All posts by n8rngtd.top

Legendary Milwaukee Brewers radio announcer Bob Uecker passed away on Thursday. People immediately started posting tributes and sharing their favorite Uecker stories and it quickly became apparent just how high his approval rating was amongst sports fans.

One of those sports fans who happened to have the honor of working with Uecker for years was Brewers' television play-by-play voice Brian Anderson. He has been calling games on Fox Sports Wisconsin (Now known as FanDuel Sports Network Wisconsin) since 2007.

Anderson called into MLB Network after the news came out to discuss his friend and shared some incredibly funny and touching stories about getting to know him and how Uecker actually helped get him his job with Milwaukee. He also explained why Uecker was so good at his job and one of the best to ever do it.

"His gift was that—and I learned this from him—is there was, there was great knowledge first of all," said Anderson. "So he could be the analyst. He could dissect the game, but he also knew when to pull back, when to be funny, when to be serious. And he mostly, you know, 90-percent of his play-by-play was he played it straight with the Brewers all these years. Everybody thinks he's hilarious and he is. He's a comedic genius, but if you just sat down for a three-hour broadcast Ueck played straight. He called the game straight and proper. And there were moments of humor in there for sure, but he definitely had that gift of understanding the moment in front of him. He was fully present. Not just to the game in front of him when he was on the air, but everything around him in life. Fully present.

"That idealogy," Anderson continued. "That philosophy of life translated into a world-class broadcaster because he felt every moment and he called it properly. He had great joy in his voice so he was fun and easy to listen to. He had a real interesting resonance to his voice as well. It got really high-pitched when he got excited. He broke a lot of the broadcasting rules, i would say. You know you wouldn't teach at Syracuse or Northwestern, but he got away with it because he was so brilliant at it and just, there's that it factor when you connect to an audience. And nobody had the it factor like Bob."

Anderson shared a couple more stories during an appearance on in 2024. Surely, he has a million more that we'll probably never hear.

Spinners likely to get help from the pitch as early as the first day

Nagraj Gollapudi11-Feb-2021After toiling on a slow and flat surface in the first Test, Indian spinners are likely to get more purchase in the second Test, starting on Saturday, as the pitch is expected to take turn as early as the first day.The key difference between the two surfaces is the nature of the soil. The pitch for the first Test comprised purely of red soil and it did not break until late in the match. However, the surface for the second Test will have a base comprising red soil and a top layer comprising black cotton soil. It is understood that if the conditions are dry, the top layer, primarily made of black clay, will start to disintegrate faster.The red soil in Chennai is different from the Mumbai variant. The Mumbai one stays true through the match, while in Chennai, it usually crumbles quickly if underprepared. However, the pitch was well-bound ahead of the first Test to ensure the match stretched to the fifth day.On the eve of the first Test, Chepauk head groundsman V Ramesh Kumar had told ESPNcricinfo that he would make a surface with an “English look”, to suit all bowlers. But by the time of the toss, Chepauk pitch had been shorn of any grass. Consequently, the pitch was slow.The new ball lost its shine quickly and the leather softened early too, thus hurting India’s fast-bowling duo Jasprit Bumrah and Ishant Sharma. Sharma highlighted the bland nature of the pitch across the opening two days, by saying it resembled a “road”.Even R Ashwin, India’s premier spinner, who is closing in on 400 Test wickets, struggled to find purchase from the surface over the first two days. England took advantage of the bald, hard, flat surface as Joe Root made a double-century and England amassed 578 in the first innings.The one factor in favour of the bowlers still was the bounce, which remained consistent mostly throughout the five days. Gradually, the surface became abrasive and it helped both spinners and fast bowlers, the latter making an impact with the reverse swing as James Anderson showed in a memorable spell on the fifth morning.What India might have a desired in the first Test – a quick turner where they can dominate England batsmen – they are likely to get this weekend.Usually, groundsmen stop watering the pitch two days before the Test match to allow the moisture to be retained. When England arrived for training on Thursday morning, the pitch was left uncovered. Later, it was covered with the hessian cloth to protect against the high temperature, which is in the mid-30-degree Celsius.Another significant difference in the second Test could be the low bounce, as a consequence of the dry pitch. It remains to be seen how much grass is left on Saturday morning.The turning nature of the surface is likely to influence the final XI for India, who face difficult questions regarding their second line of spinners to assist Ashwin. India captain Virat Kohli has already spoken about the lack of contribution from Shahbaz Nadeem and Washington Sundar in the first Test.Axar Patel is likely to make his Test debut having recovered from the knee injury he picked on the eve of the first Test. In case Patel plays, the Indian team management will need to figure out whether they go with Sundar or Kuldeep Yadav as the third spinner.

