Wimbledon chiefs are hoping Wandsworth councillors will reject the recommendations of planning officers and back their expansion plans at next week’s meeting.
The project, which involves the construction of 38 new courts in neighbouring Wimbledon Park including an 8,000-seat show court, has met with significant protest from some local residents.
The All England Club achieved a major victory last month when Merton Council decided to approve the plans but a smaller section of the site lies within Wandsworth and its planning officers have recommended councillors reject it.
They will meet next Tuesday to make their decision, and an All England Club spokesperson said: “We are surprised that planning officers at the London Borough of Wandsworth have recommended refusal of the AELTC Wimbledon Park Project, particularly after the London Borough of Merton resolved to approve the application following extensive analysis and debate both in their officers’ report and at the planning committee.
“We regret that Wandsworth’s officers have taken a different view but it is for councillors on the Planning Applications Committee to make their own considered decision at the meeting on November 21.
“We firmly believe the AELTC Wimbledon Park Project will deliver substantial social, economic and environmental benefits, including 23 acres of newly accessible green space, alongside hundreds of jobs and tens of millions of pounds in economic benefits for our neighbours in Wandsworth, Merton and across London.”
The new show court drew the most concern from planning officers, who concluded that there were not the necessary very special circumstances to outweigh the harm and loss of open land.
Irrespective of the Wandsworth decision, the project will be referred to the Greater London Authority and its fate could ultimately be decided by the government.
Jude Bellingham and Levi Colwill are the latest pair to withdraw from England’s squad for the upcoming Euro 2024 qualifiers against Malta and North Macedonia.
Both Real Madrid midfielder Bellingham and Chelsea’s Colwill sat out their club games over the weekend with shoulder problems and have pulled out of the camp for the final two Group C fixtures.
“Jude Bellingham and Levi Colwill will play no part in England’s forthcoming UEFA EURO 2024 qualifiers against Malta and North Macedonia,” an England squad update read.
“The pair arrived at St George’s Park for assessments on Monday but will now return to their clubs to continue their rehabilitation.
“Meanwhile, Marcus Rashford and Kalvin Phillips will meet up later this week owing to personal matters.”
Their withdrawals follow in the wake of James Maddison, Callum Wilson and Lewis Dunk being replaced on Monday, with the trio all staying with their respective clubs for treatment.
Three newcomers were called into the England senior set-up by manager Gareth Southgate in light of Monday’s news with Ezri Konsa, Rico Lewis and Cole Palmer stepping in.
Southgate, though, has resisted any temptation to bring in any other players to replace Bellingham and Colwill, leaving him with a 23-man squad for the home game against Malta and the trip to North Macedonia.
England are already assured on their place at next summer’s Euro 2024 finals in Germany but Southgate wants to be a top seed when the draw is made in Hamburg next month so victory in both games remains a key target.
Joe Mazzulla was thrilled to see his Boston Celtics side win without playing at their best after their victory over the New York Knicks.
The Celtics came out on top 114-98 on Monday, with Jayson Tatum scoring 35 points, 17 of which came in the final quarter.
Boston were far from at their best, particularly when it came to their shooting, with even Tatum off his game, missing seven of the first eight games.
Tatum put it together in the stretch, though, and Mazzulla was delighted to see Boston win without being on the top of their game.
"It's the best. I love games like this, because it’s going to reveal who we are, what we've been doing and where we need to get better," he said.
"You're not playing as well as you can be, and you're only down one. You've got to be thankful for that, because it could be a lot worse.
"And I thought our guys just stuck with it, with the right mindset."
Tatum added: "I missed so many wide-open 3s. I made the toughest one of the night, and I missed all the easy ones. That kind of got me going. I'll take it.
"I've played enough games, had enough tough shooting nights.
"All really, really good scorers know it just takes one to change your momentum, change how you feel about yourself shooting the ball. And once you see one go in, you just feel a lot better about yourself."
Jaylen Brown chipped in with 22 points, Kristaps Porzingis had 21 and Jrue Holiday finished with 14 to surpass 15,000 career points.
The Celtics are 8-2 for the season and sit second in the Eastern Conference, behind the Philadelphia 76ers.
Aaron Ramsdale’s father has criticised Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta for not telling his son why he has been dropped in favour of David Raya.
England goalkeeper Ramsdale started in Arsenal’s first four Premier League games, but has been relegated to the bench following Raya’s arrival on loan from Brentford.
