News sport : Steve Spurrier calls in to surprise Darius Rucker on DP Show

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Darius Rucker got a surprise when he was on The Dan Patrick Show on Thursday.


While Rucker, a noted South Carolina fan, was chatting with Patrick, "Steven in South Carolina" called in. Yes, it was South Carolina coach Steve Spurrier.


Rucker wasn't sure it was Spurrier at first, but then realized it really was the Head Ball Coach.


Spurrier said he was calling in while on the way to the Women's Final Four. South Carolina plays Notre Dame on Sunday.


Rucker is also at least the second country artist Spurrier has talked to this week. Tuesday, Spurrier tweeted a picture of himself with Kenny Chesney before Chesney's concert.



We're going to bet Spurrier is just as fun at concerts as he is at the Daytona 500.


For more South Carolina news, visit GamecockCentral.com.


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Nick Bromberg is the assistant editor of Dr. Saturday on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at nickbromberg@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!







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News sport : VT players elicit complaints for behavior at Take Back the Night event

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Some Virginia Tech football players reportedly acted inappropriately at a campus Take Back the Night event on March 26.


Per Roanoke.com, witnesses said the players were laughing, leaving early and checking their phones at the event which has a goal of ending sexual violence and included speakers who are survivors of sexual assault. The organized events began in the 1970s and the March 26 event was coordinated by Womanspace, a VT campus organization.


Players were required to attend the event if they didn't have a class conflict and some arrived late, left early and were disruptive during the event. Some were reportedly even called out from the stage for leaving early.


From Roanoke.com:



Sahai said she sat the front of the Haymarket Theatre in Squires Student Center, where the event was held, while most of the players sat in the back. She said even from a distance it was clear the people wearing “football gear” were laughing during speakers’ accounts of sexual assaults.




Sheree Jean, a 2013 Tech graduate who is a volunteer with Raft Crisis Hotline, one of the night’s sponsors, said she sat among the players in the back of the venue.




“They would text each other and then yell across the room to each other to check their phones,” Jean said.




She said she tried not to look at them for the majority of the event, but couldn’t avoid it when a player beside her turned around to his teammates following a presentation from a gender nonconforming individual.




“He was just like, ‘We do not clap for this,’ ” Jean said.



The conduct of some of the unidentified players in attendance even elicited a Tuesday night meeting that involved coach Frank Beamer and athletic director Whit Babcock that included students and faculty. No football players were involved.


According to an attendee, Babcock answered "I don't know" to a lot of questions but seemed willing to work with those who were there. The story gave no indication of what, if any, possible punishments football players could face.


While we all have had to force ourselves to go to events we haven't wanted to attend, we all should know that there's a level of decorum expected despite your attitude. And the reports of some Hokie players behavior sadly recalls the actions of Ole Miss players at a school play in 2013. The players were required to attend "The Laramie Project" as part of a class.


“I was hoping VT football would be above the stereotype, but I was proven wrong,” Thomas Friss, a former member of Womanspace said.


For more Virginia Tech news, visit HokieHaven.com.


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Nick Bromberg is the assistant editor of Dr. Saturday on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at nickbromberg@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!







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News sport : MLB bullpen depth chart: Tracking closers throughout the season

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[Yahoo Sports Fantasy Baseball: Sign up and join a league today!]


American League

Baltimore Orioles – Zach Britton (D. O'Day, T. Hunter)

Boston Red Sox – Edward Mujica (J. Tazawa); Koji Uehara injured (hamstring)

Chicago White Sox – David Robertson (Z. Duke, J. Petricka)

Cleveland Indians – Cody Allen (B. Shaw)

Detroit Tigers – Joe Nathan (J. Soria)

Houston Astros – Luke Gregerson (C. Qualls, P. Neshek)

Kansas City Royals – Greg Holland (W. Davis, K. Herrera)

Los Angeles Angels – Huston Street (J. Smith)