Atalanta coach Ivan Juric says the club need to make "intelligent" signings to restore their firepower amid Ademola Lookman's transfer saga.

• Atalanta manager stresses club needs 'targeted' signings
• Coach concerned by the club's lack of firepower
• Ademola Lookman has also issued transfer request

• WHAT HAPPENED?

  After appointing Juric as coach this season, the Bergamo side's frontline has been depleted, with the team set to lose one of their most prolific attackers, Lookman, to Inter. The loss of the Nigeria international is a concern for the Croatian coach, who stresses they are in for a tough time forming a top quality attack for the new campaign.

Advertisement

• Getty
  

  THE BIGGER PICTURE

  With the departure of former head coach Gian Piero Gasperini, a few players also wanted to transfer out of the club. Mateo Retegui, the club's top scorer last season, left for Saudi Arabia for a huge transfer fee. Lookman too has been trying to secure a move to Inter this summer, with the clubs still unable to agree on a deal. However, with the Nigeria forward issuing a public statement regarding his transfer, his time with the club is likely over. Juric understands that after such "a profound cycle ends, many things change," but "intelligent and targeted" signings are essential to replace them.

• WHAT JURIC SAID

  Lookman and Retegui scored a total of 48 goals and registered 16 assists among them. In an interview with ,Juric said he understands it's impossible to replace them instantly but smart work can work wonders stating: "We lost 80-90 per cent of the goals we scored last year. Retegui and Lookman were crucial: it won't be easy to replace them, but we need intelligent and targeted work."

  However, the Croatian coach has seen some positive signs from Gianluca Scamacca in the training, as he says: "He's given me excellent feedback in recent weeks. I want to include him in the rotation immediately. With so many commitments, however, we will also need another alternative in attack."

ENJOYED THIS STORY?

Add GOAL.com as a preferred source on Google to see more of our reporting

• Getty Images Sport
  

  WHAT NEXT FOR ATALANTA?

  The newly-appointed coach has a lot of work to be done at the club, and the central theme of it all is to "build a genuine bond, based on commitment and the team's identity." The new manager will kick off his journey on August 25 when he faces Pisa in his first league game of the season.

ESPNcricinfo presents the plays of the day from the Group A match between New Zealand and Zimbabwe in Ahmedabad

Nagraj Gollapudi at the Sardar Patel Stadium04-Mar-2011Bennett’s Jonty Rhodes moment
Charles Coventry had moved forward in an ungainly fashion to nudge Tim Southee towards mid-on. An alert Hamish Benett had already taken a start and then noticed Coventry, already late off the blocks, had run in the path of Southee, giving the fielder that extra second. Bennett picked the ball swiftly and then dived forward to throw underarm at the stumps. The eye-catching thing was the angle, which was tight and Bennett could only see one stump. Coventry tried hard to recover ground, throwing himself forward to make the crease but Bennett’s throw was accurate and beat him by a whisker.The fly-scoop?
Southee surprised Taylor with a short delivery that climbed on him too quick. Taylor was attentive to the length and had moved back quickly to leave the ball. But when it rushed on to him, he improvised equally swiftly by tilting the bat – which was lying dead horizontally – a little skywards, resembling more a scoop than a cut to fetch a four past fine leg. Perhaps we could call it the ‘fly-scoop’, though suggestions are welcome.Shot of the day
Quite often batting strokes stay etched in the mind mainly due of the follow-through. Think Gavaskar’s straight drive. Lara’s rasping cut or slicing cover drive; Tendulkar’s backfoot punch; Dravid’s cover drive. Today Martin Guptill sighted a length ball quickly from Tinashe Panyangara, and lofted it over the bowler’s head for the first six of the match. What made the stroke picturesque was the way Guptill finished it – with clean follow-through and then the pose of a golfer watching his stroke land on the fairway.The lob
Propser Utseya was going for the flight, the first ball of his fourth over, but did not grip it and the ball lobbed over Brendon McCullum’s head into Tatenda Taibu’s gloves.

