Here's Marlins phenom Jose Fernandez throwing Troy Tulowitzki a curveball so vicious that it briefly turned the all-star shortstop into an overmatched little leaguer. Troy Tulowitzki is a very good baseball player—too good to get his knees jellied by a curveball—but Jose Fernandez doesn't care about that, because Jose Fernandez is on some next-level shit right now. And it wasn't just Tulowitzki that Fernandez made to look stupid during Saturday's Rockies-Marlins game. Over at Fangraphs, Carson Cistulli points out two more instances from that game in which Fernandez buckles his overmatched opponent's knees with a curveball. Poor Jeff Manship's frightened reaction will make you cringe. [ FanGraphs]
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Antoine Griezmann starred and Lionel Messi paid tribute to Diego Maradona as Barcelona beat Osasuna 4-0 at Camp Nou on Sunday.
Ronald Koeman had called on his players to produce a performance befitting the former Barca and Argentina star, who died this week.
They duly delivered, Griezmann scoring the pick of the goals in a fine performance against a side who won 2-1 at this ground in July.
There were also goals from Martin Braithwaite, Philippe Coutinho and Messi, who honoured compatriot Maradona with his celebration after scoring the fourth.
A brilliant goal-line clearance from Unai Garcia stopped Coutinho from opening the scoring after Griezmann teed up the Brazilian.
The breakthrough eventually came in scrappy fashion. Messi s pass split the de…
Real Madrid s dream of signing Kylian Mbappe may have to wait.
Mbappe, 21, has regularly been linked with LaLiga s champions after starring for Paris Saint-Germain.
But the impacts of the coronavirus pandemic are seemingly set to hurt Madrid s chances of landing the star.
TOP STORY – REAL MADRID CAN T AFFORD MBAPPE NEXT YEAR
Madrid cannot afford a deal to sign PSG star Mbappe next year, according to Le Parisien.
It comes with finances of clubs around the world hurt by the COVID-19 pandemic.
PSG : le Real Madrid aurait-il les moyens de payer le salaire de Mbappé ?
— Le Parisien (@le_Parisien)
Mbappe, who is contracted until 2022, has scored nine goals in 11 games in all competitions this season.
�…
Pep Guardiola is worried about Manchester City s fixture pile up as the runaway Premier League leaders also challenge in the Champions League, FA Cup and EFL Cup.
A remarkable quartet of trophies is a possibility for City this season, with Guardiola s high-flying side 13 points clear in the Premier League – an advantage which could extend to 16 following their trip to Crystal Palace Sunday.
City are also in the last 16 of the Champions League, the EFL Cup semi-finals and the third round of the FA Cup.
Guardiola, however, has concerns over City s challenge on four different title fronts.
I am worried about that, said Guardiola. Four competitions, I don t know if we will be able to do that.
The schedule you have to be careful. I am worried beca…
Several quizzical eyebrows are likely to have been lifted in Anfield and its surrounding areas when it was revealed Jurgen Klopp had left both Mohamed Salah and Roberto Firmino out of the starting XI for Wednesday s Merseyside derby.
The fixture congestion Liverpool, runaway leaders in the Premier League title race, are about to face has already been well-documented, but the decision to omit two members of their star-studded forward line for a derby game in which defeat would give hope to the chasing pack appeared a bizarre one on the surface.
Any Liverpool fan concerned by the five changes made to Klopp s XI need not have worried, as the third member of an attacking triumvirate that has tormented the Premier League produced a dazzling display, while the man who settled…
Papiss Cisse and Jack Colback boosted Newcastle United s survival hopes as the strugglers produced a brilliant second-half display to draw 2-2 with Liverpool on Rafael Benitez s latest return to Anfield.
Liverpool entered Saturday s Premier League contest in a rich vein of form, including a 4-0 battering of Merseyside rivals Everton on Wednesday, and they appeared in cruise control at half-time.
Daniel Sturridge scored in the second minute to make it four goals in as many league games, before Adam Lallana s fine effort on the half hour deservedly made it 2-0.
But Benitez knows a thing about comebacks having led Liverpool to Champions League glory in 2005 after being 3-0 down against AC Milan at half-time, and Cisse s header after the break started the revival.
Manchester City are eyeing a move for Arsenal forward Theo Walcott,.
The twenty-seven year old is on a list of potential targets drawn up by incoming City manager Pep Guardiola, who will replace Manuel Pellegrini in the summer.
Walcott has been linked with a move away from the Emirates in recent years, with Liverpool among the sides considering bidding for his services.
He moved to Arsenal from Southampton in January 2006 and has so far racked up almost three hundred and fifty appearances in all competitions, scoring eighty-five goals while he was part of the squad that won back-to-back FA Cups in 2014 and 2015.
Should he move to the Etihad Stadium, he would link up with former teammates Gael Clichy, Bacaray Sagna and Samir Nasri while fellow former…
Sir Alex Ferguson said Friday he was confident Portuguese star Cristiano Ronaldo will remain with Manchester United for longer than a single season.
Real Madrid had been looking to sign the 23-year-old winger all summer but Ronaldo confirmed this week he would remain at Old Trafford for at least another year despite his love of boyhood heroes Real.
And Ferguson thinks he could keep Ronaldo for longer.
As he gets older I think he will appreciate being here more and more, said Ferguson.
The longer people stay at this club you tend to not want to leave.
Rio Ferdinand is an obvious example of that. But really I m just pleased we have managed to put all this Real Madrid stuff to bed. They know what they are dealing with now.
Meanwhile, …
Champions League contenders Schalke 04 got their Bundesliga title bid off to the perfect start with a 3-0 win over Hanover on Saturday.
Schalke were 2-0 up after just seven minutes with goals from Brazilian Marcelon Bordon and Germany international Kevin Kuranyi who added a third after the hour mark.
Elsewhere Werder Bremen, bereft of their playmaker Diego who is on Olympics duty for Brazil, emerged from their visit to Arminia Bielefeld with a 2-2 draw.
Vfl Wolfsburg, who have splashed out 25 million euros in the transfer market, beat newly promoted FC Cologne 2-1.
Borsussia Dortmund came away rom their visit to Bayer Leverkusen with a 3-2 victory, the goals coming from Nelson Valdez, Florian Kringe and Neven Subotic.
Bundesliga newboys Hoff…
Reigning Premier League champions had perhaps harboured faint hopes of a heroic title defence until fairly recently, but defeats to Bournemouth and Watford in their last two games have brought into focus their stark reality that they may not even be able to secure a top four finish this season.
The Blues currently occupy the valuable fourth spot, but only lead fifth place Tottenham by a single point. As the lowest scoring side in the top six, Chelsea are unsurprisingly concerned about their form, and are already looking ahead to the summer transfer window for improvements.
Marco Asensio is one man they hope could help turn their fortunes around for next season, according to . The midfielder has made La Liga 18 appearances for Los Blancos this season, though half of t…
Competition: FA Cup
Market: Leicester to beat Sheffield United
Odds:
The FA Cup returns this weekend for yet another massive round of games that will only bring more action and excitement. The FA Cup is a competition that caters to shocking results, with the big teams often felled by their lower-league opponents, and with this in mind, former Premier League champions Leicester take on Sheffield United on Friday.
Leicester have been in good form this season and they are a side that are chasing a Europa League spot this season. After 27 games they have won nine, drawn eight and lost 10, while they have scored 39 times and conceded 40 goals. In their last five they have won just once, drawing twice and losing twice, which has seen the Foxes onto 35…