Minnesota Twins – Glen Perkins (C. Fien)

New York Yankees – Dellin Betances, Andrew Miller (D. Carpenter)

Oakland Athletics – Tyler Clippard (F. Abad); Sean Doolittle injured (shoulder)

Seattle Mariners – Fernando Rodney (D. Farquhar, Y. Medina)

Tampa Bay Rays – Brad Boxberger (G. Balfour, E. Frieri); Jake McGee injured (elbow)

Texas Rangers – Neftali Feliz (T. Scheppers, R. Mendez)

Toronto Blue Jays – Brett Cecil (A. Loup, M. Castro)


[Want to join a league and live draft right now? Go to the Yahoo Draft Lobby ]


National League

Arizona Diamondbacks – Addison Reed (B. Ziegler)

Atlanta Braves – Craig Kimbrel (J. Grilli)

Chicago Cubs – Hector Rondon (P. Strop, N. Ramirez)

Cincinnati Reds – Aroldis Chapman (J. Diaz, S. LeCure)

Colorado Rockies – LaTroy Hawkins (A. Ottavino)

Los Angeles Dodgers – J. Peralta, Y. Garcia, P. Rodriguez; Kenley Jansen injured (foot)

Miami Marlins – Steve Cishek (M. Dunn, AJ Ramos)

Milwaukee Brewers – Francisco Rodriguez (J. Broxton)

New York Mets – Jenrry Mejia (J. Familia); Bobby Parnell injured (elbow)

Philadelphia Phillies – Jonathan Papelbon (K. Giles)

Pittsburgh Pirates – Mark Melancon (T. Watson, A. Bastardo)

St. Louis Cardinals – Trevor Rosenthal (J. Walden)

San Diego Padres – Joaquin Benoit (K. Quackenbush)

San Francisco Giants – Santiago Casilla (S. Romo)

Washington Nationals – Drew Storen (A. Barrett)






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News sport : Ravens owner Steve Bisciotti discusses regrets in Ray Rice situation

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Last year about this time, Baltimore Ravens owner Steve Bisciotti and others in the organization were reportedly working the NFL to get a lenient suspension for Ray Rice.


That's what an ESPN "Outside the Lines" story claimed. If nothing else, Bisciotti and the Ravens didn't act when a video of Rice dragging his unconscious fiancee out of an elevator surfaced. When the in-elevator video surfaced, showing Rice punching then-fiancee Janay Palmer (the two have married since), the public tide turned and the Ravens cut Rice.


The Ravens have refuted many parts of that ESPN report, including that Bisciotti and other officials asked NFL commissioner Roger Goodell to give Rice a light two-game suspension, which he did. Whatever really happened, there's a much different tune from Bisciotti about Rice a year later. Bisciotti is saying now that the Ravens should have sought out the video and had they seen it, they'd have cut Rice immediately.


Bisciotti talked about regrets in a conference call with about 5,000 season-ticket holders, according to ESPN.com.



"We did the best we can," Bisciotti said, according to ESPN.com. "I can't say I don't have regrets. I said back then, my regret was not cutting him. My regret was not demanding to see the video. I believe we could've gotten it. If we had seen the video back in the spring, I think we would have a different circumstance. We would've released him. We should have seen the video in May and not in September."



I'm sure Bisciotti does have regrets. The Ravens haven't received nearly the criticism of Goodell for not putting in much effort to see the video from inside the elevator, or really taking any action at all. Would the Ravens really have cut Rice had they seen it and the public hadn't, and the public hadn't had the chance to react so strongly to it? That's what Bisciotti says. The video from outside the elevator and Rice's admittion to the team he hit his then-fiancee (the Ravens say he told them he hit her with an open hand and not a fist, which apparently was a big distinction to them) didn't cause the Ravens to take any action, so believing Bisciotti's comments now require a bit of a leap of logic.


