After 33 seasons leading the Davidson College men’s basketball program, Bob McKillop is retiring from coaching.  

Davidson announced the news one day after the program’s most famous alumnus—Stephen Curry—led the Golden State Warriors to a fourth NBA championship in eight years.  

Curry was among those who voiced appreciation for McKillop’s accomplished career on social media.  

“Love you Coach!” Curry said on Twitter. “Thank you for everything you’ve done for me, my family, Davidson and every person you’ve impacted along the way.” 

McKillop, 71, is among the top 60 coaches all-time at the NCAA Division I level with 634 career wins.  

McKillop coached the Wildcats to 10 NCAA Tournament appearances, including an Elite Eight run with Curry in 2008, ending in a two-point loss to the eventual national champions, Kansas.  

Davidson was 27-7 last season, including a 15-3 record in the Atlantic 10 Conference, leading to an at-large NCAA Tournament berth.  

McKillop was named his conference’s coach of the year 11 times, twice in the A-10 and nine times in the Southern Conference.  

Last season, McKillop became the 10th coach in Division I history to coach at least 1,000 career games at one school.   

McKillop’s son, Matt, who played on Davidson’s 2006 NCAA Tournament team and has been serving as an assistant, will be the program’s next head coach.  

After 33 seasons leading the Davidson College men’s basketball program, Bob McKillop is retiring from coaching.  

Davidson announced the news one day after the program’s most famous alumnus—Stephen Curry—led the Golden State Warriors to a fourth NBA championship in eight years.  

Curry was among those who voiced appreciation for McKillop’s accomplished career on social media.  

“Love you Coach!” Curry said on Twitter. “Thank you for everything you’ve done for me, my family, Davidson and every person you’ve impacted along the way.” 

McKillop, 71, is among the top 60 coaches all-time at the NCAA Division I level with 634 career wins.  

McKillop coached the Wildcats to 10 NCAA Tournament appearances, including an Elite Eight run with Curry in 2008, ending in a two-point loss to the eventual national champions, Kansas.  

Davidson was 27-7 last season, including a 15-3 record in the Atlantic 10 Conference, leading to an at-large NCAA Tournament berth.  

McKillop was named his conference’s coach of the year 11 times, twice in the A-10 and nine times in the Southern Conference.  

Last season, McKillop became the 10th coach in Division I history to coach at least 1,000 career games at one school.   

McKillop’s son, Matt, who played on Davidson’s 2006 NCAA Tournament team and has been serving as an assistant, will be the program’s next head coach.  

Gary Neville says the nature of Paul Pogba's departure from Manchester United "leaves a bad taste in the mouth".

The 2018 World Cup winner announced his United exit this month, and is leaving the Red Devils on a free transfer six years on from joining for a then-world record £89million fee.

It is the second time Pogba has departed the Red Devils as a free agent, and having spent four trophy-laden years with Juventus last time around, he has been strongly linked with a return to the Bianconeri. 

Although Pogba recorded more Premier League assists (38) and created more chances (231) than any other United player during his second spell with the club, the Red Devils have failed to win a major trophy since 2017.

Pogba hit out at United for making a "mistake" in not offering him a better deal in an Amazon Prime documentary this week, but Neville insists the France midfielder did not do himself justice at Old Trafford.

"I'm not bothered about Pogba's comments to be honest with you," Neville said during a live stream on his TikTok account.

"I think that once a player has left, he can say whatever he wants. Fine, no problem. But I don't think he has performed well over the last six years.

"I don't think the club have performed well with him either, or handled him well. It's been a partnership that, to be fair, has failed on both sides so that is what you'd have to say.

"There is no winner when a player leaves after six years with the money that has been spent and very little has been won.

"The player leaves dissatisfied, and the club are dissatisfied with it as well. It leaves a bad taste in the mouth because it's the second time it's happened.

"You wish him all the best in the future at Juventus."

The first Test between the West Indies and Bangladesh is evenly poised after Friday’s day two at the Sir Vivian Richards Cricket Stadium in Antigua.

The hosts carried on from their overnight 95-2 to be bowled out for 265 after 112.5 overs.

