James McCann matched a career high with five RBIs against his former team to lead the Baltimore Orioles to a 10-3 win over the New York Mets on Friday.
McCann, traded to the Orioles from the Mets in the offseason, opened the scoring in the fourth inning with a two-run single.
He ripped a two-run double high off the wall in left field in Baltimore’s four-run sixth and added an RBI single to cap a four-run seventh.
The veteran catcher drove in five runs one time previously, on August 12, 2017, while with the Detroit Tigers.
McCann became the first catcher to go 3 for 3 or better with a walk, stolen base and at least five RBIs since RBIs became an official stat in 1920.
Rookie Jordan Westburg hit his second career home run – a three-run blast to centre - as American League-leading Baltimore won for the fifth time in six games to remain two games ahead of Tampa Bay in the East.
Reliever Mike Baumann worked 1 2/3 scoreless innings to become the first in team history to win his first nine relief decisions in a season.
Francisco Lindor had a two-run single for the Mets, who have been outscored 30-11 during a four-game losing streak.
Royals beat Phillies for 7th straight win
Bobby Witt Jr. and Michael Massey homered to lead the Kansas City Royals to their seventh straight win, 7-5 over the Philadelphia Phillies.
Dairon Blanco knocked in three runs and stole three bases for the last-place Royals, who followed three-game sweeps of the New York Mets and AL Central-leading Twins with a series-opening victory for their longest win streak since July 2017.
Witt has keyed the streak, going 17 for 32 with four homers, 15 RBIs, eight runs and four steals in those seven games.
He became the first player in MLB history with 20 home runs and 30 stolen bases in each of his first two seasons.
Braves’ Fried dominates Cubs in return
Max Fried pitched six stellar innings in his return and the Atlanta Braves homered on back-to-back pitches in a seven-run fourth in an 8-0 rout of the Chicago Cubs.
Making his first appearance since May 5, Fried limited the Cubs to three hits with no walks and eight strikeouts while throwing 72 pitches.
Sean Murphy and Marcel Ozuna went deep off Kyle Hendricks on consecutive pitches in Atlanta’s fourth inning and Austin Riley connected in the seventh.
The major league-best Braves earned their sixth win in seven games to increase their NL East lead to 12 ½ games over Philadelphia.
The Cincinnati Bengals have come to terms with linebacker Logan Wilson on a four-year extension worth up to $37.25 million, according to sources.
Wilson, who was entering the final year of his rookie contract, will make an average of $11.2 million over the first two years of the deal.
Wilson has 123 tackles, 2 ½ sacks, an interception and a forced fumble in 15 games last season as Cincinnati captured its second straight AFC North title.
In three seasons with the Bengals, the 27-year-old Wilson has 256 tackles, seven interceptions and 4 ½ sacks in 40 games.
The Bengals have given Wilson and defensive end Trey Hendrickson extensions, and star quarterback Joe Burrow is soon to get what could be the richest contract in NFL history.
The Los Angeles Lakers and eight-time All-Star forward Anthony Davis have agreed to a three-year contract extension worth $186million, multiple media outlets reported Friday.
Davis, 30, has two seasons remaining on his original five-year, $190million deal and is now signed though the 2027-28 season.
After helping the Lakers win the 2020 NBA Finals, Davis has been considered a franchise cornerstone, but there had been some questions about his long-term future in Los Angeles with LeBron James entering the final season of his contract.
Last season, Davis averaged 25.9 points, 12.5 rebounds and 2.6 assists while shooting a career-best 56.3 percent from the field.
The No. 1 overall pick in the 2012 draft, Davis remains one of the NBA’s premier players when healthy but has struggled to stay on the court recently, missing 104 games over the last three seasons.
After the Lakers’ run to the Western Conference finals last season and a promising offseason, expectations are high in Los Angeles despite durability concerns plaguing Davis and James.
“We are trending in the right direction,” Davis said at the end of last season. "Obviously, the goal is to win championships, and we wanted to be not just knocking on the door but actually get it done, walk through the door. So that’s our goal. That’s our goal every time we step on the floor for training camp, and I’m 100-percent sure that will be the goal next year."