If the incident changed the way the Ravens think about domestic violence, then that's good. The organization that supported Rice even though there was a video of him dragging his then-fiancee out of an elevator knows it was a major mistake to treat domestic violence like any other off-field incident.



"I think that we were pretty stupid not to recognize domestic violence as a category by itself," Bisciotti said, according to ESPN.com. "No other infractions -- failed drug tests, bar fights or DUIs -- nothing to me should rise to that level. I'm embarrassed to say that they were lumped together. So, I'm happy that we found ourselves comfortable taking that categorically and putting it into at the top of the list as something that is just unacceptable."



That's nothing new. Anyone who has thought critically about the Rice suspension knows it wasn't an isolated mistake, because the NFL had an embarrassing history of light punishments for domestic violence cases for decades. There just wasn't a video of the incidents in those cases.


But the fact that Bisciotti is still answering about what happened to season-ticket holders says the Ravens still have a way to go before they can move beyond what happened last year.


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Frank Schwab is the editor of Shutdown Corner on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at shutdowncorner@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!






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News sport : A's outfield ailing, clearing path for spring star Billy Burns

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If you were counting on a meaningful early season contribution from Oakland outfielder Coco Crisp, we've got some bad news for you.


[Yahoo Sports Fantasy Baseball: Sign up and join a league today!]


This via the San Francisco Chronicle:


The Chronicle has learned that Coco Crisp is expected to need surgery to remove a bone spur and chips in his right elbow, and he would miss six to eight weeks after the arthroscopic procedure.

Of course it's not as if you didn't understand the risks associated with Crisp. He has a deep injury history, with five trips to the DL during his six seasons with the A's. Josh Reddick is dealing with an oblique malfunction at the moment, so he'll be sidelined for something like five games, too.


Oakland figures to use burner Craig Gentry and the exceedingly versatile Ben Zobrist to cover the outfield absences, but we're also likely to see 25-year-old Billy Burns in the mix — and if Burns is playing, it's an actionable fantasy event in deeper leagues.


Burns is having a ridiculous spring for the A's, leading all players in hits (29-for-73) while swiping four bags and slashing .397/.444/.507. Over the past two minor league seasons, he's stolen 128 bases in only 141 attempts. Fast dude, Burns. He offers no power, but he demonstrated solid on-base skills in the minors (.387 career OBP) and he's not a high-K hitter.


Burns will certainly be worth a look in daily games early in the season, and his speed could make him interesting in standard leagues, too. Keep him on the watch list.






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News sport : Paul Johnson isn't a fan of coaches leaving right after signing day

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MIAMI GARDENS, FL - DECEMBER 31: Head coach Paul Johnson of the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets waves to the crowd after the Capital One Orange Bowl game against the Mississippi State Bulldogs at Sun Life Stadium on December 31, 2014 in Miami Gardens, Florida. (Photo by Chris Trotman/Getty Images) While assistant coaches leave for different positions at different schools all the time, this year we saw several coaches make sure a program’s recruiting class was secure before bolting for a new job, leaving prospects feeling betrayed.


The Atlanta Journal-Constitution asked Georgia Tech coach Paul Johnson about these occurrences. He didn’t hold back.


“I don’t think I would want to do business that way as a head coach,” Johnson said.


“You can’t tell me they didn’t know. I’m sure in that situation, they (head coaches told the assistants who were about to leave) said ‘OK, you need to stay with me until signing day. Let’s finish this thing up.’ Then that’s the on the individuals, too.”


While it happened all across the country, one of the more notable cases involved an Atlanta-area prospect in Johnson’s neck of the woods. Macon County (Ga.) linebacker Roquan Smith announced his commitment for UCLA on National Signing Day, but later signed with Georgia after former UCLA defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich took a job with the Atlanta Falcons.


Johnson says he would never lead a prospect on if he knew an assistant who was heavily involved in the recruitment had one foot out the door.