The Stuttgart bosses have handed Bayern Munich a final deadline to pursue Nick Woltemade's signing, despite the move being off the table.

• Bayern handed Woltemade deadline
• Stuttgart will entertain offers until Saturday
• Bundesliga holders not interested in a move

• WHAT HAPPENED?

  Stuttgart CEO Alexander Wehrle has given Bayern Munich an ultimatum in the transfer saga for Woltemade. According to the newspaper, Bayern have until Saturday to table any new bids for the young striker.

Advertisement

• Getty Images Sport
  

  WHAT ALEXANDER WEHRLE SAID

  Speaking to the media on Monday evening, Wehrle said: "If you really want to sign a player, you have to be able to reach a solution during this period. We're playing the Super Cup on Saturday. 

  "Everything should be sorted out by kick-off at the latest. It's now been six and a half weeks. At some point, enough is enough." 

  If a transfer does not go through by the time the game begins, the rising star will be considered "not for sale."

• THE BIGGER PICTURE

  A decision should therefore have been made as to which team Woltemade will play for next season by the start of the match between Bayern and Stuttgart on Saturday. Bayern have been courting the striker, who made his breakthrough at Stuttgart last season, for some time. The German record champions are said to have already reached an agreement with the 23-year-old during the U21 European Championship.

  During the six and a half weeks mentioned by Wehrle, there were several twists and turns in the negotiations for Woltemade. Most recently, Bayern's sporting director Max Eberl emphasised during the friendly match against Tottenham Hotspur that a transfer of the striker was "off the table". Die Roten had made two offers to Stuttgart, both of which were rejected immediately. Even the second offer, which was reportedly €50 million (£43m/$58m) plus an additional €5m in bonuses, did not lead to personal negotiations.

ENJOYED THIS STORY?

Add GOAL.com as a preferred source on Google to see more of our reporting

• Getty Images
  

  WHAT'S NEXT?

  Die Schwaben continue to present themselves as tough negotiators and are unlikely to budge until an offer of €65 million (£56m/$75m) is made. They will not return to the negotiating table before then. In recent days, optimism had grown at Stuttgart that Woltemade would continue to chase goals in the club's jersey next season. Club president Dietmar Allgaier saw no reason to sell the player. "I don't want to mention any figures, but we at Stuttgart see no need to act and do not want to let Nick Woltemade go," he told .

Sunderland will go into tonight's clash against Leeds United at Elland Road very much as the underdogs, even with Daniel Farke's Whites losing on the road to Coventry City 2-1 last time out.

The Black Cats are in far more rocky form than the promotion-chasing hosts, with the Wearside outfit only picking up just one win from their last ten Championship encounters. Of those ten underwhelming matches, seven have ended in the all-too-familiar feeling of defeat for Sunderland.

Yet, they could still pull off a shock result in West Yorkshire if they play on Leeds' nerves near the top end of the division and go for the game without any fear of their own creeping in.

Leo Hjelde could find himself out of Dodds' XI for the trip up to play Leeds regardless of his added motivation to beat the hosts having played for them up until January, with the new recruit wobbling last time out against Bristol City.

Leo Hjelde's performance vs Bristol City in numbers

Although Sunderland would manage to pick up a clean sheet and a share of the points against the Robins, which was much-needed after the humiliating 5-1 defeat to Blackburn Rovers prior, the Norwegian defender still struggled for large patches of the 0-0 contest.

Hjelde would fail to win a single duel in the stalemate versus Liam Manning's men, on top of losing possession a total of 11 times that could have been costly on another day if the away side had their shooting boots on.

In contrast, Trai Hume – playing on the opposite flank at right-back – would win seven duels and amass 95 touches of the ball as a constant threat from out wide.

Managing just 44 touches when compared to Hume's impressive numbers, Hjelde's poor performance saw him receive a 5/10 rating from Roker Report journalist Andy Tomlinson who stated that the ex-Leeds man 'switched off' a couple of times in the game.