Ramsdale’s father, Nick, told The Highbury Corner podcast that his son had “lost his smile” and was finding it difficult after not being given an explanation by Arteta.
Nick Ramsdale said: “Aaron’s lost that smile to when he was holding on to that ball at this moment in time and it is difficult.
“It really is difficult to see him there and we all keep saying ‘you need to keep smiling’.”
He added: “It’s possibly the way it’s been done. Not knowing the reason why, and this is me because we don’t know why. Again, Aaron is working as hard as he can. He’s trying to do his best for the squad. He’s upbeat and he’ll do everything for Arsenal to try and win the league.”
Ramsdale signed a new long-term deal with the Gunners in May, but has played second fiddle since Raya arrived in August on a season-long loan with a view to a permanent move.
Nick Ramsdale added: “Aaron is going to be the cup goalkeeper, and David Raya is going to be the main man unless something happens, an injury or a sending-off. Aaron’s got to live with that and he is living with that even though he’s not been told it. By anybody.”
New Zealand captain Kane Williamson is upbeat about his team’s chances of taking down “exceptional” India when the teams meet in the World Cup semi-final on Wednesday.
Hosts India have won all nine of their games at the tournament so far and are the favourites to go on and lift the trophy for the first time since 2011.
The Black Caps suffered four group-stage defeats, including a four-wicket loss to India on October 22, but Williamson insists that will have no bearing when the teams meet again in Mumbai for a place in the final.
“India have been exceptional,” he told a press conference. “They are one of the, if not the best team going around and are playing cricket that matches that.
“But we know on our day, when we play our best cricket, it gives us the best chance.
“We know it’s going to be a really tough challenge. They are a side that have been playing extremely well but we all know, come finals time, everything starts again and it’s all about the day.
“Every game in this tournament is a tricky one. As we’ve seen throughout, anybody can beat anybody on the day, whether that be the quality on both sides but also the change in conditions and if that has an impact.
“For us, it’s great to have got to the final stage and then take a fresh approach because it does start again.”
Harry Maguire has demonstrated his mental strength upon his return to Manchester United's team, according to Emile Heskey, who says the defender should be shown greater compassion by the media.
Maguire began 2023-24 out in the cold at Old Trafford, having reportedly turned down a move to West Ham to fight for his place, despite receiving fierce criticism from some quarters.
However, injuries to fellow centre-backs Lisandro Martinez and Raphael Varane forced Erik ten Hag to recall Maguire, who has started United's last eight games across all competitions.
Though the Red Devils have been inconsistent this season, with Ten Hag coming under pressure following a 3-0 rout at the hands of neighbours Manchester City and a chaotic 4-3 Champions League defeat at Copenhagen, Maguire has earned praise for his displays.
Maguire has helped United earn back-to-back shutout wins over Fulham and Luton Town, and Heskey is pleased to see the 30-year-old respond to the criticism he has received.
"He's got to be mentally strong, and I think this is one of the things where we forget that they are human," Heskey told Stats Perform. "We batter them and think they should just accept that.
"We forget that players are mentally very, very strong to deal with those sorts of scenarios. But they still need help because we don't know how they're coping away from here.
"I can talk to you here and say all the right things, but away from here, you don't know whether I'm crying. You don't know whether I'm pulling my hair out because it's not going right.
"It's great that now he's showing his full strength of character, being back in the team."
Maguire's lack of playing time at club level has led to criticism of Gareth Southgate's decision to select him in England teams, and he was repeatedly booed by the Three Lions' fans last year.
Heskey recalled his experience of receiving harsh treatment from the press towards the end of his own international career as he called for the media to act in a more considerate manner.
"You've got to have thick skin. I got a lot of it, a hell of a lot of it," Heskey recalled. "I remember coming back from the wilderness in 2007 or 2008. I hadn't played for four years.
"Coming back, everyone was like; 'Oh, no, not him again'. Now, that's fine, if that's your opinion, but now you're telling everyone else to have that opinion.
"By putting that in the news, putting that on the back of a newspaper, you're telling them to have that opinion.
"I was in a great place and it didn't really bother me. But going back years, it might have bothered me because I was younger.
"At that time, I think I was 28 or something like that. I'd played 11 years of football so it really didn't bother me then. But you've got to sell papers, I get you. You've got to build your profile within social media.
