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Vitality Roses to take on South Africa in three-match series

The Vitality Roses have announced they will head to South Africa in November for a three-match series.

Jess Thirlby’s side will go head-to-head with the SPAR Proteas at the Velodrome in Cape Town on November 29, 30 and December 1.

It will be the first time that the two sides will meet following their battle for bronze at the Netball World Cup in July, which saw the Roses come out on top and secure a place on the podium.

New head coach Thirlby will take a 12-strong squad with her to face the SPAR Proteas in November.

She said: “I am very much looking forward to this series against South Africa, it’s definitely going to be an exciting few games to watch. The SPAR Proteas have been on the rise the last few years and proven themselves to be one of the top teams in the world with their highest ever finish at the recent Vitality Netball World Cup. I’m sure they’ll be looking forward to a re-match against the Roses so it’s definitely going to be one to watch.

“These are just the type of opportunities that we need exposure to as a Roses team early in our four year cycle and playing back-to-back high pressure Test matches away from home will be a fantastic challenge which we will learn much from.”

South Africa head coach Dorette Badenhorst said: “We are excited to be hosting England in November and cannot wait for the clash. Both teams have really gone through a transition phase and we both are building for the future. We obviously don’t want to allow them to beat us on our own turf and have a home crowd advantage this time.

“This will definitely be an important few games for us as we are looking forward to the repeat of our last World Cup match against England.”

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Juventus hold talks to sign THREE Barcelona players including shock deals for Suarez and Rakitic – The Sun

JUVENTUS are in negotiations with Barcelona regarding transfers for Luis Suarez, Ivan Rakitic and 19-year-old Juan Miranda.

The two clubs began talks over the sale of Barca B star Miranda, with Juve willing to swap centre-back Daniele Rugani as part of the deal.

According to Tuttosport discussions on Monday then diverted over the sale of playmaker Rakitic – who looks set to leave the Nou Camp.

Is is understood Juve sporting director Fabio Paratici suggested another swap deal with Emre Can heading to Spain in return for the Croatian.

But as Juve and Barca attempt to do business they are also competing in the race to sign Brazilian superstar Neymar.

The La Liga champions sold Neymar to PSG for a record £198m in 2017, but it is thought the forward is desperate to return to the Nou Camp.

Nou Camp chiefs reportedly lodged a loan bid with the option to make the move permanent for £137million next summer, according to Marca.

However, it is understood PSG rejected the offer and insisted Neymar can be loaned out, but only with the obligation to buy the player for £200m next season.

Juve want to capitalise on the Brazilian’s potential return to Barca by making a swoop for Suarez, having enquired about the striker’s transfer situation.

Blaugrana bosses do not want to sell the ex-Liverpool ace but the Serie A champions plan to persuade the striker to depart if Neymar re-joins the Nou Camp.

It would mean Juve forwards Mario Mandzukic and even Paulo Dybala would have to be sold in order to make funds for Suarez.



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KSL 2019: Reigning champions Surrey Stars’ hopes of reaching Finals Day suffer hit

Reigning champions Surrey Stars’ hopes of reaching Finals Day suffered a hit as they slipped to a five-wicket defeat by Yorkshire Diamonds.

South African trio Lizelle Lee (28), Dane van Niekerk (32) and Marizanne Kapp (39) made the only double-figure scores as the Stars posted a below-par 121-6 at Guildford.

Diamonds opener Alyssa Healy struck 38 off 34 balls and Indian batter Jemimah Rodrigues hit seven fours in her unbeaten 42 off 33 balls as the visitors reached their target with a ball spare.


Southern Vipers vs Yorkshire Diamo

August 21, 2019, 6:25pm

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Western Storm retained their perfect start to this season’s Kia Super League campaign as they eased to a 15-run win over Southern Vipers.

Heather Knight (61) and Fran Wilson (50 not out) both struck half-centuries as their 115-run third-wicket partnership led Storm to 170-3.

Danni Wyatt’s 56 anchored Vipers’ chase but the visitors lost five wickets for 20 runs in 13 balls as they fell short of their target on 155-9.