“I would have a hard time personally misleading guys like that,” Johnson said. “I wouldn’t do it. I wouldn’t let somebody working for me do it – if we knew that they weren’t going to be here (after signing day).”


Johnson’s Yellow Jackets are coming off a big season that included 11 wins and an Orange Bowl victory over Mississippi State. The team will play its spring game on April 17.


For more Georgia Tech news, visit JacketsOnline.com.


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Sam Cooper is a contributor for the Yahoo Sports blogs. Have a tip? Email him or follow him on Twitter!







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News sport : Report: Bitcoin won't sponsor 2015 St. Petersburg Bowl

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The BitCoin St. Petersburg Bowl's place in bowl history looks to be a fleeting one.


According to CoinDesk, the 2015 St. Petersburg Bowl will no longer have Bitcoin as its title sponsor. BitPay had originally signed a three-year deal to have BitCoin be the title sponsor of the game.


BitCoin is a peer-to-peer online currency system without a central authority. Because of its structure, it's come under scrutiny, especially for its security. The value of a BitCoin fluctuates and when we wrote about the sponsorship announcement, a BitCoin was worth over $600 according to this website. Now, it's worth less than $250.


The St. Petersburg Bowl website already reflects the change in branding as BitCoin is no longer gracing the bowl's logo. The @BitCoinBowl Twitter handle is also gone if you search for it on Twitter while @StPeteBowl exists.


BitCoin is the second new-in-2014 bowl sponsor to not return for 2015. Duck Commander is no longer the title sponsor of the Independence Bowl. However the game was not played with a sponsorship contract and the name of the company was used as an attempt to leverage other companies into sponsorship agreements with the bowl.


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Nick Bromberg is the assistant editor of Dr. Saturday on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at nickbromberg@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!







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News sport : Indianapolis letting Final Four teams know it's home to IndyCar

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There was an interesting-looking car involved in Michigan State's police escort in Indianapolis on Wednesday night.


The Spartans arrived for the weekend's Final Four and part of the escort entourage included a two-seater IndyCar.




We're incredibly jealous of Hollis, though we would be itching to go faster than police escort speed. He should have hijacked that baby and driven over to Indianapolis Motor Speedway for a few hot laps. It's not like the speedway is currently being used for anything.


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Nick Bromberg is the editor of From The Marbles on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at nickbromberg@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!







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News sport : Celtics' Kelly Olynyk accidentally reveals nature of Dougie Hamilton's injury

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When it comes to injuries in the NHL, the details are usually shrouded in mystery. Bum shoulder? That’s an “upper-body” injury. Sprained ankle? “Lower-body” injury. “Mid-body” injury and just plain old “body” injury has been used by coaches and teams to hide exactly what’s afflicting a player.


Well, no one told Boston Celtics forward Kelly Olynyk about the NHL’s injury policy, which is why he accidentally revealed the nature of Boston Bruins defenseman Dougie Hamilton’s “upper-body” injury on Wednesday.


Sporting a nice black eye after taking an elbow to the face during a morning shootaround, Olynyk responded to a question about his playing status by joking he would be playing because he didn’t want to hear any guff from his buddy Hamilton.


Via CSNNE:



“I remember two days ago I was texting Dougie Hamilton and he told me he broke his ribs and he’s trying to come back before the playoffs," Olynyk said. "I was like, ‘Man I can’t sit out, he’s gonna rip me' . . . all those hockey guys would have killed me so I had to do it.”



Last week, the Bruins head coach Claude Julien ruled Hamilton out “indefinitely” with the “upper-body” injury, putting the the remainder of his season in doubt. Boston currently holds the final wild card spot in the Eastern Conference and is three points up on the Ottawa Senators.


- - - - - - -


Sean Leahy is the associate editor for Puck Daddy on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at puckdaddyblog@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!


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Amakhosi ready for ‘Mission Impossible’

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Kaizer Chiefs travel to Morocco keen to become the first South African team to beat Raja Casablanca in their own backyard.