"Don't forget that it is a human being that you're talking about, and he's got kids, he's got family, he's got friends, he's got all these different people that can be affected by that.
"I wasn't. I don't know if Harry Maguire is affected by it. He's not showing that he's affected by it. So that's a good thing, but he could be."
Your #ThreeLions for their final camp of 2023!
— England (@England) November 9, 2023
Reflecting on the way he saw off-pitch issues impact players' performances, Heskey added: "I remember one coach talking to me about a player and it was to do with his performances.
"He couldn't go to the manager, so he went to the coach and he sat down with the player. He opened up, he'd got a newborn baby and he hadn't slept for like two weeks.
"So they gave him a week off, he came back and he was fine. People don't know what's going on in people's lives, beyond actually being on the football pitch or being at work."
Harry Bentley has denied that the two-month suspension he has been handed by the Hong Kong Jockey Club is in any way related to betting or race fixing.
The 31-year-old admitted to breaching rule 155 under the rules of racing in Hong Kong, which relates to misconduct, improper conduct or inappropriate behaviour during a two-day hearing last week.
A report from the inquiry detailed Bentley had engaged in “inappropriate communication” about horses he was riding with persons who were not “registered owners or nominators of such horses.” He had also used a private phone provided by the unknown persons.
While the HKJC ruled that Bentley had agreed to accept payment, there was no evidence to suggest he received any and that, along with his guilty plea and previous clean disciplinary record, meant he was only banned for two months.
In a statement posted on X, formerly Twitter, Bentley said: “I would like to thank the Hong Kong Jockey Club for their close consideration throughout the steward’s inquiry regarding an isolated incident which occurred wen I was new to Hong Kong and the racing scene.
“I want to be extremely clear that this charge is in no way related to giving tips, betting, wagering, race fixing or accepting payment ahead of race riding. I ask that the public trust in the Hong Kong Jockey Club’s decision and have confidence that is this was the case I would not have received the penalty I have. I have always tried to get the best position for my horse – that has never been in question.
“I accept that I should have done more research on the Rules in Hong Kong and I will endeavour to do better in the future.
“I would like to take this opportunity to thank my partner, my family, friends and racing fans for their unwavering support. I will use my suspension (which culminates on January 3, 2024) to prepare myself for the rest of the season and as always do my very best for the owners, the trainers, the Hong Kong Jockey Club and all my supporters. I can’t wait to get back in the saddle early in the New Year!”
Dashel Drasher could make his next start over fences after a hurdling comeback at Wetherby.
The popular 10-year-old has switched between the two divisions throughout the last few seasons and has enjoyed plenty of success over both types of obstacles.
He was second to Grand National winner Noble Yeats in the Many Clouds Chase at Aintree last December and was then runner-up in a trio of high-quality Cheltenham hurdles, culminating in the Grade One Stayers’ Hurdle at the Festival, where he was beaten only three-quarters of a length by Sire Du Berlais.
Jeremy Scott’s charge started the new season at Wetherby this month, contesting the Grade Two bet365 Hurdle and starting as the 7-4 joint-favourite under Rex Dingle.
He led for much of the way and showed plenty of vim, only fading approaching the last and eventually finishing third behind Botox Has and Red Risk.
A switch to chasing could be next on the agenda, with the 1965 Chase at Ascot under consideration if the gelding is ready to go again at the end of the month.
“He’s really well, he probably just got a bit stuck in the mud the other day, maybe it’s just age catching up with him as well,” Scott said of the Wetherby run.
“He’s certainly come out of the race really well and there is a chase at Ascot in a few weeks’ time which is a possibility, but it is quite difficult finding races for him.
“I was very much thinking we’d play it by ear, I’d like to run him back over fences because I think he was just as effective over them.
“It would be nice to find a Grade Two that we could run him in but they’ve taken a lot of them away, last year we ran in the Many Clouds but they’ve taken that away, so it’s difficult to find him somewhere to go unless you run in a handicap.
“He’s never lacking for will, he’s always just a bit stuffy on his first run but I’m very happy with the way he’s come out of the race and we’re just hunting around for the next plan.
“We’ll see how he is when we start doing some proper work – and if we can go to Ascot, that would be great.”
Michael Malone has agreed to a new contract with the Denver Nuggets, according to reports.
Malone has spent the last eight seasons with Denver, who – along with the help of talisman Nikola Jokic – he guided to the NBA championship last season.