Lancashire Thunder remain winless as Loughborough Lightning cruised to a 35-run DLS victory at Old Trafford.

Georgia Adams struck a fast-paced half-century off 31 balls, in an innings that included six boundaries, but was run out as Lightning posted a competitive 157-7.

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Sun Yang doping case to be heard in public in bid to clear his name

A case in which China's multiple world and Olympic swimming champion Sun Yang is accused of anti-doping violations will be held in public, the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) has revealed.

The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) has appealed to CAS against a decision by swimming's governing body FINA to clear Sun of wrongdoing during a random drug test last September.

Sun Yang wants the media to have access to the full details of the trial.Credit:AP

Documents leaked to the media have revealed that Sun questioned the credentials of the testers before members of his entourage smashed the vials containing his blood samples with a hammer. The 27-year-old has denied any wrongdoing.

Sun competed at last month's world championships in South Korea under the shadow of the WADA appeal and three rivals snubbed him after races, by either refusing to shake his hand or join him on the podium.

Sun's lawyers said last month that he wanted a public hearing to clear his name.

He served a three-month doping suspension in 2014 for taking the stimulant trimetazidine, which he said he took to treat a heart condition. The substance had been banned a few months before Sun failed the test.

A second doping violation would inevitably bring a harsher sanction and could rule him out of next year's Tokyo Olympics.

CAS said that it would be only the second case in its history to be held in public – the previous in 1999 also involved FINA.

"At the parties' request, the hearing, which will likely take place in Switzerland, will be open to the public [including the media]," said CAS in a statement.

Reuters

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M.L.S. Adds St. Louis as League’s 28th Team

Major League Soccer awarded St. Louis its newest expansion franchise on Tuesday, entering a market it long has coveted with what will be the first female majority-owned team in league history.

The new team will begin play in M.L.S. in 2022.

“It is with great pride that we welcome St. Louis to Major League Soccer,” Commissioner Don Garber said in a ceremony that included members of the new ownership group. “St. Louis is a city with a rich soccer tradition, and it is a market we have considered since the league’s inception.”

https://t.co/AD5x02bGeB pic.twitter.com/xfvPl95DHu

The new soccer club will join the Stanley Cup champion St. Louis Blues and the 11-time World Series champion Cardinals as the city’s major sports teams.

The new St. Louis franchise will be the 18th club to have now joined MLS since 2005, an era of strategic expansion led by Garber that has transformed the landscape of professional soccer across North America. F.C. Cincinnati joined M.L.S. as the 24th team this season. Teams in Nashville and Miami will make their debut in 2020, and another in Austin, Tex., will begin play in 2021.

M.L.S. announced in April that it planned to expand to 30 teams.

The prospects of an M.L.S. franchise ever calling St. Louis home appeared to have died two years ago, when voters in the city — stung by the announcement that the N.F.L.’s Rams were departing to return to Los Angeles — rejected a proposal to use a business tax to finance a new downtown soccer stadium.

Then a new potential ownership group came along.

Led by members of the founding family of car rental giant Enterprise, the city began to work anew last fall on its pitch for an M.L.S. team.

“It’s an incredible feeling to now be able to say, ‘St. Louis is home to the first official majority female-led ownership group in MLS,’” said Carolyn Kindle Betz, a granddaughter of the Enterprise founder Jack Taylor and the president of Enterprise Holdings Foundation.

Six other female members of the Taylor family are part of the ownership group, which also includes Jim Kavanaugh, a soccer insider who was part of the first failed ownership team.

The team’s proposed stadium, which is planned for Market Street just west of Union Station, will be the centerpiece of a major development project in St. Louis’s Downtown West district. As proof of the city’s commitment to the project, the St. Louis Board of Alderman easily approved a resolution last November to provide tax exemptions and other incentives to help with the construction.

St. Louis, long a hotbed for youth soccer, has a long tradition in American soccer. In 1950, five immigrants from “The Hill” neighborhood helped the United States upset England in the World Cup in Brazil. Saint Louis University has won 10 national titles in men’s soccer, and the Hermann Trophy given to the top college player in the country is awarded annually at the Missouri Athletic Club.