Captain Kraigg Brathwaite carried on from his 42 on day one to eventually be dismissed for a marathon 94 off 268 balls including nine fours.

Vice-captain Jermaine Blackwood also showed good form with a 139-ball 63, also including nine boundaries.

Off-spinner Mehidy Hasan Miraz led the way with the ball, with 4-59 off 22.5 overs, while pacers Ebadot Hossain and Khaled Ahmed ended with figures of 2-65 off 28 overs and 2-59 off 22 overs, respectively.

Bangladesh then struggled to 50-2 off 20 overs, trailing the Windies by 112 runs at the close, with Mahmudul Hasan Joy (18) and Najmul Hossain Shanto (8) at the crease. Alzarri Joseph took both wickets for the West Indies.

 

Dustin Johnson is confident his decision to join the LIV Golf Invitational Series will not hamper his chances of winning more major titles.

Johnson made a promising start to the U.S. Open with a first round of 68 at The Country Club on Thursday, but followed that up with a three-over second round of 73.

The former world number one is playing in his homeland this week for the first time since he sensationally quit the PGA Tour to join the controversial Saudi-backed breakaway circuit.

Johnson does not believe his defection from the PGA Tour, and the consequence of not playing as many tournaments against the best players in the world, will make him less of a force at majors.

Asked how sharp he thinks he will remain by playing on the LIV Tour, the American said: "Just as sharp as I would playing anywhere."

Johnson is in no doubt he made the right by call by signing up to LIV Golf.

"Yeah, obviously it was a tough decision, but I feel very confident in the decision I made," he said. "Yeah, I'm definitely happy and looking forward to obviously this weekend and the rest of the events this year."

The 37-year-old says he has not experienced any hostility from the crowds in Brookline, Massachusetts this week. 

He said: "No, fans have been great. Obviously, this is a good sports town, and a lot of people come out and support the event."

Johnson was in a share of 27th place on one over with the second round still ongoing when his compatriot Joel Dahmen moved into the lead on five under through eight holes.

Scottie Scheffler is happy to stay "under the radar" after giving himself a great chance to win the U.S. Open with an excellent second round.

Two months after winning his maiden major title at the Masters, Scheffler is in firmly in contention at the halfway mark at The Country Club.

The world number one carded a three-under 67 in Brookline, Massachusetts on Friday to move into the top 10 on the leaderboard.

Scheffler went out in 35, but responded from back-to-back bogeys with three birdies and the highlight of his round came when he chipped in for an eagle three at the 14th.

The American is in the hunt for a fifth PGA Tour title this season, but does not feel he is in the spotlight despite being the best player in the world.

He said: "I feel like I'm kind of an under-the-radar person. I don't really feel like there's much chatter going around with me. Rory [McIlroy] won last week, Tiger [Woods] was at the PGA.

"I've been number one in the world for a while now, and it doesn't really feel like it, so I kind of like just under the radar. I can show up and do my thing and then go home and rest."

Scheffler, who is three under for the tournament after starting with a 70, felt he was not far away from a "really special" second round - during which he held a share of the lead.

"I knew I was swinging at it well. I hit it really good yesterday, I hit it really good today," he added.

"Outside of a few putts going into the hole versus barely around it, today would have been a really special round, but it was still a really good one."

Two-time major winner Collin Morikawa and Swede David Lingmerth held a share of the lead on five under through 10 and 11 holes respectively. 

An excellent all-round display from Trinidadian Sunil Narine propelled Surrey to a seven-wicket win over Middlesex in their Vitality Blast South Group fixture at the Oval on Friday.

Surrey won the toss and elected to field first, restricting Middlesex to 155-8 off their 20 overs.

Luke Hollman (31), captain Stephen Eskinazi (25), and wicketkeeper/batsman John Simpson (25) were the chief scorers against Narine (2-27 off four overs) and Barbados-born England all-rounder Chris Jordan (2-27 off four overs).

Narine then top-scored with 51 not out off just 29 balls, including two fours and four sixes, while engaging in a match-winning 73-run fourth-wicket partnership with England test batsman Ollie Pope (37 not out).

