Newcastle United’s chairman, Yasir al-Rumayyan, is facing a £58m lawsuit for allegedly “having carried out the instructions” of Saudi Arabia’s crown prince, Mohammad bin Salman, with “malicious intent”, it has been reported.
The claims, which are said to be made in legal papers sent to Rumayyan at several locations, including at St James’ Park, also allege that he acted with the aim of “harming, silencing and ultimately destroying” the family of Dr Saad Aljabri, the kingdom’s former intelligence chief. According to the Athletic, the papers have asked a court for Rumayyan, who is also the chairman of LIV Golf, to be added to an existing case, and for a new claim to be brought against him and the others.
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Copa America fever isn't running rampant, with the Americans long gone from the scene, but the semifinal clash between Colombia and Uruguay is a biggie. It also has me wondering: do ardent soccer bettors pick every match to end in a draw?Well, there's no tying in baseball, and there's a full slate of games to choose from. Hot pitchers Gavin Stone (Los Angeles Dodgers) and Cristopher Sanchez (Philadelphia Phillies) square off as the National League division leaders meet again.The Atlanta Braves are hot with four straight wins, and a tape measure should be handy when Adam Duvall comes to bat. His 441-foot blast Tuesday night still falls short of the 483-foot homer he swatted in 2021. That one seemingly landed on the roof of the nearby Phoenix Suns' arena.ATLANTA BRAVES …
A medical clinic in Illinois is accusing the NFL of instructing its insurance carrier to deny claims made by former players under the auspices of the league’s disability plan. The allegations are outlined in a lawsuit that also accuses the league of retaliating against the clinic for providing independent diagnostic services in lieu of the concussion settlement. Advanced Physicians S.C. first filed the suit in Illinois state court in March, but the case was moved to federal court on Thursday. According to the suit, which was first reported by Law360, “[t]he NFL doesn’t want to pay its former players disability payments under the disability plan” that had been collectively bargained between the league and the NFLPA. According to the suit, Advanced estimates it has treated more t…
It’s here! The hockey is finally here! Tonight, on this most special of nights, we’ll see meaningful puck drops across North America for the first time since June, and I could not be happier. Thank you for clicking on this preview, and in doing so choosing to enjoy or learn about the best game you can name. All the teams are listed in a rough approximation from best to worst, because I will gladly court danger and embarrassment from any and all fanbases. The Good OnesTampa Bay Lightning Last Season: The Lightning are already good most of the time, but they were historically dominant last regular season. They earned the Presidents’ Trophy for the most points in the league, and with 62 wins they tied the 1996 Detroit Red Wings for the all-time season mark. This gang put on a show b…
Burnley manager Sean Dyche seems like the kind of guy who would munch on a big bowl of tree bark, rocks, and beetles for breakfast every morning and make a big show of it if for no other reason than to prove how much of a hardass he is. Thus it wasn’t too much of a stretch to believe a former teammate of his, Søren Andersen, who recently said Dyche used to eat worms at practice. Dyche has finally responded to these claims by denying Andersen’s accusation, clarifying that he doesn’t actually eat worms, he just likes to suck on them for laughs. Andersen appeared on the Danish podcast Fodboldministeriet last month, and during the conversation the topic of his old Bristol City teammate Dyche came up—specifically something about the Englishman’s trademark gravelly voice. Andersen…
We had a lot of ESPN-related coverage this year, because ESPN continues to be fertile ground for mockery. Here's everything we had to say about the monolithic sports network this year. The Mostly Sexless Sex Scandal That Shook ESPN A few hours after the 2009 Home Run Derby, Steve Phillips bought Brooke Hundley a drink. They were at the bar of St. Louis's Millenium Hotel, a block from Busch Stadium, where more than a dozen ESPN staffers had gathered after wrapping up another day's work during MLB's extended All-Star weekend. Hundley was a 22-year-old from Colorado making $10.96 an hour as an ESPN production assistant. Phillips was the former general manager of the Mets who'd spent the previous four years as a baseball analyst at ESPN. They'd met there in St.…
The end of the year is almost upon us, which means it's that time again. As we've done in the past, we want to give you, our dear readers, the opportunity to recognize this year's crop of sports persons who set themselves apart for their shenanigans off the field. We want you to suggest three nominees by leaving their names in the discussion below. Our esteemed Hall of Fame Committee will then spend countless hours debating the merits of those most worthy. Sometime around the Christmas holiday, we will then give you, our dear readers, the chance vote on which candidates deserve induction. Here's a list of past inductees. Feel free to use it as your guide: 2006
• Carl Monday
• Kyle Orton
• Clinton Portis
• Run You Stupid Fucking Dinosaur, Run
• Renee T…
Larry Johnson, most recently of the Washington Redskins and this misspelled jersey, has seen his once blossoming NFL career disappear. Now, a lawsuit regarding an inflection point along Johnson's precipitous fall from grace has disappeared too. Perhaps Johnson wants to know if his career can come back. The answer, say his knees, is no. Some of Johnson's malaise followed his 416-carry 2006 season, after which he was never the same player. But more of his problems resulted from Johnson's off-field exploits, which include four arrests for varying degrees of assault against women. Johnson's last arrest was in 2008—he was charged with non-aggravated assault for allegedly spitting a drink into a woman's face at a Kansas City nightclub. (Here's his bar tab fr…
data-mm-id=”_xon0vhv2b”>The Los Angeles Lakers have gotten off to a solid start this season. Depth issues notwithstanding, the LeBron James/Anthony Davis combo has been as lethal as expected, Kyle Kuzma seems to be rounding into form, and Danny Green has been outstanding. One rather unexpected development has been the play of Dwight Howard. The much-maligned former superstar is on his fifth team in four years, and it's been much longer than that since he resembled the dominant force he was in the earlier part of the decade. His decision to return to the Lakers, where his downhill slide began all the way back in 2012, was a bit surprising, but given AD's injury history and the fact that Howard could be signed for cheap, the fit made sense, especially once DeMarcus Cousins went…
data-mm-id=”_orlrx0e67″>LeBron James took to center court before the Los Angeles Lakers' first game since Kobe Bryant's death. He honored Bryant and his legacy with an unscripted speech and vowed not to forget the all-time great. Check out the speech below, it truly was exceptional:"Tonight we celebrate the kid that came here at 18, retired at 38 and became probably the best dad we've seen over the last three years.” pic.twitter.com/0sS7e91cuz— Los Angeles Lakers (@Lakers) February 1, 2020Time and again, LeBron James has risen to the big moments in his life. He did that again Friday night. That was outstanding. If there was anyone who could help carry the Lakers through this incredibly difficult time, it's James. He has such a great sense of the moment and …