data-mm-id=”_nsg1suv3o”>The first play of the Dallas Cowboys-New York Giants game on Sunday afternoon was quite unremarkable. Dak Prescott hit Brandin Cooks on a quick in-route for four yards. The ball came free but only after Cooks had been laying down for a few seconds so everyone prepared for the second snap of the game. Then Brian Daboll struck. For some reason. Play was halted before Prescott could take the second snap of the game because Daboll threw a challenge flag. Then, apparently, he tried to take it back. The referees said the Giants were using a timeout no matter what because he threw the challenge flag, so Daboll said screw it and used the challenge anyway. Brian Daboll just burned a timeout by throwing the challenge flag over Brandin Cooks' fumble, then picking it up and telling the referees nevermind.The referees were going to charge the Giants a timeout regardless of whether they went through with the review or not. So now the…— Pat Leonard (@PLeonardNYDN) November 12, 2023This is apparently what happened. All over… this play. In which Cooks was so obviously down that you have to consider Daboll's decision to challenge the worst of the entire season. Brian Daboll wastes a challenge pic.twitter.com/1tCqB6r8yo— Bobby Skinner (@BobbySkinner_) November 12, 2023Like, it's not even close! And the circumstances do not absolve Daboll. Sometimes a coach will make a bad challenge on a close catch and they're pressed for time because the offense is rushing to the line or whatever. Kyle Shanahan did exactly that in the 49ers-Jaguars contest earlier today. But this was a four-yard gain on the first play of the game! Obviously there was a big potential payoff here for the Giants, who entered the day as two-touchdown underdogs and are starting their third-string quarterback. A fumble on the first play may very well have been their only chance to swing the momentum. That's probably why Daboll made the split-second decision he did. But it was so obviously not a fumble that we have to ask if he was even paying attention or if he was doing something else and realized there might be a fumble and hurled the flag with no further thought. Regardless of the why of the situation it's a horrific challenge and probably the worst of the year to this point when you take into account the likelihood of being successful. Just a zero percent chance to win. And on the first play of the game, which draws even more attention to the situation. The Giants' laughably bad season continues, full steam ahead.
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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.
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Manchester United
After performing way below expectations during the first half of the campaign, the need for a squad refresh at Old Trafford is clear. Primarily, Erik Ten Hag would seem to require a forward to give the attack more of a cutting edge and a defender, where he has not settled on a preferred centre-back pairing. New faces would also give the place a lift in general but some players may need to be moved on first. The futures of Rafael Varane and Casemiro are uncertain while Anthony Martial is again being linked with a move away. Outcast Jadon …
Julian Nagelsmann has given his approval to RB Leipzig s choice of Jesse Marsch as his successor and future Bundesliga rival.
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Marsch was also head coach of New York Red Bulls from 2015 to 2018, and Nagelsmann sees him as an easy fit at Leipzig.
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Brentford head coach Thomas Frank says that Ivan Toney will not be leaving the Bees on transfer deadline day.
England striker Toney has been linked with Premier League rivals such as Arsenal and Chelsea in the January window.
The 27-year-old has scored 34 goals in 68 top-flight games for Brentford and Frank insists Toney will stay put after a month of speculation.
“This will be breaking news, OK – but Ivan will stay,” Frank said at his press conference previewing Monday’s clash with Manchester City.
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PSG have won just two of their opening five league games and suffered their first defeat on Friday when they were beaten 3-2 at home by Nice, leaving the reigning champions three points behind leaders Monaco.
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Liverpool came back from a goal down against Southampton at St. Mary s to earn the three points they needed to keep their Premier League title hopes alive, as Takumi Minamino cancelled out Nathan Redmond s 13th-minute opener in the 27th, and Joel Matip struck the winner in the 67th.
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