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Having had their impeccable Champions League home record destroyed in the first leg, Kaizer Chiefs travel to Morocco not only keen to exact revenge but eager to become the first South African team to beat Raja Casablanca in their own backyard.


Previously victorious in all their 10 home matches of the continent’s premier club knockout competition, Amakhosi came a cropper against the Green Devils at Durban’s Moses Mabhida Stadium three weeks ago.


The manner of the 1-0 loss will still be rankling when Amakhosi take to the field for the second leg in Casablanca on Sunday.


They had no business losing that match did Stuart Baxter’s team, the South African Premiership pace-setters and champions elect having literally gifted Raja the goal via a soft free-kick that they poorly defended very early in the game.


That they went on to dominate the match but failed to convert their chances has had Chiefs kicking themselves ever since, and that pent-up anger will be best used taken out on their adversaries on Sunday.


But history is not on their side, with South African sides having returned from Morocco without victory on three previous occasions in this competition.


Orlando Pirates, Manning Rangers and Ajax Cape Town have played the three-time African champions in this competition before and none of them returned from the tip of the continent victorious.


The Buccaneers and the Mighty Maulers were beaten 1-0 and 2-1 respectively while the Urban Warriors at least got a 1-1 draw.


Of course, Chiefs will no doubt convince themselves that statistics and records are nothing more than just numbers on a piece of paper with very little impact on the outcome of matches.


That 1-0 first leg defeat Amakhosi suffered is testimony to that.


Yet for them to turn the tables on the Moroccan side, Chiefs will not only need to be lethal in their finishing but to also overcome what is sure to be a hostile environment.


Trips to north Africa are never easy, with stadiums generally filled to capacity by a crowd not renowned for their kindness to the opposition.


And the Phefeni Glamour Boys players are not among the toughest of customers mentally.


Though they have scored the most goals in the league, the log leading Chiefs have recently been pretty blunt up front.


And without Kingston Nkhatha, who has joined SuperSport United, they do not have that nuisance of a striker to harass the opposition defence.


While the build-up talk this week has focused on the poor form of the 11-time Moroccan league winners, who have suffered two successive defeats, and the fact their coach might be on his way out, Chiefs would do well to not read too much into all that.


After all, when the whistle for kick-off is blown all the Green Devils will be thinking of is protecting their lead while hoping to catch Chiefs on the break and add to it.


Meanwhile Orlando Pirates will be out in Kampala on Saturday to take on a Uganda Revenue Authority side that they lead 2-1 from the first leg of their CAF Confederation Cup tie. - The Star






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Crunch time in top four race

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Liverpool look to kick-start their Champions League aspirations this weekend with a visit to in-form Arsenal.


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London – Liverpool look to kick-start their Champions League aspirations this weekend with a visit to in-form Arsenal.


A recent 13-match unbeaten run lifted Liverpool to within two points of fourth-placed Manchester United in the Premier League.


That streak ended with a 2-1 home loss to United two weeks ago and another setback at the Emirates Stadium on Saturday could leave the Reds eight points off the top four with seven games remaining.


Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers called for his team to react just as they did after a 3-0 drubbing at Old Trafford in December that started the unbeaten streak.


“We must use this in the same way; refocus, get over the disappointment and then come back into a tough game next against


Arsenal and really look to get the points there,” he said after the United match. “It’s still very much [possible] for us to go where we want to go, which is the top four.”


Rodgers will be without captain Steven Gerrard and defender Martin Skrtel, who are both suspended. Skrtel’s stoppage-time goal


gave Liverpool a 2-2 draw when the teams met in December.


“Both are very important players for us as one can change a game and the other gives us stability at the back, but we have other players as well who can step in,” midfielder Lucas Leiva said. “It’s always been the case for the group that if someone gets injured then someone will step in and do the job.”


Additionally, forwards Raheem Sterling and Daniel Sturridge and midfielder Adam Lallana face a race to fitness after injuries forced


them out of the England squad over the international break.


