data-mm-id=”_cv8pr6vna”>Exactly two weeks ago, the Indiana Pacers announced a one-year contract extension with head coach Nate McMillan on the eve of the NBA playoffs. McMillan had one year left on his deal at the time of the extension. These past two weeks did not exactly go well for McMillan's Pacers as they got swept at the hands of the Miami Heat and have already left the bubble. Apparently the Pacers' brass was so unhappy about this that they reversed course entirely and fired McMillan on Wednesday morning. Official Statement: pic.twitter.com/l9kMqiYEXh— Indiana Pacers (@Pacers) August 26, 2020This is quite a confounding decision. Adrian Wojnarowski later reported that the "extension" McMillan signed only gave the coach a team option for the 2021-22 season, rather than an extra year outright. But that doesn't really help explain why they did that in the first place, or why a sweep in the strangest playoffs in basketball history merits a dismissal. Yet here we are. Pacers had reworked McMillan’s final year on contract for 2020-21 and added a team option for 2021-2022 in form of a soft extension. https://t.co/1GxeXi8ZyN— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) August 26, 2020McMillan deserved better. He might not be an elite coach, but he hasn't exactly gotten a chance to prove it. The Pacers have enjoyed exactly one full season of Victor Oladipo since they acquired him a year after McMillan replaced Frank Vogel as head coach in 2016. That season, they went 48-34. Despite losing Oladipo for half of the following season and nearly all of this season, Indiana remained firmly in the midst of the Eastern Conference playoff picture. It has not resulted in a single playoff series win, but to keep the ship steady without your best player is an accomplishment for even the most seasoned of NBA coaches. This year's sweep wasn't what anybody was looking for, but McMillan was once again forced to coach with one hand tied behind his back. Oladipo was playing serious minutes for the first time since January 2019, and Domantas Sabonis, the team's best all-around player, missed all of the bubble with a foot injury. Despite that, the Pacers remained fairly competitive with the Heat for the duration of the series. Then there's the aforementioned fact that these playoffs are taking place in unprecedented circumstances. It's impossible to quantify how the bubble should affect anybody's evaluation of in-game performance, but it's undeniable that playing in an empty gym with a pandemic and social injustices ravaging the country is not exactly what anybody is used to doing. Despite that, despite the fact that Oladipo was not anything close to the All-Star he was, despite missing another All-Star in Sabonis, McMillan led the Pacers to an even .500 record in the seeding and playoff games. They were vastly outmatched talent-wise in most of their games and yet McMillan managed to keep the ship afloat. That isn't a championship pedigree by any means, but deciding to use this series of circumstances to justify firing a coach just doesn't seem right. Life isn't fair and all that, but McMillan did everything he could with the hand he was dealt. It just wasn't enough for his bosses, right or wrong.
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Female football supporters from Wales’ South Asian communities will watch the national team play for the first time on Friday through a new initiative designed to create a more diverse fan base.
The sold-out signs are set to go up for Wales’ Euro 2024 qualifier with Armenia at the Cardiff City Stadium with Rob Page’s side hoping to take another step towards next summer’s finals in Germany.
Among the 33,000-plus capacity crowd will be women benefiting from a partnership between Her Game Too Cymru, Amar Cymru – the group launched in 2020 to give the South Asian community a voice in the national team – and the Football Association of Wales.
We’re working with to take South Asian female fans to their first game!
Join us at Cardiff City Stadium…
With Europe s elite once again taking center stage this weekend, we look set for another stacked schedule from across the continent. On that note, for those of you looking to stick on a Saturday acca, we have found a handful of helpful tips that are worth keeping an eye out for.
Saturday February 11th
BST 14:00 Empoli vs Spezia
Although Empoli might have been disappointed by their 2-0 loss away at Roma last weekend, the Blues have still impressed many across Italy on either side of the World Cup break. With their sights now firmly set on clinching a shock top-half finish in 2023, Saturday s hosts should be smelling the chance to make an immediate return to winning ways here. Only sat outside the top-10 thanks to their goal difference, Paolo Zanetti s men have suffere…
Alvaro Morata will spend another season with Juventus after the Serie A giants extended his loan until June 30, 2022.
The striker has agreed to stay in Turin, where he spent 2020-21 on loan from Atletico Madrid.
Morata scored 20 goals in all competitions last season, his best tally for a single campaign in his career, while also providing 11 assists.
Juve said in a statement on Tuesday: It goes without saying, Morata is in the right place, at the right time. And, of course, for another year!
Morata spent two years at Juve from 2014 to 2016 before returning to Real Madrid for the 2016-17 season.