During 11 NBA seasons, Davis has averaged 24 points, 10.4 rebounds and 2.4 assists, along with 2.31 blocks and 1.34 steals.
In 55 career playoff games, Davis has averaged 25.9 points, 11.4 rebounds and 2.7 assists while shooting 53.3 percent from the field.
Castleford coach Andy Last has been sacked after Friday night’s 28-0 home defeat to Huddersfield left the Tigers bottom of Betfred Super League.
The Tigers were battered by the Giants at the Mend-A-Hose Jungle, with a hat-trick of tries from Sam Halsall helping to consign them to a fifth successive defeat.
Last, who took over in March after Lee Radford stepped down, did not appear before the media following the match.
And the club soon released a statement, which read: “Castleford Tigers can confirm that Andy Last has departed the club with immediate effect.
“The club will make a further statement after the weekend.”
Castleford have won just four of 21 league games this season and are now 12th in the standings, below Wakefield on points difference – with the Tigers travelling to Trinity in their next game.
While the Tigers continue to struggle, Huddersfield were celebrating a fourth win in a row to keep their play-off hopes alive.
The Giants are ninth in the table and just four points off the top six.
“I’m really pleased,” coach Ian Watson said.
“We showed great character. We spoke about starting really fresh and starting really well.
“We wanted to take that pressure away. Our defensive mentality was awesome.
“It’s a week by week proposition for us [making the finals]. We don’t want to get carried away, but it’s put us in a great position. We look a hell of a lot more like us.”
The Giants next face defending champions St Helens on August 13.
“That will be a big game for us. Every game for us is a big game. There’s no point looking two or three games ahead. We have to enjoy it.”
Watson praised the impact of full-back Jake Connor, who set up two tries and constantly troubled Castleford’s defence, and believes the England international is starting to find his feet.
“There’s still things we’ve spoke about, but he’s finding a way,” he said.
“He’s started to turn up in the right places now. Everything comes off our D anyway.”
Andy Murray came up just short in a three-hour marathon against world number nine Taylor Fritz in the last 16 of the Citi Open.
The 36-year-old, who was runner-up in Washington 17 years ago, looked on the brink of another of his occasional statement wins since his comeback from hip surgery when he had break points for a 4-2 lead in the deciding set.
But Fritz, the top seed and American number one, managed to repel all three and went on to wrap up his 40th win in 2023, 6-7 (2) 6-3 6-4.
An epic encounter was briefly held up while a group of rowdy protesters who had thrown giant tennis balls on to the court were escorted from the stand.
Murray had already smashed his racket against the floor after dropping serve in the first game, throwing in two double-faults among six unforced errors.
The Scot had been a point away from a 3-0 deficit but improved as the set wore on and broke back for 5-5 as Fritz served for it, saving two set points before converting his first break point with a drop shot.
Murray dominated the tie-break with Fritz now showing his frustration, and he took the set after 87 minutes with an almost dismissive forehand winner.
But Fritz locked straight back in to break at the start of the second on his way to levelling the match.
Fritz survived those break points at 2-3 in the decider and then a Murray double-fault gifted the 25-year-old three chances to break, taking the second when Murray’s backhand drifted long.
In a dramatic final game, Murray brought up three break-back points at 40-0, Fritz survived the lot and then squandered two match points before converting the third.
Dan Evans had lost eight of his last nine matches before arriving in Washington but the British number two made it two wins in two by beating Russia’s Alexander Shevchenko 6-4 6-3.
Evans will have to play his last-eight match later in the day after rain saw his and Murray’s matches cancelled on Thursday.
Che Adams climbed off the bench to score a late winner for Southampton on their Sky Bet Championship return and silence taunts of the Sheffield Wednesday fans.
Adams entered the pitch to a chorus of boos due to his association with Sheffield United but eight minutes later he was celebrating scoring the 87th-minute goal that earned the Saints a 2-1 victory at Hillsborough.
It had looked like the Saints, back in the second tier for the first time in over a decade following last season’s Premier League relegation, would endure a frustrating evening as for large parts they failed to turn possession into goal threat.
