a-league Page 7 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights

Europa League Champions Will Qualify For Champions League
UEFA general secretary Gianni Infantino announced yesterday that the winners of the Europa League will qualify for the Champions League starting in the 2015/2016 season. ...

Chelsea And Tottenham Have A Winning Problem
Three days after beating Manchester United in the FA Cup quarterfinal, Chelsea easily dispatched Russian club Rubin Kazan, 3-1, to take a commanding lead in their Europa League quarterfinal. Tottenham had a tougher time in their first leg, drawing Swiss side Basel 2-2 at home. During the match, Spur...

Tim Howard's Broken Back Has Huge World Cup And Premier League Implications
Eleven days ago, Everton FC and US Men's National Team goalkeeper Tim Howard fractured two bones in his back in an FA Cup win against Oldham Athletic. He's expected to be out for about a month. Though the bones aren't weight-bearing and the injury could've been much more serious, it probably couldn...

Turkish Soccer Fans, Banned From Stadium, Manage To Launch Flares Onto Pitch Anyway
Istanbul club Fenerbahçe's Europa League match last Thursday was a sight to behold. The game was played in an empty stadium as punishment for a December match in which fans hurled fireworks onto the pitch, so the team set up a large viewing screen outside. Fans launched dozens of flares attached t...

Non-English Team Wins English Cup
Today, Welsh soccer club Swansea City beat down Bradford City 5-0 to take home the Football League Cup, a biggish, semi-relevant tournament held in England every year....

Luis Suárez's Free-Kick Goal To Put Liverpool Up 3-1 Was Absolutely World Class
Look, Luis Suárez is kind of a dick. He was banned for racism, he's a notorious diver, and he's arrogant....

Hulk Remains Our Soccer Hero
We've never shied away from naming Hulk our favorite international footballer, and with good reason: the dude launches rockets off his foot that are a far bigger threat than anything North Korea could stick together with Silly Putty. (Ex.) The Brazilian striker was back at his old tricks yesterday ...

Joey Barton Finally Arrived For Marseille With A Direct Corner Kick Goal
The last time we checked in on Joey Barton, he was playing his part in the most exciting day in Premiership history with a fantastic red card meltdown. It all helped him earn a season-long ticket out of London and into Marseille, where he's thus far been quiet....
![NBA League Pass Broadband Is Shit, And You Should Not Buy It [UPDATE: It's Even Worse Than Last Year]](https://images.deadspin.com/tr:w-900/Image_Not_Found_1x_qjofp8.png)
NBA League Pass Broadband Is Shit, And You Should Not Buy It [UPDATE: It's Even Worse Than Last Year]
Update (November 8): NBA League Pass Broadband is, somehow, even worse this season than it was last year. Scroll down for the full update....

With Ink Like This, Who Needs A Shirt?
We mentioned last month that it seems the soccer fans who shouldn't go shirtless are the ones who always do. I wouldn't ascribe that rule to this gentleman, though whatever his physical fitness I'd hate to think he spent all that money on what appears to be Cubist design principals in tattoo form a...

Minor League Coach Banned For Full Year After Intentionally Losing 18-Inning Game
Two weeks ago, the Stockton Ports lost 7-6, in 18 innings, to the Modesto Nuts. It wasn't a typical game for the Athletics' Single-A affiliate. For one, the regular manager was on vacation, leaving former MLB player and current Oakland hitting instructor Todd Steverson in charge. For another, it wen...

Pittsburgh Arena Football Team Released Its Entire Roster During Pre-Game Meal; Left Players In Orlando
Arena Football League players presumably aren't in it for the money, since, at roughly $400 per game, most of them don't make all that much money to begin with. Those who would like to the league improve player salaries don't have much leverage, either, since it's pretty easy for a league composed m...

Porto's Nicolás Otamendi Suffered Friendly Fire To The Face In Today's Europa League Match
If the first leg of the Porto-Manchester City Europa League round featured insult, then it figures the return trip to Manchester would feature injury—and this is a nasty one. Porto defender Nicolás Otamendi took a boot to the face in what appears to be a lost cause, as an early (first minute!) Man...

Soccer Team Greeted By Snowball Bombardment
After a countdown, supporters of Legia Warszawa welcome their Europa League opponents Sporting CP with a barrage of snowballs. Why are Eagles fans criticized for throwing snowballs while Legia here is just adorable? Because Polish ultras could just as easily be off killing people, so let them have...

Manchester City Files Complaint Alleging Porto Fans Racially Abused Mario Balotelli
Manchester City is asking UEFA to punish Portuguese team Porto for alleged racial abuse directed at Mario Balotelli during Man City's 2-1 Europa League win Thursday....

There Was A Perfectly Placed Own Goal In Celtic's Europa League Match Today
"Around the half-hour a long punt by the home goalkeeper, Benoît Costil, was making its way harmlessly through to Fraser Forster in Celtic's goal but Cha Du-ri helped it on then watched in horror as the ball slipped past his goalkeeper and into the net. The South Korean was playing in midfield and...

Jozy Altidore Scored A Nice Goal In His UEFA Europa League Match Today
UEFA's version of the NIT hoops tournament commenced today with 24 Europa League matches. Proud American striker Jozy Altidore provided the first of four goals that AZ Alkmaar would put up on Malmö FF....

Clemson, Davidson Up The Rain-Delay-Antics Ante With Human Bowling, Wartime Re-Enactment, And Curling
Your morning roundup for May 19, the day Stanley the adult baby entered the nation's political dialogue, and not a moment too soon. Video via College Baseball Daily....

Wild Australian Horse Decides To Run Away From A Steeplechase Course And Over The Crowd
Your morning roundup for May 6, the day Willie Mays becomes an octogenarian....