Dodds will need all of his players focused and ready for the mammoth task of upsetting Leeds on their own patch, with Aji Alese pushing for just his fourth Championship appearance of the season after impressing off the bench when replacing Hjelde last time out.

Aji Alese as Hjelde's replacement

Troubled with significant injury issues for the majority of this season, the former West Ham United youth product is very much in the reckoning for a start tonight after a standout cameo against the Robins.

From just 24 minutes of action, the injury-prone 23-year-old would win four duels and put in two tackles as a far more lively and energetic presence than Hjelde.

Putting pen to paper on a new long-term contract at the Stadium of Light recently too, Alese will just pray that his extensive layoffs in the Sunderland treatment room are over and done with and he can impress again in the first-team fold regularly.

Making 20 appearances in the second tier last season – with ex-Black Cats boss Tony Mowbray singling out the ex-Hammers defender as "amazing" when battling to be fit for a 2-0 win over Middlesbrough at the start of last year – Alese will feel he can make that left-back spot his own again in the weeks to come if he can play a big role in Sunderland shocking Leeds at Elland Road tonight.

Sunderland will be very much expected to roll over for Leeds to return to winning ways, but with the twists and turns the Championship can offer up, the Black Cats could fancy unsettling the hosts further.

Sunderland star who made 6 key passes was better than Bellingham v Bristol

Sunderland were desperately unlucky to only draw versus Bristol City, with this star standing out.

By
Kelan Sarson

Apr 7, 2024

West Indies captain Stafanie Taylor says ‘it means a lot’ to have support of England side for Black Lives Matter

Valkerie Baynes19-Sep-2020West Indies and England women will take a knee in support of Black Lives Matter during their five T20Is starting on Monday.Stafanie Taylor, the West Indies captain, revealed on Saturday that the teams would perform the gesture and praised England counterpart Heather Knight for offering her side’s support for any way the visiting side wanted to recognise the movement.”They’re very much in support of it,” Taylor said of the England side. “It’s very much what we want to do, and they’re going to support whatever we decide, and, yeah, we are going to be honouring the Black Lives Matter movement.”We will be wearing the Black Lives Matter movement logo on our jersey but, yeah, we’ll be taking a knee for all the games.”ALSO READ: ‘Making cricket more inclusive would be a small positive from the pandemic’ – KnightThe England and West Indies men’s teams wore the same logo on their shirts during the Test series in July. They also took a knee before the start of play throughout the series, as did England and Ireland for their three ODIs. But England, Pakistan and Australia did not perform the gesture during their series, drawing criticism from West Indies great Michael Holding.”It means a lot to us,” Taylor added of England women’s support. “A lot has been happening around the world and you pretty much want to be on the same page. It was really nice of her [Knight] to send a message to say, ‘Hey Staf, you know, we’re very much in support of the Black Lives Matter movement, and we want to support it as best as we can, so let me know what it is that you want to do.’ That brings a smile to all of our faces.”All matches will be played behind closed doors at Derby, where West Indies have been based for three weeks.”It feels like home,” Taylor said. “Normally when we go on a tour it’s like we’re the away team, but this time it feels like we’re the home team pretty much. The girls are in great spirits. We’ve had a few weeks to get out there and get used to the conditions and everything is going well.”Monday’s series opener will be the first women’s international since 86,174 people watched Australia defeat India in the T20 World Cup final in March. Australia will play New Zealand in three T20Is from September 26, followed by three ODIs.”Given what happened in the World Cup, we had 80 something thousand people at the game and probably how many millions actually watching, you definitely want to see the rise again,” Taylor said. “And it’s hard with COVID now, kind of setting the game back. It’s really nice that the women are back up and running.”Taylor, who was stretchered off with a groin injury during West Indies’ penultimate fixture of the T20 World Cup, has missed one of two intra-squad warm-up matches since arriving in England, although she scored 71 in the first.And while allrounder Deandra Dottin has bowled just two overs across both matches as she continues her comeback from shoulder surgery, she has been in decent touch with the bat scoring 41 and 29. Lee-Ann Kirby scored an unbeaten 85 in the second warm-up and Taylor was not worried that those were the only real innings of note.”No it’s not, it’s not a concern at all,” she said. “We basically played against ourselves, and if you split the team, you have to try and balance it. When you look at the scorecard, you basically see that most of the batters who were actually getting runs were the batters, which is good.”That’s what we need, we need the batters to spend that time out in the middle, get yourself in. Even though we’re playing against ourselves, you know, mark yourself hard and I think we did just that.”