They had gone ahead early on through Adam Armstrong’s goal – deflecting in Nathan Tella’s shot – and were in total control at half-time, setting a new Championship record for the most number of passes in 45 minutes as they completed 477.
But they were pegged back after the break when Lee Gregory scored for the newly-promoted hosts from a set-piece and the visitors struggled to find a cutting edge.
But Adams’ late introduction changed the course of the game, sweeping home from close range to give Russell Martin a win in his first game in charge as the Saints, whose squad may yet be weakened before the end of the month, laid down an early marker.
Wednesday opened this Football League campaign just 67 days after bringing the curtain down on last season with their League One play-off final at Wembley, but it has been a turbulent time since.
Manager Darren Moore surprisingly left while chairman Dejphon Chansiri used Xisco Munoz’s unveiling press conference to publicly berate former midfielder Carlton Palmer amid fan unrest at spiralling ticket prices.
And things did not start well on the pitch as Southampton took early control, going ahead in just the eighth minute.
To the naked eye, it looked like Tella had scored the first goal of the campaign in style as he cut inside on his left foot and sent a curling effort into the far corner.
But replays showed his shot glanced Armstrong on the way through and the striker was credited with the goal.
It was total Saints domination as James Ward-Prowse, one of those linked with a move away this month, forced Cameron Dawson into a smart low save while Carlos Alcaraz was just off target with a shot from the edge of the area.
Having been robbed of the goal, Tella tried his best to remedy it and went close with a similar effort that was deflected just over the crossbar.
Callum Patterson was then forced to come to Wednesday’s rescue from the resulting corner as he cleared Jack Stephens’ effort off the line.
It did not take much for the hosts to improve after the break and they levelled nine minutes after the restart as Gregory fired home from Akin Famewo’s header back across goal from Barry Bannan’s corner.
The Saints continued to enjoy almost exclusive ownership of the ball but were restricted to long distance efforts, with Stuart Armstrong twice threatening the goal.
Just as it looked like they might have to settle for a point, Adams had the last laugh by tucking home Ward-Prowse’s centre and the Saints saw out nine minutes of stoppage time to post victory.
The NFL has suspended New Orleans Saints running back Alvin Kamara and Indianapolis Colts defensive back Chris Lammons for three regular-season games for their role in a February 2022 fight in Las Vegas.
Both players pleaded no contest to misdemeanour charges on July 11 as part of a plea bargain with Nevada prosecutors, avoiding any potential jail time.
The league announced its discipline on Friday, after Kamara was granted a meeting with commissioner Roger Goodell earlier this week.
Kamara, the Saints’ leader in yards from scrimmage in five of the last six seasons, will miss games against the Tennessee Titans, Carolina Panthers and Green Bay Packers.
Kamara spoke publicly for the first time since the start of training camp, taking questions Friday after practice but before the NFL’s punishment was announced.
“I never want to be involved in something where someone gets hurt or severely injured or anything. Poor judgement on my end, definitely a bad decision,” Kamara said. “I was completely wrong, embarrassed the Saints, embarrassed my family, my mother. Embarrassed myself.
“I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t tough,” Kamara continued. “I’ve lost a lot throughout this ordeal. I’m definitely not looking for any pity and not looking for somebody to give me a pat on the back and say, ‘It’s OK.’ I know what I did. ... And I definitely take responsibility. That’s part of being a man and growing. From here, I just got to make the right decisions and make the right choices.”
Kamara, Lammons and two other defendants were accused of beating a Houston man unconscious. As part of their plea bargains, Kamara and Lammons agreed to each pay $100,000 towards the victim’s medical bills, as well as an undisclosed amount from a separate civil lawsuit that was settled.
Kamara admitted Friday that he had a hard time focusing on football while the NFL’s discipline was pending.
“It’s hanging over you,” Kamara said. “Obviously, it’s self-inflicted. But nonetheless, it’s still something that’s, you know, it’s like a dark cloud. ... It’s hard to kind of enjoy some of the smaller things.”
A third-round draft pick out of Tennessee, Kamara was the 2017 Offensive Rookie of the Year and has been among the NFL’s most versatile weapons since entering the league.
