data-mm-id=”_le01o0peg”>LeBron James read a CNBC report that some team executives and agents would prefer the NBA cancel the current season so everyone can focus on safely returning next year. He then tweeted that the report is false, seemingly on the strength of only anecdotal evidence. Saw some reports about execs and agents wanting to cancel season??? That’s absolutely not true. Nobody I know saying anything like that. As soon as it’s safe we would like to finish our season. I’m ready and our team is ready. Nobody should be canceling anything. ?— LeBron James (@KingJames) April 30, 2020James wants to play. Mark Cuban is the first of a few owners to put it on record that he believes the season will resume. That's all well and good. One need not be a savant to understand that contending teams are a bit more interested in finishing what they've started than teams who have little to no postseason aspirations. Solved it, baby. Optimism and desire to return to normalcy helps us feel human right now. But both sides can talk until they're blue in the face about what is and isn't going to happen down the road and it won't. It doesn't really matter right now. James' alleged rebuttal, if you can call it that, hinges in a pretty significant caveat.As soon as it's safe …That's the whole ballgame right there. It's been the whole ballgame since sports went away. Despite the painfully strong desires we all have for them to return, nothing can happen until all involved parties can go forward with confidence in their health. Planning for that day, which hopefully comes sooner rather than later, is fine. But pulling the trigger on resumption of the NBA season is a big decision that will need to be weighed and measured from every angle. James may have sealed his statement with a crown but it's far from a royal decree. It doesn't really mean anything, even if he's one of the most powerful voices among players, who all need to get on the same page. On paper, it makes more sense to wrap up a truncated 2019-2020 year before starting the 2020-2021 campaign if — and it's a big if — the league can get back to action before fall. We're obviously a long way from there. Perhaps no closer or further away than we were before today's back-and-forth.
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The games will come thick and fast now with the Premier League heading into matchday two after a bumper opening weekend.
Leeds United play a top-flight game at Elland Road for the first time since 2004 having lost out in a 4-3 thriller to champions Liverpool in their opener.
Chelsea host the Reds this weekend, while Manchester United are out to avoid a repeat of an Old Trafford defeat to Crystal Palace last season.
But before settling down to watch all the action unfold, why not warm-up your minds with our Opta-powered quiz?
1. Which Everton forward scored a hat-trick against West Brom for Arsenal in the Premier League back in May 2015, but has failed to net in each of his six other appearances against the Baggies in the competition?
2. Leeds pla…
According to a recent report from France Football, Paris Saint-Germain will be attempting to complete the signing of Rennes star Eduardo Camavinga during either the January or summer transfer window. PSG have never been shy when it comes to putting all of their eggs in one basket, and when it comes to Camavinga, they’ve taken the necessary time to think things through as opposed to acting on impulse.
Camavinga put in a starring role for them earlier on in the season at the age of just 16, which clearly made a lasting impression. PSG tend to go for the more established names in the transfer window as a result of their overwhelming wealth, but if this comes to fruition, nobody can say that they don’t take a risk or two from time to time.
Whether or not Camavi…
Prediction: Manchester City to Win and Both Teams to Score
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Manchester City will be aiming to seal a domestic treble on Saturday evening as they take on Watford in the FA Cup final at Wembley Stadium.
The Citizens have already scooped the Premier League and Carabao Cup this season and will look to continue their trophy streak under boss Pep Guardiola. Meanwhile, Watford head to the capital aiming to upset the odds and lift their first ever piece of major silverware.
Manchester City
The Citizens are by far the favourites to win the FA Cup this season after lifting the Premier League and Carabao Cup this season. One aspect that could see them go all their way is their recent form coming into the game. In all competitions this sea…
Bayern Munich are interested in signing Chelsea central defender Antonio Rudiger, according to . It has been reported by the German news outlet that Bundesliga and European giants Bayern have already made contact with the 28-year-old’s agent and half-brother Sahr Senesie and have expressed their interest in him.