Conor Coady says Wrexham want to "upset and disrupt" Championship teams this season, despite their gut-wrenching loss at Southampton.

• Wrexham lose at Southampton
• New signing reflect on game
• Reveals plan for Championship season

• WHAT HAPPENED?

  Wrexham fell to a last-gasp 2-1 defeat to Southampton on Saturday as they returned to the Championship after 43 years away. Amid the attention surrounding Hollywood owners Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney and their big spending this summer, new recruit Coady hopes the Red Dragons can be a force to be reckoned with this term.

Advertisement

• AFP
  

  WHAT COADY SAID

  He told : "We're going to cope with it. We know what we are. We know how we're going to play and we're here to upset and disrupt a few teams in this division. We'll keep on trying to do that. We've shown we can play. We'll keep building, we'll keep improving. We have to improve, we have to get better. That's the biggest thing."

• THE BIGGER PICTURE

  Wrexham have spent nearly £15 million ($20m) on transfers this summer as they target the Premier League following three straight promotions. This will likely be their toughest task yet but with players like former England international Coady in their midst, the Welsh outfit have a chance of competing in the Championship.

ENJOYED THIS STORY?

Add GOAL.com as a preferred source on Google to see more of our reporting

• Getty Images Sport
  

  WHAT NEXT?

  Coady and Wrexham will hope to bounce back from the Southampton loss when they begin their Carabao Cup campaign with a first-round clash with fellow Championship outfit Hull City on Tuesday at Stok Cae Ras.

Everton have had their fair share of poor dealings in the transfer market, with the club wasting a lot of money on players who clearly aren't up to the standard of the Premier League.

The club signed players such as Moise Kean and Yannick Bolasie, with the duo failing to make any sort of positive impact at Goodison Park before leaving either for free or for a loss on what they paid.

The arrival of Bolasie in particular is one of the reasons the club have found themselves in trouble with the Premier League for their FFP and PSR breaches, with the club forking out £25m on the attacker before allowing him to leave for nothing.

However, the club also invested a hefty fee in another player, with the club doing well to offload him when they did, given his lack of impact at the club.

Davy Klaassen's stats at Everton

After joining for a fee of £23.6m from Ajax back in the summer of 2017, attacking midfielder Davy Klaassen arrived at Goodison Park with a lot of excitement after his 14-goal season in the Eredivisie.

However, he failed to make a positive impact during his time on Merseyside, with the midfielder failing to score a single goal during the 2017/18 campaign.

Klaassen also only made 17 appearances during his one season at Goodison, with the Dutch international failing to live up to the expectations he came with.

He subsequently departed the Toffees in July 2018, to German side Werder Bremen for a fee in the region of £12m, with the club making a loss of £11.6m in less than a year.

Klaassen has gone on to find his feet once again all over Europe, with the midfielder racking up 54 goals and 26 assists since departing Goodison nearly six years ago.

Despite his brilliant return with goals and assists, his market value has rapidly decreased, with Klaassen now worth less than another Everton flop.

Davy Klaassen's market value in 2024

The 31-year-old may have produced a solid return in recent years, but he has struggled this campaign with Italian giants Inter Milan, registering no goals and no assists in his 16 outings for the club, with the Dutchman mainly used as an impact player off the bench.

As a result, he's seen his value plummet, with Klaassen now only valued at £4.2m, as per Transfermarkt, with his value lower than that of current Everton flop Michael Keane, who is currently worth £6m.

Klaassen, who was described as "awful" by one Ajax source on Twitter, certainly has struggled when plying his trade in one of Europe's top five leagues, as demonstrated by his stints in the Premier League and Serie A with Everton and Inter Milan, respectively.