Arsenal also have a lot on the line as they look to continue their climb up the table. Six wins on the bounce have moved them to third place, one point behind Manchester City and a point ahead of Manchester United in a heated battle for the Champions League places.


“We have Manchester City in front of us but if you look behind us it is tight as well, so the important thing is to win our games,”


manager Arsene Wenger said after the most recent win at Newcastle on March 21.


“We are in the fight. We just have to go for the next game and win it.”


Both Arsenal and United, who host Aston Villa, would leap above Manchester City with wins as the champions don’t play until Monday at Crystal Palace.


After beating top-four challengers Tottenham and Liverpool, and with a clash against rivals City next week, United must avoid slipping up against a Villa squad just above the relegation zone.


“We are in the last stage of the Premier League, with just eight weeks ahead,” midfielder Juan Mata said on United’s website. “Eight


crucial games to determine where we will finally stand on the table.”


The rest of the Easter weekend schedule has Southampton at Everton,Tottenham visiting Burnley, Leicester hosting West Ham, Hull away to Swansea, West Brom hosting QPR, and Newcastle at Sunderland. – ANA-DPA






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PSL relegation fight hots up

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Battles in the middle and bottom sections of the Absa Premiership standings come into focus this Easter weekend.


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Battles in the middle and bottom sections of the Absa Premiership standings come into focus this Easter weekend as the top three of Chiefs, Sundowns and Pirates tackle African assignments.


The five-match domestic programme features the buoyant men of AmaZulu and Maritzburg United doing all they can to increase pressure on their rivals in the relegation dogfight and top-eight challenge respectively when they enjoy home advantage simultaneously on Saturday (3pm).


Both teams are pleased to have virtually all their regular starters available for duty on a bill where the last-placed Durbanites look to move within two points of two foes by overcoming third-bottom Free State Stars at Moses Mabhida Stadium, while Maritzburg attempt to jump three points clear of SuperSport in a mid-table duel at Harry Gwala Stadium.


Two matches will follow in Rustenburg and Polokwane on Saturday night and the last one is in Bloemfontein on Sunday, with all three being of interest to the two KwaZulu-Natal clubs in one way or another.


Quietly confident AmaZulu coach, Steve Barker, and his players, will hope the club’s mission to bring in extra supporters through newly launched incentives will bear fruit this weekend because this will make them feel more important and drive them on in their heavy battle to avoid the axe from the top-flight.


The supporters will likely expect Bongani Ndulula to come in for suspended striker Bongi Ntuli and they, no doubt, would love to see defender Mbulelo ‘OJ’ Mabizela race forward again to grab another important goal during this short spell with the Spar-backed Usuthu.


They have not experienced much joy at Moses Mabhida Stadium in recent years, but will see a good omen in Usuthu’s rare win over Wits at the former World Cup venue last month, which was part of a four-match unbeaten run that Barker’s side will be protecting on Saturday.


Moreover, the Durbanites have not lost to Stars in their last three meetings, although the Free Staters have the dominant record in terms of encounters over the past five years – and their current top scorer, Moeketsi Sekola, has double the tally of AmaZulu’s leading goal-getter, Goodman Dlamini.


Maritzburg also have an inferior record against their opponents overall, but coach Steve Komphela’s men will not lack confidence for Saturday’s visit by SuperSport after they beat the Pretoria side by big margins in their previous two encounters, in addition to getting past Chiefs at home and Platinum Stars away in their last two league assignments last month.


In the two games taking place on Saturday night, Platinum Stars will host Ajax Cape Town at Royal Bafokeng Stadium with Cavin Johnson back at the club after an unsuccessful coaching spell with SuperSport, while Polokwane City lock horns with Wits at Old Peter Mokaba Stadium.


Sunday’s lone game sees Bloem Celtic entertain Pretoria University in a battle of two rejuvenated teams at Kaizer Sebothelo Stadium.






