2 to win CL It was expected Dembele would miss three to four months, likely ruling him out until 2018. But the specialist who operated on the forward recently said Dembele could return for Barca for the Clasico against rivals Real Madrid on December 23. Judging by the training put in by the former Borussia Dortmund star, he may be on track to face Madrid....
Dembele became the Catalans’ most expensive player in history over the summer when he was signed from Borussia Dortmund for €105 million. The France international was purchased as a replacement for Neymar, but went down with a thigh muscle tear in just his third appearance back in September. According to Barca, however, after more than three months on the sidelines, he has now made a full recovery and could feature as soon as this week....
The Catalans got back to winning ways last weekend with a 2-0 win over Villarreal, breaking a run of two consecutive draws. And with an end-of-year Clasico against Real Madrid looming, Ernesto Valverde’s men will be keen to enter the fixture in the highest of spirits and take down their next opponents. TV CHANNEL & LIVE STREAM In the UK, the match will be available to watch live on television on Sky Sports Football or by stream via Sky Go....
Last week, in the oddest pairing since Dan Rather and Connie Chung, CBS announced a tentative deal to merge with QVC, Inc., the giant home-shopping cable network. If it was a timely move by Tisch to move on and bring in new blood, it was a major coup-and an extraordinary comeback-for Barry Diller, QVC’s boss. Diller, 52, will succeed Tisch as chief executive (Tisch, 71, remains as chairman), a job that will finally allow him to run the stage media trophy he had sought unsuccessfully in Paramount....
Zito wants to pitch in the majors again after sitting out last season, according to Zito’s agent, Scott Boras. “He called me on the phone in August and said, ‘I’m ready to go. I want to pitch,’’’ Boras told reporters, including ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick, at the MLB general managers meetings. “He set up the plan and did all of that.’' Boras will need to perform some magic to secure even a spring training invite for the 36-year-old soft-tossing left-hander....
Ohio sports betting launches on New Year’s Day and Barstool Sportsbook Ohio is set to go live as early as 12:01 a.m. You can still pre-register with promo code NEWSWEEKOH5050 for an account to secure a $100 bonus, while still remaining eligible for a new user promo after the app launches. Ohioans who sign up early with Barstool Sportsbook Ohio promo code NEWSWEEKOH5050 will secure a $50 bonus in mycash and $50 in sportsbook bonus cash....
“From everything that I saw, the bat is slow right now, it’s no question,” Phillies bench coach Larry Bowa told the New York Post. Bowa has a basis for comparison, having served as third base coach for the Yankees from 2006-07 and on the Mariners staff in 2000 when Rodriguez was still in Seattle. Other (unnamed) seasoned observers echoed Bowa’s assessment after Rodriguez went 1-for-2 with a walk. But as Bowa and and one scout went on to note, it was only one game and it’s normal for any hitter to be playing catch-up at this early stage in spring training....
But here's the thing: Mascots are designed to appeal to kids, not the cynical, sarcastic denizens of the Twitterverse. Won't somebody please think of the children? We will! We asked Cameron McGuire, the 10-year-old son of SN's MLB editor, to rank each of baseball's mascots for awesomeness. Here's what he came up with: Phillie Phanatic (Phillies) “I like it because it’s funny. I kind of like the way it looks....
But “Hoop Dreams” has more than good luck on its side: it’s one of the richest movie experiences of the year, a spellbinding American epic that holds you firmly in its grip for nearly three hours. Chicago film-makers Steve James, Frederick Marx and Peter Gilbert, spent four and a half years following two inner-city kids with dreams of NBA glory, William Gates and Arthur Agee, basketball prodigies whose hopes of escaping the hazards of the ghetto rest on their hardwood performance....
It’s been six years since General Motors won an apology from NBC News after “Dateline” rigged an explosion of a GM pickup truck. After the “Dateline” scandal the TV news magazines steered clear of Detroit, but lately they’ve gone back into overdrive. In the last three years the news mags, ever proliferating and with ever-growing appetites, have aired more than 50 segments on auto safety–some of them innocuous consumer tips, but many others featuring allegations of lethal product defects....
While including several of the players that featured in big tournaments like the 2016 Olympics or FIBA EuroBasket 2017, coach Vincent Collet has also named two key men from Les Bleus’ European Qualifiers campaign, Andrew Albicy and Paul Lacombe. Albicy played in all 12 of the Qualifiers while Lecombe featured in 10 of the games. Amath M’Baye, arguably the revelation of the season in the Basketball Champions League after helping Segafredo Virtus Bologna capture the title, is among the 15....
The Italian has enjoyed a glittering coaching career to date, to complement the successful playing career he enjoyed at Parma, Roma and Milan. Bayern rule out €100m Alexis bid Joining the managerial elite at Juventus in 1999, Ancelotti has gone on to take in spells with Milan, Chelsea, Paris Saint-Germain, Real Madrid and Bayern. He has won league titles in Italy, England, France and Spain, while claiming the Champions League crown on three occasions, but he is clearly not finished yet....
Bayern 21/20 to beat BVB The Colombia star was taken off in the second half of Tuesday’s 3-0 Audi Cup loss to Liverpool after complaining of discomfort and was sent for further tests on the problem. The Bundesliga champions have since revealed that he is facing a spell on the sidelines after muscle damage was detected. “Bayern will have to do without new signing James Rodriguez over the coming weeks,” the club said in a statement....
Bayern are set to host Zinedine Zidane’s side in the semi-finals of the Champions League on Wednesday, with speculation rife that Lewandowski could be lining up for the Blancos come next season. Madrid are set to bolster their forward line this summer with Karim Benzema struggling in front of goal and Gareth Bale unable to make any impact following a spate of injuries. Lewandowski is seen as the ideal addition, with the 29-year-old having scored 39 goals in 43 appearances across all competitions for the Bundesliga champions this term....
Kimmich questions Leipzig’s ability under pressure Rudy joined the Bundesliga champions on a free transfer, signing a three-year contract, while Sule joins on a five-year deal for an undisclosed transfer fee. However, the Germany international duo will not move to the Allianz Arena until July 2017. Centre-back Sule, 21, who joined Hoffenheim’s youth system in 2010, was reportedly the subject of a bid from Chelsea, and has started and finished all but two games for his side this season....
Alaba went down to the turf holding his left ankle following a challenge with Georgia midfielder Valeri Qazaishvili at the Ernst-Happel Stadion, and it soon became clear he would be unable to continue. Austria were trailing to Valerian Gvilia’s early goal at that stage but Alaba’s replacement, Rapid Wien attacking midfielder Louis Schaub, smashed home an equaliser from close range before half-time. That would be the end of the scoring, as Austria suffered a damaging 1-1 home draw against Georgia....