Rudiger is out of contract at Chelsea at the end of the season, and with no new deal in place, the central defender is set to become a free agent next summer. However, the Blues, who won the Champions League last season and are aiming to win the Premier League title this season, do not want him to leave and want him to sign a new deal.
The Germany international joined Chelsea from AS Roma in 2017 and has established himself as an important player in the first…
Bayern Munich defender Dayot Upamecano may be fierce in the heat of battle, but Julian Nagelsmann says his centre-back is so peaceful he would hesitate to swat a fly.
Both Upamecano and Nagelsmann joined the Bayern ranks in the close season, leaving RB Leipzig to join the nine-in-a-row Bundesliga champions.
On Wednesday, Bayern take on Benfica in the third round of Champions League group games, looking to extend a dazzling start that has seen them beat Barcelona 3-0 and score a thumping 5-0 victory over Dynamo Kiev.
Manuel Neuer is in line for a 100th appearance in the competition with the Bavarians, which would make him the fourth player for the German giants to reach the landmark.
In front of Neuer, Upamecano is establishing himself as a fixture at the …
Whoever is left to line up for Liverpool on Sunday, they will have the chance to set a new club record against Leicester City.
The Reds have not lost at home in the Premier League since April 23, 2017. Back then, Donald Trump was settling into life as the 45th president of the United States, Brexit negotiations were still weeks away from formally opening and Antonio Conte s Chelsea were running away in the title race.
While much has changed since then, Liverpool being unbeaten at home in top-flight action has remained a constant. The current stretch of 63 games without defeat matches a club record, set between February 1978 and December 1980. Now they want to take the record outright.
A Crystal Palace team inspired by ex-Reds striker Chri…
A former Premier League player arrested on suspicion of child sex offences in 2021 will face no further action, Greater Manchester Police (GMP) has confirmed.
The player – who has since left the Premier League club he represented at the time of his arrest – was released on bail after being interviewed by officers in 2021.
On Friday, GMP said the evidence available did not meet the necessary threshold for prosecution.
The 33-year-old man who was arrested in connection with an investigation opened in June 2021 will face no further action, a police statement read.
The investigation team and Crown Prosecution Service have been working together and reached the decision that the evidence available at this time does not reach the threshold set out on the …
Sebastien Haller broke a Champions League record held by Erling Haaland when he gave Ajax the lead against Sporting CP on Tuesday, matching another feat previously only ever achieved by Cristiano Ronaldo.
The Ivory Coast international, who joined in January from West Ham, had difficulty in coming about goals during an 18-month Premier League stint.
His Champions League form has been stellar, though, and the penalty he converted against Sporting was his 10th goal of this season s group stage.
It made him the quickest player to reach double figures in a Champions League career, doing so in just six games. Norwegian star Haaland previously held that record, having got there in seven appearances.
Haller also became the first player to score in each of his …
Inter defender Federico Dimarco has signed a new contract that will keep him at the club until June 2026.
The full-back s previous deal was due to expire at the end of next season.
The former Italy youth international first joined the club at the age of seven, but made just two senior appearances and spent time on loan at Ascoli and Empoli before departing for Swiss side Sion in 2017.
However, Dimarco returned to San Siro a year later as Inter exercised a buy-back option, with further loan stints following at Parma and Hellas Verona.
A lifelong Inter fan, Dimarco has impressed new head coach Simone Inzaghi this season and made 24 appearances for the Nerazzurri in all competitions, scoring two goals.
| NEW DEAL signs on till 2026
— I…
Cristiano Ronaldo says he has no intention to retire from international football yet, but does not expect it to be a difficult decision when the time comes.
The 39-year-old holds the record for the most caps and goals of any player in men s international football, netting 130 times in 212 games.
However, Ronaldo s future was called into question after an unconvincing Euro 2024 campaign in which he failed to hit the back of the net in five appearances.
The tournament in Germany was the sixth major finals Ronaldo has featured in, a record, and he became the first European player in history to make 50 appearances at major tournaments.
When the time comes, I ll move on, he said. It won t be a difficult decision to make.
If I feel like I m no longer …