premier Page 14 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights

Virgil van Dijk’s injury blows Premier League title race wide open
In what has already been a bonkers EPL season full of goals, blown leads, and surprise teams at the top of the table, perhaps the biggest moment of the season so far occurred in the fifth minute of yesterday’s rubber-room of a Merseyside Derby between Liverpool and Everton. ...

Hands off, Sergio Aguero — at a minimum, touch of lineswoman should have been carded
If you know nothing else about soccer, you probably still know that it’s the game where you can’t use your hands....

Manchester United can't unscrew itself, again, as transfer window slams shut on their fingers
Much like Lyle Lanley told the residents of Springfield before they purchased the monorail, Ed Woodward as chairman of Manchester United is like a horse with a spinning wheel. No one knows how he got it, and danged if he knows what to do with it. ...

Does no fans mean more scoring across all sports?
We’re now something like six months into the no-spectators sports world. Seven if you start with the German Bundesliga in May. It’s been only a little more than three here in the Colonies, as the NBA, NHL, and MLB started at the end of July. Football has only been through four weeks. And yet a commo...

For the NFL’s smartest team, this seems remarkably dumb
I’ve been staring at this bit of information for at least 10 minutes to see if I could find the logic. Maybe I’m like that guy from “Mallrats” who can’t see the fucking schooner. ...

Gareth Bale and Tottenham Deserve Each Other
It can be startling to remember that Gareth Bale has only been something of a punchline for two seasons. And we should all be so lucky to be considered a joke when making over $37 million per year to live in Madrid and not do a whole bunch. We’d all accept a pretty healthy share of laughs at our exp...

Premier League Preview: Can Liverpool Fight Off the Metrics Dragon?
Every metric-follower of any sport has an imaginary dragon lurking to torment, if not slay, their favorite player and/or team. In baseball it’s the BABIP Dragon, causing your pitcher to give up hits on soft contact simply because he hasn’t in a while. Or your favorite hitter to hit screamers right a...

Leicester Pull Another Brendan Rodgers, And Villa Hero’s Final Act Saves Them In Premier League’s Last Day
There was a lot to be decided on the Premier League’s long-awaited final day this morning. Two relegation spots, and two spots in the Champions League, were still up for grabs when things kicked off. It didn’t lack for drama....

Leeds United Are Finally Back Where They Belong
Anyone who claims returning from the land of the dead isn’t possible should cast their skeptical eye to the Premier League in September when the 2020-2021 season kicks off. There they’ll find Leeds United, promoted this past weekend, who will be returning from a decade-and-a-half spent in a formless...

Manchester City Are Destroying Everything In Its Path, Including UEFA
If it’s felt like Manchester City are just an irresistible, and inevitable force, today will only underline that. Not only have they outscored their opposition since soccer returned 25-3, or won six of their eight games, or still have a very good chance at claiming three trophies this season (alread...

Soccer Doesn't Have a Coronavirus Problem, the MLS Does
Professional sports have been back for months....

Arsenal’s Defending Continues To Be The Best Television
With production shut down on everything in Hollywood these days, you might be worried that soon your entertainment options will run dry. Comedies you’ve come to count on to provide just enough giggles to get through this death march of a timeline might not be around. Don’t you worry, weary traveler,...

The Premier League’s Upstarts Have Stalled Out
Every team in every league that decided to return to play after the pandemic shutdown was going to struggle to hold onto their form from before the break. Three months without playing, and weeks and weeks of not even training, made everything a crapshoot. For teams that seemingly had something magic...

Liverpool’s Dominant Title Win Driven By Efficiency
Over the week leading up to Liverpool clinching the Premier League title on Thursday with Manchester City’s loss to Chelsea, NBC wanted you to believe that their 30-year wait was on par with some of the more storied championship droughts in North America. Hell, a great number of Liverpool supporters...

American Christian Pulisic’s Magisterial Goal is a Must See
Hey, remember back in 1990 when you were super-stoked to watch American John Harkes be a non-factor for non-factor Sheffield Wednesday? He was the first American to play in the English Premier League and we were all amazed. Don’t pretend you weren’t....

Premier League Returns: How to Watch, and Everything Else You Need To Know
If it feels like the sporting world is at that point where all the people who were really excited to drink for free are showing up too early to the party, that’s because it kind of is. A month after the German Bundesliga kicked things off by helping to set up the food and arrange the furniture, and ...

Morning Drinkers Rejoice: Premier League And Serie A Announce Return Dates
In give-it-a-name fashion, both the Premier League In England and Italy’s Serie A announced today the dates they will resume. The Premier League will restart on June 17, behind closed doors (no fans), with two matches and then a full-slate the following weekend. Serie A will return on June 20....

So-Called 'Smoking Gun' In MLB Labor Fight Is Just Another Attempt To Railroad Players Via Media Partner
This is a critical moment for America amid the coronavirus pandemic, as states like Texas focus on reopening businesses, even as COVID-19 cases surge there. The role of the media, as ever, but particularly now, should be that it “enables conversations on issues of public concern, and holds the power...

Sports To ‘Boost National Morale’? Bollocks, Says Premier League’s Danny Rose. ‘People’s Lives Are At Risk’
Danny Rose is not down with Boris Johnson’s shenanigans....

Baseball Isn’t The Only Sport With Lower Division Problems
The landscape of the world’s most popular game is about to change severely....