After a difficult spell at Chelsea, he moved to Atletico initially on loan in 2019 before signing a permanent deal a year later.
In total, Morata …
Jack Grealish is unlikely to be fit for England’s friendlies against Brazil and Belgium later this month, Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has said.
The City midfielder suffered a recurrence of a recent groin injury in the club’s FA Cup win at Luton on Tuesday.
Grealish was substituted after just 38 minutes of the 6-2 victory at Kenilworth Road, cutting short what had been his first appearance in four games.
He has been ruled out of Sunday’s derby against Manchester United in the Premier League and Guardiola said at a press conference on Friday he was unlikely to play again before the next international break.
Guardiola said: “I don’t think so. I haven’t spoken with (England manager) Gareth (Southgate) but I don’t think he will be ready…
Bruce Arena is satisfied with New England Revolution s start to the season, though warned the opening four games of a campaign cannot be used to judge how his team will go on to perform.
The Revolution won MLS Supporters Shield in 2021 yet struggled last season, finishing 10th in the Eastern Conference.
New England have started this season strongly, however, winning three of their opening four games, albeit their sole defeat came in a 4-0 thrashing at the hands of reigning MLS Cup champions Los Angeles FC.
A 1-0 win over Nashville SC saw New England return to winning ways last week, and though Arena was not entirely happy with the performance, he cannot complain over his team s start to 2023.
In the last 10 minutes we didn t do a good job defending the l…
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Knowing that they must pounce on a golden chance this weekend, Scotland will welcome Moldova to Hampden on Saturday night.
Scotland
Starting with the hosts, while Scotland might have managed to end their major tournament exile over the summer, the Tartan Army do have the feel of a side seeking a boost. Failing to make much of a mark at this year s delayed European Championships, Head Coach Steve Clarke saw his side only snatch a single point from their three summer contests. Signing off their run with a 3-1 defeat at the hands of Croatia at Hampden, a 0-0 stalemate against British rivals England was the only impact they managed to make. Largely failing to build off of their eye-catching purple patch when ending 2020, Scotland once ag…
Tottenham’s record goal-scorer Harry Kane has landed in Germany to complete his move to Bayern Munich in a deal that could rise to £120million.
Spurs manager Ange Postecoglou confirmed on Friday afternoon that Kane’s transfer to the Bundesliga champions was “imminent” after a breakthrough in negotiations between the clubs was reached on Wednesday night.
It left the ball in Kane’s court and he decided on Thursday to leave his boyhood club for Bayern, who will pay an initial £100m, with add-ons potentially taking the deal up to an overall fee of £120m, the PA news agency understands.
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Hibernian are looking for what will be their sixth manager in less than five years after sacking Lee Johnson.
Hibs confirmed Johnson had departed less than 24 hours after a 3-2 home defeat by Livingston meant they had lost their opening three cinch Premiership matches.
Chief executive Ben Kensell said on the Hibernian website: “The club has taken the tough decision to relieve Lee Johnson of his duties following a disappointing start to the domestic campaign.
“We wish Lee and his coaching staff all the best for the future and thank them for their efforts.”
Hibs confirmed that coaches Jamie McAllister and Adam Owen had also left with immediate effect.
Hibernian FC can confirm that that Lee Johnson has departed the Club as First Team Manager.
For one of England s grandest rivalries, matches between Manchester United and Liverpool have been pretty drab recently.
When these two met last season at Old Trafford, it was a game notable for a remarkable number of injuries three players went off before half-time and almost no goalscoring chances.
The two league meetings hosted by United before that ended 2-1 and 1-1, neither of which were classic encounters, while the 3-1 win for Liverpool at Anfield last December ended a sequence of 0-1, 0-0 and 0-0 in league games at Anfield.
Sunday s game also threatens to be something of a damp squib given Liverpool s imperious habit of winning and United s wretched inability to create goalscoring chances.
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Gareth Southgate and Harry Kane agree England s loss to the Czech Republic was a wake-up call for the Three Lions.
England s perfect record in Euro 2020 qualifying ended in Prague on Friday despite Kane s early penalty putting Southgate s side ahead.
Defender Jakub Brabec equalised within five minutes then, in the closing stages at Eden Arena, substitute striker Zdenek Ondrasek hit the winner on his international debut.
England would have qualified for the finals had they won but are now joined on 12 points at the top of the group by the Czech Republic.
Qualification can still be sealed on Monday when England go to Bulgaria with Southgate demanding a response from the Three Lions after their first qualifying defeat for 10 years.
In terms of a w…