In six seasons, all with the Saints, Kamara has amassed 5,135 rushing yards and 49 rushing touchdowns while adding 430 receptions for 3,753 yards and 22 touchdowns.
Kamara has averaged 101 scrimmage yards over 88 career games, second only to Christian McCaffrey (113.1) among active players with at least 75 games played.
Louis Moult marked his Dundee United league debut with a goal and three assists as the Scottish Championship title favourites ran out thumping 4-0 winners in the season opener at Arbroath.
United, relegated from the Premiership on the final day of last season, went ahead after nine minutes when Arbroath gave the ball away to former Preston and Motherwell forward Moult, who sent Glenn Middleton through to score.
Moult was the architect again as United doubled their lead in the 25th minute, slipping Mathew Cudjoe through to coolly finish.
Craig Sibbald rattled the crossbar before he got on the scoresheet eight minutes before half-time after another Moult assist.
And Moult got in on the act in first-half stoppage time with a powerful finish to put the visitors 4-0 up at the break.
United could have had another in the second half but Scott McMann’s drive clipped a post.
Jody Cundy won a remarkable 14th consecutive world kilo title as Britain’s para-cyclists enjoyed a golden night on the second day of the UCI Cycling World Championships in Glasgow.
Neil Fachie, racing on home boards in Scotland, claimed a 17th world title, piloted to glory by Matt Rotherham in the men’s B kilo time trial ahead of fellow Brits James Ball and Steffan Lloyd, before Jaco Van Gass pipped team-mate Fin Graham to gold in the men’s C3 kilo time trial.
Sophie Unwin and Jenny Holl then made it two golds in as many days as they beat fellow Brits Lora Fachie and Corrine Hall in the women’s B individual pursuit.
These combined ‘super’ world championships are the first in which the track cycling and para-track cycling has been fully integrated, and the Brits took full advantage of the partisan home crowd as Fran Brown and Daphne Schrager also picked up silver medals.
Cundy has owned the men’s C4 kilo crown since making his debut in 2006. But after a spell of injury and illness the 44-year-old has considered stepping away from the sport in recent months before rediscovering his mojo and using it to claim yet another rainbow jersey.
“It’s probably the best one purely off the fact I’ve had an absolute shocker of a year,” Cundy said. “I’ve been properly low, depression, just things in life but I’ve had massive support from the team, my fiancee, kids, my mum and dad and a great network within British Cycling…
“It was getting to a point where I had absolutely no motivation every time I got on the bike and it was getting harder and harder and I just wasn’t looking forward to it…
“But thankfully I’ve kind of turned my world around and here we are with another world title in the bag. This is probably the best one.”
Cundy said next year’s Paraylmpics is likely to be his swansong but, having just ridden his best time at sea level at 1 minute 3.648 seconds, he added: “You can’t say never, and if I’m getting better then it will be hard to walk away.”
“If I get to Paris and I can get on the podium or whatever, it would be a nice way to go out.”
Crowd favourite Fachie took a 17th career world title, and credited the Glasgow crowds with spurring him on as he and Rotherham needed a big push in the final few laps to beat Ball and Lloyd by 0.042 seconds.
“This is my first big race (back at the velodrome) since 2014 and the Commie Games which was one of the absolute highlights of my career so just to be back here is amazing, and it’s a first world title with my son in the crowd watching so that was special too.
“The crowd was amazing, that’s the reason we won today. We’ve got no idea on the bike if we’re up or down (on time), all we could hear was the crowd roaring.
“I assumed we were going really well because they were cheering, I had no concept of us being behind but the crowd got behind us and we just nicked it.”
Van Gass took his fifth world title as he beat Graham by 0.263seconds, and then soaked in the adulation of the crowd.
“It really is amazing,” the 36-year-old said. “Every time a British rider steps to the plate the crowd goes wild and honestly I needed them today, they drove me through it. It’s a great experience and what the sport deserves.”
Unwin and Holl won the women’s B kilo on Thursday, and doubled up with a convincing win over Fachie, who is married to Neil, and Hall.