Opener Will Jacks earlier smashed a 20-ball 43 for Surrey who easily reached 158-3 off just 15.1 overs to secure victory.

Surrey, also the team of former West Indies white-ball captain Kieron Pollard, now lead the South Group with 15 points from eight games after seven wins and one no result.

 

 

Coco Gauff reached the first grass-court semi-final of her career by beating Karolina Pliskova at the Berlin Open, teeing up a clash with top seed Ons Jabeur.

Having already recorded her best tour-level run on grass by reaching the final eight, Gauff recorded a superb 7-5 6-4 win over two-time grand slam finalist Pliskova.

Gauff – who reached her first grand slam final at Roland Garros last month, saved four set points in the opener before roaring to victory in one hour and 37 minutes, and was delighted to have overcome a tough opponent in the world number seven.

"I'm super happy with how I played today," Gauff said on court after the win. "Playing her on grass, with her serve, how flat she hits the ball, it was really tough to be honest. 

"A first semi-final on grass is pretty cool, and also I feel like the opponents I've played this week haven’t been easy, especially today, so I'm proud of myself about that."

Gauff will face Jabeur for a spot in the final after the Tunisian fought back from one set down in a 6-7 (3-7) 6-2 6-2 win over Aliaksandra Sasnovich, who entered the contest having won 26 matches during an impressive year.

The other semi-final will see Maria Sakkari face Belinda Bencic, after the world number six cruised to a 6-0 6-3 win over Daria Kasatkina and Bencic beat Veronika Kudermetova 3-6 6-3 6-3.

In the Birmingham Classic, meanwhile, Simona Halep raced to a 6-4 6-1 win over Katie Boulter to reach the final four, but third seed Camila Giorgi fell to a 6-3 6-2 loss to Brazil's Beatriz Haddad Maia, who has now won eight consecutive games on grass.

While that pair will face off in one of Saturday's semi-finals, eighth seed Zhang Shuai will face Sorana Cirstea in the other. Zhang overcame Dayana Yastremska 7-5 6-4 and sixth seed Cirstea beat Donna Vekic 5-7 6-3 6-4.

Daniil Medvedev ended his wait for a first win over Roberto Bautista Agut at the Halle Open as his impressive start to the grass-court season continued.

The world number one, who reached the final at 's-Hertogenbosch last week only to suffer a shock defeat to Tim van Rijthoven, had not beaten Bautista Agut in three previous matches.

But his duck against the Spaniard is over following a 6-2 6-4 win, which set up a semi-final meeting with Oscar Otte after the German saw off Karen Khachanov in three sets.

"I remember all the matches we had… He was playing some [great] tennis and it was tough for me to win," Medvedev said of his previous meetings with Bautista Agut. 

"Today I had my plan, managed to keep it going. Definitely got more edge on the most important points, because he had more break points than me. It was not easy, and I'm happy to win."

Hubert Hurkacz, a Wimbledon semi-finalist last year, is also into the last four after edging Felix Auger-Aliassime in two tie-breaks and will face Nick Kyrgios, who beat Paulo Carreno Busta in straight sets.

Elsewhere, Matteo Berrettini was victorious at the Stuttgart Open and is on course to go back-to-back at the Queen's Club Championships after seeing off Tommy Paul 6-4 6-2 to progress to the semi-finals.

Botic van de Zandschlup is his next opponent, the Dutchman overcoming Alejandro Davidovich Fokina 6-2 6-4.

Meanwhile, Filip Krajinovic had to come from a set down to end Briton Ryan Peniston's run at the quarter-final stage, with his reward a meeting with former US Open champion Marin Cilic, a straight-sets victor over Emil Ruusuvori.

 

Dusan Vlahovic was not missed at Fiorentina after departing for Juventus in January, according to his former team-mate Nicolas Gonzalez.

Vlahovic scored 20 goals in 24 appearances for Vincenzo Italiano's side in the first half of last season, becoming one of European football's hottest properties and earning a reported €80million (£66.6m) move to Juve.

The Serbia international scored nine goals in 21 appearances for the Bianconeri following his big-money switch.