“St. Louis has always been and will continue to be one of the great historic soccer cities throughout the United States,” Garber said at a news conference attended by the Blues legends Bernie Federko and Chris Pronger and the former Cardinals shortstop Ozzie Smith. “After two decades of discussions about St. Louis being a part of our league, today the moment has arrived.”



The Associated Press contributed reporting.

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American teen tennis sensation withdraws from US Open after father's sudden death

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Rising American teen tennis star Amanda Anisimova is withdrawing from the upcoming U.S. Open after the sudden death of her father, her agent said Tuesday.

Konstantin Anisimov, Amanda’s father and longtime coach, was found dead Monday, Tennis Life reported. Her agent told ESPN she would not be participating in the U.S. Open.

The 17-year-old New Jersey native’s father was not known to have been sick and may have suffered a heart attack, according to Tennis Life. Details surrounding her father’s death have not been released.

Anisimova is the No. 24-ranked player in the world and the youngest player in the Women’s Tennis Association Top 100. She moved to the U.S. with her parents from Russia in 1998.

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Anisimova thrust herself into the national spotlight at the French Open with an upset win over Simona Halep. She won her first professional singles title in April.

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Paul Pogba penalty miss sees Man Utd fan Tyson Fury lose bet with gym mate – The Sun

TYSON FURY was fuming at Paul Pogba's penalty miss – because it lost him a bet.

Manchester United fan Fury was laid out watching his team in their Premier League clash with Wolves.

Things were looking good for United as they went 1-0 up against Wolves thanks to Anthony Martial's fine strike.

It even led to the Gypsy King shouting that "United are going to win the league".

Also in the room was boxing stablemate Issac Lowe – and the Gypsy King was pushed into a cheeky $5 bet.

That was the currency the lads are dealing in over in the US ahead of Fury's September 15 fight against Otto Wallin.

FURY OUT OF POCKET

Paul Pogba was felled in the box by Wolves defender Connor Coady, and the French midfielder dusted himself down to take the penalty.

Lowe pressurised Fury into putting some cash on whether Pogba would score or miss.

And it was Lowe left in hysterics as Pogba's effort was brilliantly saved by Rui Patricio, while Fury gave a wry smile to the camera.

SunSport reported how after the game Pogba was subjected to vile racist abuse on social media that his club and team-mates have spoken out against.

Fury is a big United fan, even appearing on the Old Trafford pitch days after his controversial draw with WBC champ Deontay Wilder.

OLD TRAFFORD TO HOST FURY?

His ultimate dream seems to be having that rematch on the pitch.

The 30-year-old received a rapturous reception from the crowd of the club he supports after returning to England following his brilliant display in Los Angeles.

He said: "Frank (Warren) said about having it at Arsenal and I said no chance.

"Hopefully we can have it here in the summer at Old Trafford."

But next up before any Wilder rematch is another Las Vegas dust-up – this time against unbeaten Swede Otto Wallin.


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Badminton: China's Lin Dan suffers earliest exit at World Championships

BASEL (Xinhua) – Five-time winner Lin Dan suffered his shocking defeat at the World Badminton Championships as he was beaten in the second round by India’s H.S. Prannoy here on Tuesday.

Lin, also twice an Olympic champion, went down to the 30th-ranked Prannoy 21-11, 13-21, 21-7 in 62 minutes.

It was Lin’s earliest exit in his 12 appearances at the World Championships. He was defeated twice previously in the third round – in 2003 when he played for the first time at the age of 19 and last year in Guangzhou, China.

“I don’t have enough energy in today’s match, especially in the first set,” he said. “I played better in the second but in the third I just ran out of energy.”

Lin, who turns 36 in October, blamed organisers for “unfair” arrangement of the match schedule, which gave him mere 15 hours to recover from the first round match.

He completed the three-set victory over Nguyen Tien Minh of Vietnam at nearly 6pm on Monday and arrived at the venue early Tuesday morning.