“We knew how the race was going to go, we knew we would be behind in the first half and hopefully bring it back and to be able to execute that how we wanted to was amazing,” Unwin said.
“Yesterday it was nice to see the endurance and the speed in our legs and that gave us the confidence to know we could come in today and do what we wanted.”
The Reggae Girlz remarkable and historic run on their second-consecutive Fifa Women’s World Cup appearance, may come as a surprise to many, but those close to the happenings believe it was always on the cards given the players and the coaching staff’s unflinching desire to succeed.
With another campaign being marred by talks of age-old issues of little or no practice games and inadequate preparation, as well as limited funding, ahead of the showpiece currently ongoing in Australia and New Zealand, the collective chorus is one of great optimism that the Reggae Girlz will now be taken seriously and will receive the necessary support and respect they deserve.
Former Head coach Hue Menzies, who was at the helm when the Reggae Girlz first qualified for the France 2019 World Cup, is among those singing praises about the current achievements. But he was also quick to point out that much more work needs to be done, as the country’s women’s football programme is still some ways off from its full potential.
The 43rd-ranked Girlz, who on World Cup debut lost all three games to Brazil, Italy and Australia in 2019, have displayed marked improvements on this occasion in holding top-ranked France and Brazil to goalless stalemates and secure their first ever World Cup win in a 1-0 scoreline over Panama on their way to the knockout stages.
Menzies, believes these accomplishments was another show of the players' resilience and strength of character, as they were given very little chance against their more illustrious opponents.
"I believe this was another statement of the players' dedication and commitment and determination to make Jamaica proud. They have again commanded people's attention with this achievement but again, the programme requires more funding if they are to get much closer to these top teams.
"But I am so proud for what the programme continues to achieve, and all the credit must go to Cedella [Marley], who brought us all together with the vision to build this programme. I think we have earned some respect across the world after these performances, but the most important thing is that we earn the respect from our own people of Jamaica," Menzies told Sportsmax.tv in a recent interview.
“Culturally we don’t support female football or female sports on a whole. Corporate Jamaica has to understand how significant it would be for them to collaborate with the Girlz, they can create an impactful platform to help young females to dream big.
“Not only that, but brand recognition through these young ladies, will benefit for a lifetime. So, we have won this World Cup battle but have to keep going to win the war where the holistic development of the programme is concerned,” he added.
Reggae Girlz manager Crystal Walters, who is one of the youngest present at the global showpiece, echoed similar sentiments, as she noted that the hard work and sacrifice made by the players and backroom staff, will never truly be understood by those standing on the outside looking in.
“From the very start of this journey the ladies have been my first priority, watching them rewrite history each time they step on the field, and just being a part of this journey is truly an amazing feeling. what amazes me the most is how well this team stick together with so many distractions, but these ladies thrive on having their backs against the wall and are our living legends,” Walters said from the team’s base in Australia.
For Walters, the onus is now on the Jamaica Football Federation (JFF), the Government and also corporate partners to ensure they build on the Girlz achievements going forward.
“Our focus as a nation needs to be redirected to our grassroots programme, providing proper sporting facilities, as well as adequate sponsorship. It takes a lot to care, but this team has gone beyond greatness, and we need to build on the history that these amazing ladies and staff have once again created.
“It is indeed a fresh testament of what the country can achieve with more substantial backing, as the Girlz accomplishments will provide opportunities and open many doors for these and our other players. It is football for all and we need to use this opportunity to ensure we keep developing,” Walters opined.
Andrew Price, who along with current Head coach Lorne Donaldson, were assistants to Menzies during the 2019 success, said the Girlz — backed by a committed and resolute coaching staff — again forged ahead despite the enormous disparity in rankings, history, funding and support when compared to opponents like France and Brazil.
In fact, even Italy, who the Girlz lost to in 2019, failed to progress from their group on this occasion.
“The performance in Australia has been phenomenal. The Girlz continue to secure historic achievements, almost proving that merely qualifying for their second-consecutive FIFA Women's World Cup wasn't enough.
“These Girlz like to dream big. They went to Australia with a plan and driven by the technical staff, they bought into the plan. They believed that they had the mental capacity to traverse the group and they did because they believed in each other,” Price noted.