And the two-time NBA All-Star coach is now being rewarded with a new deal.
The 52-year-old has agreed to a contract extension that will make him one of the league's highest-paid coaches.
Malone took over in Denver in 2015 following a stint in charge of the Sacramento Kings, where he took up his first head coaching role.
He is the fourth-longest-serving coach in the NBA, and has coached the Nuggets for 647 games – trailing only Doug Moe and George Karl in that regard.
Despite losing to the Houston Rockets on Sunday, the Nuggets top the Western Conference with an 8-2 record.
The Edmonton Oilers struck for three third-period goals to come through with a 4-1 victory over the slumping New York Islanders on Monday to win Kris Knoublach's first game as head coach.
Knoublach was hired Sunday after Edmonton dismissed Jay Woodcroft following a 3-9-1 start for a team that had won a playoff series in each of the previous two seasons.
The Oilers moved ahead on a pair of power-play goals that came nearly two minutes apart in the third. Zach Hyman put Edmonton up 2-1 with 7:35 elapsed in the period, and Connor McDavid scored off a feed from Leon Draisaitl soon afterward to extend the margin to 3-1.
Draisaitl finished with a goal and three assists to back 32 saves from Stuart Skinner, while Evander Kane had the Oilers' final goal with an empty-net tally with 2:27 left.
The Islanders' lone goal came just 40 seconds in when Mathew Barzal scored off an Edmonton giveaway. Draisaitl would tie it later in the first period with his sixth goal of the season.
Ilya Sorokin stopped 28 of 31 shots for New York, which has lost four straight games in regulation and is 0-4-1 in its last five.
Avalanche rout Kraken for Bednar's 300th win
Mikko Rantanen and Cale Maker each had a goal and an assist as the Colorado Avalanche pulled away for a 5-1 win over the Seattle Kraken to give head coach Jared Bednar his 300th career victory.
Ross Colton, Jonathan Drouin and Valeri Nichushkin also had goals for Colorado, which scored three times during a dominant third period in which it outshot Seattle by a 12-1 margin. Nathan MacKinnon recorded three assists to help the Avalanche snap a two-game losing streak.
Colorado trailed 1-0 before Rantanen and Colton scored just over two minutes apart in the second period, and Makar increased the lead to 3-1 with just over four minutes elapsed in the third.
Brandon Tanev scored 6:13 into the contest for Seattle's lone goal. Joey Daccord made 26 saves in the Kraken's fourth loss in five games.
Alexander Georgiev finished with 18 saves for Colorado.
What the papers say
Saudi Arabia has emerged as a possible destination for Jadon Sancho if his unhappy stay at Manchester United ends in January. The Daily Telegraph reports the England winger, 23, is wanted by teams in the Saudi Pro League, although he has also been linked with Juventus and remaining at United beyond the transfer window.
Tottenham’s Brazilian forward Richarlison has also caught the eye of Saudi clubs, according to the Telegraph. They are lining up a possible January move for the 26-year-old.
Wayne Rooney has been warned he will have a fight to lure Elliot Lee, 28 , away from Wrexham, according to the Daily Mirror. Rooney has identified the attacking midfielder as a prime target after taking over at Birmingham City.
Former player John Obi Mikel has offered to help Chelsea sign Napoli striker Victor Osimhen, 24. The Sun reports Mikel offered to “broker the deal” in a podcast interview with his fellow Nigerian.
Social media round-upPlayers to watch
Raphinha: Barcelona are hoping for bids from across Europe for the former Leeds winger, 26, in the summer.
Florian Wirtz: Bayer Leverkusen’s Germany midfielder, 20, is on Real Madrid’s list of transfer targets.
Jayson Tatum scored 17 of his 35 points in the fourth quarter as the Boston Celtics pulled away from the New York Knicks and earn a 114-98 win on Monday in a matchup of Atlantic Division rivals.
The Celtics outscored New York by a 62-45 margin in the second half en route to their third straight win, though the outcome was in doubt until Boston put together a pivotal run late in the third quarter.
Boston took control with a 12-2 spurt, capped by consecutive 3-pointers from Sam Hauser and Jrue Holiday, and turned a 72-72 deadlock into a comfortable 84-74 lead with the third quarter nearing an end.
Tatum then helped seal the victory by going 6 of 8 from the field and 4 of 5 from 3-point range in the fourth quarter.