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Bayern plagued by injuries

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Bundesliga leaders Bayern Munich are struggling with a growing number of injuries ahead of their clash against fierce rivals Borussia Dortmund.


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Berlin - Bundesliga leaders Bayern Munich are struggling with a growing number of injuries but club CEO Karl-Heinz Rummenigge believes the squad is big enough to challenge Borussia Dortmund in Saturday's big league game.


Bayern top scorer Arjen Robben, nursing a stomach muscle injury and David Alaba, ruled out for seven weeks with a torn knee ligament, are the latest casualties as the champions prepare to travel to Dortmund.


To make matters worse, winger Franck Ribery is doubtful, still struggling with a nagging ankle injury and unclear whether he will be fit in time for the game.


“Alaba's injury is obviously very painful for us,” Rummenigge told his club website, following the Austrian fullback's injury while on international duty on Tuesday.


“But we cannot change it and it would be a mistake if Bayern started to lament now,” he said adding the Bavarians had enough depth in their squad to compensate for the absences.


“No need to complain about Ribery either. If he does not feel well, if he is in pain then he cannot play.”


Bayern have had to deal with injuries to key players this season but have been extremely consistent, losing just twice in the league to open up a 10-point gap at the top as they cruise towards their 25th German league title.


Last season's runners-up Dortmund never got their season off the ground, languishing in last place right after the winter break before a seven-game unbeaten run saw them bounce back and chase a European spot with eight matches left in the campaign.


“One does not have to be a big prophet to know that Borussia Dortmund are not happy with their current position in the table,” Rummenigge said.


“But they still have a chance for a Europa League spot. We have to prepare for that and the fact that it will be hard. It will be a difficult game and we have a lot of respect for our opponents.”


There is no love lost between the two clubs as Bayern have snapped up Dortmund's Mario Goetze and Robert Lewandowski in the past seasons, both crowd favourites at the Ruhr valley club.


Dortmund's good run in the past two months has raised hopes among fans of winning the one game that could prove decisive for their season.


Defeat at home would not just be a further prestige blow after their loss in Munich earlier in the season but would also see them lose ground in their bid for a top-six finish with Dortmund in 10th spot on 33 points.


“We have to do a lot of things right, play like we did against Schalke 04 (in a 3-0 win). We want to win if we want to keep an eye on the Europa League,” Dortmund striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang told reporters. – Reuters






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Sundowns heading to hostile terrain

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There will be no room for the faint-hearted when Mamelodi Sundowns battle TP Mazembe in a high octane clash in the Caf ChampionsLeague second leg in Lubumbashi.


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There will be no room for the faint-hearted when Mamelodi Sundowns battle TP Mazembe in what is expected to be a high octane clash in the Caf ChampionsLeague second leg in Lubumbashi.


What awaits Sundowns, who won the first leg 1-0 at Loftus Versfeld three weeks ago, is a torrid task in the Democratic Republic of Congo’s southern-most city. Over the years Mazembe have turned their home Stade TP Mazembe into a fortress, where visitors find life difficult. Two years ago South African side Orlando Pirates endured all sorts of trouble when they visited Mazembe there.


Off the pitch and on it, the 1995 CAF Champions League winners had to battle their way through. Pirates lost 1-0 in Lubumbashi but went through to the next stage after winning 3-2 on aggregate. In Lubumbashi, Pirates played with 10 men and Mazembe were awarded two penalties, which the late Senzo Meyiwa saved.


Intimidation is set to be the name of the game. Football analyst and SABC sport commentator Christopher Bongo says Mazembe players and supporters will give their all in a quest to overturn the first leg result and get victory, which will take them to the group stages of the CAF Champions League.


“Two hours before the game, close to 40000 supporters will fill the stadium. Mazembe supporters will do everything possible to make sure they unsettle Sundowns players. It’s going to be a tough game because both sides are hungry for success,” said Bongo, who hails from DRC.