“I told people who would listen, that this team is four years older, four years wiser and the experience they got from 2019 would serve them well. They played each team on their merit and took one game at time. The focus was to get out of the group, and they have accomplished that by showing great fight resilience. Keep the fire burning Reggae Girlz,” the veteran tactician shared.
The Reggae Girlz will next face 25th-ranked Colombia in Round of 16 action in Adelaide, on Tuesday and standout goalkeeper Rebecca Spencer declared that they are ready to once again prove their doubters wrong.
“We were hugely underestimated, obviously with the noise going on outside of us playing and the lack of matches that we had leading into the tournament, I don’t think anyone took us seriously,” the outspoken Spencer opined.
“But as a group, both players and staff, we know we are resilient we had a point to prove and for months we have been saying it, we are getting out of this group, and we have proven just that. I am just proud of everyone for sticking together and getting it done and now we want to keep going,” the Tottenham Hotspur shot-stopper stated.
Brazil bounced back from disappointment over hurdles 24 hours earlier to bag a big prize on the Flat at Galway on Friday.
Winner of the Boodles Juvenile Handicap Hurdle at Cheltenham in March last year, he was pulled up in the Galway Hurdle on Thursday.
But the Padraig Roche-trained, JP McManus-owned five-year-old showed no ill effects back on the level in €110,000 Guinness Premier Handicap over a mile and a half, powering home to edge 5-2 favourite Teed Up and Chally Chute by a head and the same in the hands of Niall McCullagh.
https://twitter.com/HRIRacing/status/1687521870004834329
“Yesterday was the plan, but unfortunately that didn’t go to plan and in fairness to Mark (Walsh) he looked after him,” said Roche following the victory of the 14-1 chance. “We had him in today and it was great, Niall gave him a great ride, so I’m delighted.
“When I was only a young lad, Niall was in India when dad (Christy Roche) was over there so I’ve known Niall a long time. It’s great and he gave him a great ride.”
On being pulled up in the Galway Hurdle he added: “Look it’s Galway, the start is everything. Fair play to Mark he looked after him and he knew he was in today. He’s a hardy horse and there’s no bother with him. He came back, ate up last night and was bouncing this morning so we said we’d give him a chance.
“His pedigree is great, he came from Ballydoyle and I’m lucky to have a horse like him.
“He has a load of options, it was a bit morbid last night but today is great. It’s a great game.”
Toss Again (11-2) produced a performance full of class to win the Guinness Galway Blazers Handicap.
With just one previous outing over fences to his name when winning a beginners’ chase at Limerick in May, the Henry de Bromhead-trained six-year-old belied his inexperience with a fine round of jumping.
Pressed hard on the long run for home, Darragh O’Keeffe’s mount was not for passing, with a length and three-quarters the margin over Quantum Realm.
De Bromhead – who has a fine recent record in the valuable handicap – said: “I’m delighted for Tom O’Connor, his owner. He and his brother and his mum are here, so that’s great. He was brilliant, and Darragh was brilliant on him.
“It’s only his first run in a handicap and second run over fences, obviously he lacked experience but his jumping is savage and he was brilliant the whole way.
“I thought it (handicap rating) was fair, off his hurdle mark. We hoped he had improved for fences, he won his beginners’ chase nicely in Limerick. The lack of experience around here (was a worry), but you wouldn’t have thought it with the way he jumped.
“He really stayed at it and I thought Darragh gave him a super ride.
“We won’t rush, today was the plan and he’s still a novice. He has options.
“He probably prefers nicer ground, I’d say he’s better on better ground.”
West Indies Captain Hayley Matthews played a starring role to help the Welsh Fire defeat the Southern Brave by four runs in their Women’s Hundred fixture at the Rose Bowl in Southampton on Friday.
Matthews hit a 38-ball 65 including 13 fours to help the Fire post 165-3 from their 100 balls after being inserted by the Brave.
The Fire also got solid contributions from Georgia Elwiss (28) and Captain Tammy Beaumont (26).