The Dutch midfielder certainly hasn't had the career he was once expected to given his brilliant form for Ajax before his big-money move to England, with the Toffees making the right decision to cash in on the 31-year-old back in the summer of 2018.

Market Movers

Football FanCast's Market Movers series explores the changing landscape of the modern transfer market. How much is your club's star player or biggest flop worth today?

Yorkshire rue Covid-related absence of four first-choice players

ECB Reporters Network14-Sep-2020Lancashire took advantage of Yorkshire’s lack of four senior players due to a coronavirus-related issue to seal a commanding six-wicket Vitality Blast win at Headingley, taking a significant step towards the quarter-finals.The Vikings were without Matthew Fisher, Tom Kohler-Cadmore, Josh Poysden and captain David Willey, and they now have a mountain to climb to qualify for the last eight. The club released a brief statement, saying that the players had “been withdrawn from tonight’s squad in accordance with Covid guidance” and adding that results of a Covid test would determine their future availability.Yorkshire actually made an excellent start, reaching 62 for 1 after six overs having elected to bat before stumbling to 145 for 9 after 20 overs, with Matt Parkinson and Luke Wood taking three cheap wickets apiece.The Lightning, far from their best in the field and with the bat, then chased down the target in nervy fashion at times. They recovered from 77 for 4 in the ninth over as captain Dane Vilas top-scored with 44 not out off 36 balls, winning with 13 balls to spare.They have consolidated second spot in the North Group with a fourth win, moving to 10 points – two behind leaders Nottinghamshire. More importantly, they are four points ahead of Yorkshire on six points in fourth.Both teams have three games remaining, including Thursday’s return clash at Emirates Old Trafford. The top two teams from the three groups qualify for the quarters, as do the two best third-placed teams.After a racing start, Yorkshire’s innings fell away through the middle, with legspinner Parkinson striking twice in his first three balls to remove Dawid Malan and former England Under-19s allrounder George Hill.The Vikings slipped from 78 for 1 in the ninth over to 87 for 4 in the 11th, with stand-in captain Adam Lyth also falling for an innings-high 36 having been dropped twice.With no Willey and Kohler-Cadmore, Yorkshire’s batting order was particularly inexperienced, with academy batsman James Wharton, aged 19, making his first-team debut.Lyth and new opening partner Harry Brook took 15 off each of the first two overs, both pulling huge sixes into the Western Terrace.Brook was the first wicket to go in the third, brilliantly caught by a diving Tom Hartley running around from short third man off Wood – 30 for 1.Malan, a reserve player in England’s bubble for the ODI series against Australia, was released to make his Yorkshire T20 debut and played confidently as the hosts reached 62 for 1 after six overs.However, after Lyth was stumped off Hartley’s left-arm spin, Malan was the first of the two wickets to fall in Parkinson’s first over when he was caught at deep mid-wicket on the slog sweep. Two balls later, Hill chipped to cover.Wickets continued to fall in excellent batting conditions as spin dragged things back for a somewhat lucky Lightning side who dropped a trio of catches – two from Tom Bailey.Wharton, like Hill, was caught at cover off Parkinson – 104 for 5 in the 15th – before Mat Pillans was stumped off Liam Livingstone’s legspin almost two overs later as the score fell to 121 for 6. Left-arm seamer Wood then snapped a run of five wickets to spin when he struck twice in the 17th over, getting Jordan Thompson lbw and Will Fraine caught behind for 24 – 124 for 8. Danny Lamb got Ben Coad in the last over of the innings.Coad then conceded six wides with the first two balls of the Lancashire reply before Pillans and Thompson removed openers Livingstone and Davies. Livingstone was caught behind and Davies holed out to deep square leg as the score fell to 35 for 2 in the fourth.Lancashire maintained a healthy run-rate, only to lose Steven Croft, run out following a mix-up with Vilas, and Josh Bohannon, bowled via inside-edge by Coad, in successive overs – 77 for 4 in the ninth.But Vilas and Rob Jones steadied the ship with Lancashire’s best fifth-wicket partnership in the history of this fixture, an unbeaten 71 inside 10 overs.Jones hit a six over long-on in a career best 38 off 35 balls and hit the winning runs to ensure the Lightning are now unbeaten in this fixture since August 2017.