Sundowns coach Pitso Mosimane will want his men to fight like Pirates did in order for the Brazilians to shrug off Mazembe en route to the group stages. Mosimane knows that only men willing to die with their boots on can give him the victory he yearns for.


“Lubumbashi has got its old ways. It’s got its own story. What’s important is to make sure that we are mentally ready. You have got to be soldiers to enter that space. We have got to be ready to deliver. We have the team good enough to deliver. On the field of play, we think we are okay. We can deliver. Obviously we pray and hope that we can get proper and fair officiating. That’s how football should be done. The way we treated them well here, we expect them to treat us well also,” said Mosimane.


As far as Mazembe are concerned, Mosimane may be asking too much. The Champions League tops the Congolese side’s list of priorities. They have dominated their domestic league in the last five years. They have had more than just a taste of Champions League success, having won it four times. Mosimane is aware that the Mazembe attackers will be taking no prisoners on the pitch: “They have got a powerful attack. Rainford Kalaba, Roger Assale and others. They also have a very good midfield and we must also look after set pieces and corner kicks because they have got strong tall guys who are good in aerial strength. At the end of the day, we have been scoring and we believe we will score,” he said. - The Star






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Sterling interview catches Reds off guard

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Raheem Sterling edged closer towards an exit from Liverpool after admitting in a TV interview that he is not ready to sign a new contract at Anfield.


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Raheem Sterling edged closer towards an exit from Liverpool after admitting in a TV interview that he is not ready to sign a new contract at Anfield.


Sterling has been offered a £100,000-a-week deal to stay on Merseyside and revealed in a BBC interview yesterday that he would have signed for a lot less a year ago.


In an in-depth TV discussion that Liverpool knew nothing about until shortly before it was aired, the 21-year-old admitted that it was ‘quite flattering’ to be linked with Arsenal — who Liverpool face on Saturday in the Barclays Premier League — and that he used to dream of playing abroad.


Sterling’s contract expires in two years and Liverpool are infuriated by his decision to give the interview without even telling them. Some members of the club’s hierarchy are convinced that the England international and his representatives are simply preparing the way for a move this summer.


‘It’s not about the money at all,’ said Sterling. ‘It’s never been about money. I talk about winning trophies throughout my career. That’s all I talk about. I


don’t talk about how many cars I’m going to drive, how many houses I’ve got. I just purely want to be the best I can be.


‘I don’t want to be perceived as a money-grabbing 20-year-old. I try to kill it off, but I don’t think the public can see it that way. I think they just see it as this 20-year-old boy being greedy.


‘I just want to take the time to think about what I’ve achieved in my career so far, where I need to go and what I need to do to get better as a player. Everyone’s dream growing up is seeing themselves in an away kit somewhere in a sunny country. But, in reality, I’m happy to be playing for Liverpool and trying to win trophies.


‘If, at that point in time (last season), I was offered a contract, I most definitely would have signed straight away, probably for far less money than being said now. I just think the timing was a bit off.’


Sterling’s stand-off with Liverpool has been a theme of the club’s season. Liverpool fans will be desperate for him to stay but it would now appear that the gap between player and club is widening.


Manager Brendan Rodgers is aware of Sterling’s comments and will address them as part of his weekly press conference today.


It is understood that he will not allow the issue to cloud his judgment ahead of his selection for Saturday and that Sterling will play at the Emirates if fit.


Equally, however, Liverpool’s American owners will not allow themselves to be bullied and are prepared to stand firm — just as they did with Luis Suarez in 2013 —unless they receive an astronomical offer for a player they value at more than £50million.


Liverpool are not prepared to sell to a Premier League rival — Manchester City are also interested — unless the numbers are huge.


Patience with Sterling and his representatives is shortening, however. Rodgers feels Sterling’s management team are driving the issue but is also known to believe players should take control of their own destiny, however young. – Daily Mail






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