Then, despite an opening partnership of 96 between Smriti Mandhana and Danni Wyatt, the Southern Brave were restricted to 161-4 off their 100 balls.
Mandhana ended up 70* off 42 balls while Wyatt made 67 off 37 balls. Mandhana hit 11 fours while Wyatt hit 10 fours and two sixes.
Alex Griffiths took 2-26 from her 20 balls while Matthews took 1-35 from her 20 deliveries for the Fire.
Gary Lineker admits he is concerned for Tottenham this season regardless of whether or not Harry Kane makes the “fantastic” move to Bayern Munich.
Kane – Tottenham and England’s all-time record goalscorer – has been heavily linked with a move to the Bundesliga champions this summer and Bayern have already had two bids knocked back in their efforts to land the striker.
Reports on Friday claimed the Bavarians had made a third – and final – bid for the striker of more than 100 million euros (£86million), also setting Spurs a midnight deadline to accept or reject the offer.
The 30-year-old is out of contract at the end of the upcoming campaign and is reportedly keen on a move to Germany.
Spurs finished eighth last season – their lowest placing in the Premier League since 2008 – despite Kane weighing in with 30 goals, second only to Erling Haaland.
“I’m concerned for Spurs either way, whatever happens with Harry,” Lineker told the PA news agency.
“I have been concerned about them for a while, I see where they ended last season and they are in the worst position they had been in for quite some time.
“They have made an exceptional signing in James Maddison, he is a better player than a lot of people think, I think he is absolutely top class.
“That is a good addition but they are a long, long way short. The new manager (Ange Postecoglou) could make a difference, but Harry, the goals he scores, take that away from any team it would be hugely difficult. It is time to rebuild for Tottenham – rebuild, rethink, re-plan.”
One temptation for Kane to remain at Spurs is the tantalising prospect of becoming the Premier League’s all-time record goalscorer.
He is currently on 213, second on the list to Alan Shearer, and needs 48 goals to surpass the former Southampton, Blackburn and Newcastle striker.
However, Lineker – who is launching him own independent podcast, ‘The Rest is Football’, alongside Shearer – feels trophies would mean more to Kane than individual accomplishments.
“Obviously, it is personal record versus a near-guarantee to win trophies at Bayern, so I think it will be an exciting move for him,” added Lineker.
“It is a team game, I was as selfish as anybody and I’ve spoken to Alan Shearer as well, I asked him ‘what would you take, the Premier League record or your Premier League trophy?’ Straight away he said the trophy.
“I have got three golden boots from three different clubs (Leicester, Everton and Tottenham) – a record in itself – but if I had to give one of those away or my FA Cup, I would give one of those away – it is a team game, you are in it to win the big prizes, personal records are wonderful but they are secondary.”
Very few England players have opted to move abroad in the past but Lineker is someone who chose to do so – thriving on and off the pitch during a three-year stint at Barcelona, leaving in 1989 to sign for Tottenham.
“Everybody is different but if you are of the mind of wanting to experience different things and enriching your life and learning different cultures, it is absolutely the right thing to do,” the 62-year-old said.
“What Jude Bellingham has done at Borussia Dortmund and now with Real Madrid has been amazing, but obviously it is a personal choice. I don’t know what Harry is going to do, I suspect he will go.
“I think it will be a fantastic move for him, he is guaranteed to score goals, German football is really attacking and it will suit him.
“He would be going to one of the best clubs in world football, they win trophies every year, a beautiful city – my only advice would be try and learn German because it would be appreciated and help him settle in. If he goes.”
:: Gary Lineker was talking to mark the launch of ‘The Rest is Football’ and independent podcast he will host alongside Alan Shearer and Micah Richards.
Sports stars and clubs across the world continue to provide an insight into their lives on social media.
Here, the PA news agency looks at some of the best examples from August 4.
FootballNeil Warnock is ready to go again.
All smiles at Everton.
View this post on InstagramNew number who this?
Franck Ribery reminisced.
Lucas Digne was feeling good.
CricketStuart Broad felt lucky.
F1George Russell enjoyed his summer holidays.
MMAConor McGregor hit the beach.
TaekwondoJade Jones has a love-hate relationship with training.
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