“Some players who played much earlier than me yesterday will play their second round match later today,” he said.

“I just hope that organisers could make the schedule fairer.”

Lin, arguably one of the greatest players in history, said he has not decided whether to compete in the 2021 World Championships.

“I have not thought about it,” he said.

“At the moment, to qualify for the Tokyo Olympic Games is the most important thing. Since I have not collected enough points here, I need to do much better at the tournaments in Changzhou and Hong Kong later this years.”

Lin, the Olympic champion at the Beijing and London Games, is facing great pressure to get one of two available tickets for the men’s singles for Tokyo 2020.

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7am Arsenal news LIVE: Mustafi to Roma, Aubameyang offered ‘new deal’, Ramsey makes Juventus debut – The Sun

ARSENAL continued their winning start to the new campaign with a 2-1 win over Burnley.

Real Madrid loanee Dani Ceballos was the talk of the Emirates after his stunning performance, whilst Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang continued his scoring streak with the winner.

Stick around for the latest Gunners news and gossip below…

  • ARSENAL are reportedly set to offload Shkodran Mustafi to Roma this week.

    Forza Roma claims Unai Emery is prepared to let Mustafi move to Italy on a season-long loan with the view to a £23million permanent deal.

    Mustafi’s future at the Emirates is uncertain after Arsenal completed a stunning £7m deadline day move for David Luiz.

    The Brazilian and Sokratis will be the club’s first choice in the heart of defence this term.

    While Rob Holding and Calum Chambers are both vying for places on the bench.

    Roma are desperate for a new centre-back after selling Kostas Manolas to Napoli.

  • ARSENAL star Sokratis Papastathopoulos has sensationally claimed it is easier to defend against Liverpool than Burnley.

    The Gunners will come up against Jurgen Klopp's side on Saturday after last weekend's 2-1 win over the Clarets.

    Speaking ahead of the match against Liverpool, he said: “It is a different game. Maybe it is more easy because you don't have to fight a lot – but they also play football.

    “If they are on a good day and you are having a bad day, it is hard.

    “In the end, we know that it is different and we respect Liverpool a lot.

    “But I think the best [way] is to go and play our style of game. We will see what happens.”

  • ARSENAL are working on a new deal for star striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, according to reports.

    The Gunners want to reward the striker for his superb recent performances and will try convince him that his long-term future lies at the Emirates.

    Currently the Gabon forward earns around £200,000-a-week and the new contract would be structured around bonuses, according to The Telegraph.

    One of these will include a huge windfall should the club achieve Champions League qualification, which the Gunners hold as their minimum requirement for this season after missing out for the third campaign in a row.

    Arsenal cannot afford to shell out £350,000-a-week to match Mesut Ozil's wage but hope the new deal will convince Aubameyang he can earn as much through performance related bonuses.

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Jays prospect Zeuch throws triple-A no-hitter

ROCHESTER, N.Y. – Toronto Blue Jays prospect T.J. Zeuch threw a no-hitter on Monday night for the triple-A Buffalo Bisons.

The 24-year-old right-hander walked one batter, hit another, and struck out three over a 114-pitch performance in Buffalo’s 3-0 win over the Rochester Red Wings, the triple-A affiliate of the Minnesota Twins.

Zeuch fielded the final out himself, tossing a grounder from Drew Maggi to first baseman Jordan Patterson to end the game. The pitcher then threw his arms in the air and embraced catcher Beau Taylor before being mobbed by the rest of his teammates near the mound.

Centre-fielder Jonathan Davis, who’s played 18 big league games with Toronto this season, helped preserve the no-hitter by making a spectacular diving catch on an Ian Miller liner with one out in the ninth inning.

The no-hitter was the first thrown by a Bisons pitcher since Bartolo Colon tossed one in 1997.

Zeuch, who was drafted 21st overall by Toronto in 2016, suffered a lat strain during spring training that kept him out of action until June. He has started 11 games at Buffalo since then, going 4-2 with a 3.84 earned-run average.

Zeuch is ranked the No. 17 prospect in the Blue Jays organization, according to MLB Pipeline.

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