Jaylen Brown added 22 points and six assists for the Celtics, while former Knick Kristaps Porzingis had 21 points on 7-of-11 shooting against his ex-team.
The Knicks had a three-game winning streak snapped and played without leading scorer RJ Barrett due to a migraine. Jalen Brunson paced New York with 26 points and Julius Randle had 25 along with nine rebounds.
Antetokounmpo stars as Bucks beat Bulls to end brief skid
Giannis Antetokounmpo had 35 points and 11 rebounds as the Milwaukee Bucks got back on the winning track with a 118-109 victory over the Chicago Bulls.
Bobby Portis also registered a double-double with 19 points and 10 rebounds off the bench to help the Bucks bounce back from consecutive road losses to Indiana and Orlando, games in which Milwaukee was without star guard Damian Lillard due to a calf injury.
Lillard returned Monday but shot just 3 of 17 from the field while finishing with 12 points and five assists.
Chicago rallied from a 35-18 deficit after one quarter to take a 70-69 lead with 4 1/2 minutes to go in the third. The Bucks responded with a 12-0 run, however, that Antetokounmpo capped with a running dunk that put Milwaukee back up by double digits with under two minutes left in the period.
Antetokounmpo then scored 14 points in the fourth as the Bucks built a lead as large as 17 points late.
Nikola Vucevic led the Bulls with 26 points and 12 rebounds. Zach LaVine added 20 points but went just 2 of 10 from 3-point range.
Fox returns, helps Kings top Cavaliers for Brown's 400th win
De'Aaron Fox had 28 points and six assists in his return to help the surging Sacramento Kings give head coach Mike Brown his 400th career victory with a 132-120 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Fox finished 11 of 20 from the field and had just one turnover in 36 minutes in his first outing since missing two weeks with a sprained right ankle. The 2022-23 All-Star was part of a balanced attack for Sacramento, which also received 25 points from Keegan Murray and 23 points and 10 rebounds from Domantas Sabonis.
Kevin Huerter went 6 of 9 from 3-point range in Sacramento's third straight win.
Brown improved to 400-254 for his career, with the majority of those wins coming in two stints as the Cavaliers' head coach. He directed Cleveland from 2005-10 and again in 2013-14.
Donovan Mitchell led Cleveland, which trailed most of the game and was down by a 110-89 margin after three quarters, with 22 points. Caris LeVert added 21 points and Evan Mobley had 16 along with 12 rebounds.
Sebastian Vettel rewrote the record books on this day in 2010 after clinching the Formula One drivers’ championship by winning the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
The German’s success in the season-ending finale saw him claim the mantle of the youngest world champion in F1 history.
Vettel took the chequered flag in Abu Dhabi for his fifth victory of the year, and with title rival Fernando Alonso a distant seventh in his Ferrari, it allowed the the Red Bull driver to make sure of his place in the record books.
At 23 years and 135 days, Vettel beat the mark of Lewis Hamilton – who finished second in Abu Dhabi ahead of McLaren team-mate and outgoing world champion Jenson Button – by 166 days.
It guaranteed Vettel the title by four points from Alonso, with Red Bull completing a championship double after winning the constructors’ crown a week previously in Brazil.
Vettel was clearly in tears on his slow-down lap as he attempted to speak over the in-car radio, with team principal Christian Horner proclaiming: “Sebastian Vettel you are the world champion!”
Vettel would go on to win four successive Formula One world titles before seeing his reign ended by Hamilton in 2014.
Kicker Wil Lutz made the most of a second chance at the game-winning field goal as the Denver Broncos continued their revival with a 24-22 win over the Buffalo Bills.
Lutz, who had earlier hit an upright with an extra point and had another attempt foiled by a poor snap, missed from 41 yards with four seconds on the clock.
But the Bills were penalised for having too many players on the field – the second infringement of the drive – and Lutz made no mistake from five yards closer.
The win was the Broncos third in a row and fourth in the six games since conceding 70 points to Mami.
Lutz’s kick came less than two minutes after the Bills had taken the lead for the first time in the game, Josh Allen’s six-yard touchdown run putting them 22-21 ahead.
Allen had earlier thrown a 22-yard touchdown pass to Dalton Kincaid with Latavius Murray going over from three yards, Russell Wilson connecting with Courtland Sutton and Javonte Williams for a Broncos touchdown in each half.
The winning field goal to end the match followed an NFL record five games in one day being decided by the final kick on Sunday.
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