Vlahovic's decision to join rivals Juve sparked outrage at Fiorentina, who had already seen the likes of Federico Chiesa, Juan Cuadrado, Roberto Baggio and Christian Vieri, move to Turin.

Gonzalez, who finished as Fiorentina's second-highest goalscorer after Vlahovic in the 2021-22 season with eight goals in all competitions, gave a frank answer when asked about the impact of the striker's departure.

"His absence was not felt," the winger told SportItalia. "Obviously he is a strong player, but the fans did not like his attitude. 

"He is a young boy who has a lot to learn."

 

Gonzalez has won 21 caps for Argentina, and featured from the bench during his 3-0 rout of Italy at Wembley earlier this month.

He hopes his international team-mate Angel Angel Di Maria, a reported target for Juve, will join him in Serie A.

 Gonzalez said: "I'd like to see him in Italy. He's a player I've always appreciated, and he could give a lot to Italian football."

The 24-year-old would also like to see Paulo Dybala stay in Italy, saying: "I'd like to see him at Inter with [Joaquin] Correa and Lautaro [Martinez]."

Eoin Morgan labelled Jos Buttler as the world's best white-ball cricketer after England posted a world-record ODI score in their 232-run thrashing of the Netherlands.

Buttler was at his destructive best in a spectacular unbeaten 162. He hit the second-fastest ODI hundred for England from 47 balls, facing just one delivery less than he did when setting that record.

The wicketkeeper-batter brought up his 150 from just 65 deliveries as England broke their own record of 481-6 with 498-4 in the Amsterdam suburbs on Friday.

Phil Salt (122) hit his maiden ODI century, while Dawid Malan (125) also reached three figures for the first time in this format as England bludgeoned the Netherlands attack in the first of three ODIs, racking up 26 sixes.

Liam Livingstone struck 50 in just 17 balls as he went agonisingly close to breaking AB de Villiers' record of 16 en route to 66 not out, England falling just two shy of the first score of 500 in ODI cricket and setting a total that also marked a List A record.

The Netherlands' chase was an exercise in futility and they were bowled out for 266.

England captain Morgan said of Buttler's showing: "It's incredible to watch, it's not something we ever get sick of, it's not something that we take for granted.

"It is amazing cricket. It is the reason why he's probably the best white-ball cricketer in the world at the minute."

Asked if he is in the form of his life, Buttler said: "Certainly feels that way. The IPL couldn't have gone better for me, certainly that gives you a hell of a lot of confidence. It was a good wicket, we got a great start and that gave us the licence to really attack."

On missing out on the fastest 150, he joked: "I'd take it at the start of the day."

India skittled South Africa over for only 87 to seal a huge 82-run win in Rajkot, levelling up their T20I series at 2-2 and teeing up a mouth-watering decider on Sunday.

Avesh Khan claimed outstanding figures of 4-18 as India eased to a victory even more comprehensive than Tuesday's 48-run win in Visakhapatnam.

India earlier lost Ruturaj Gaikwad (5), Shreyas Iyer (4) and Ishan Kishan (27) during the opening seven overs, but that was nothing compared to the tourists' spectacular collapse, as Rassie van der Dussen top scored for the Proteas with just 20 runs.

The hosts had been reduced to 40-3 after being put in by Temba Bavuma, but a stand of 65 between Hardik Pandya (46) and Dinesh Karthik (55) following Rishabh Pant's departure for 17 got them motoring.

Karthik's superb half-century helped carry India to a respectable 169-6, and he was only dismissed by Dwaine Pretorius midway through the final over before South Africa put in a dreadful performance with the bat.

Quinton de Kock (14) was the first to go, followed within three balls by Pretorius for a duck after captain Bavuma retired with an elbow injury.

Things only got more painful from there as Avesh ran riot, adding the scalps of Van der Dussen (20), Marco Jansen (12) and Keshav Maharaj (0) to that of Pretorius, while Yuzvendra Chahal (2-21) also made his mark as India kept their hopes of a stunning series turnaround alive.

Avesh wreaks havoc

Avesh capitalised on another fragile display with the bat and the momentum is firmly with Indiai.

If Tuesday's attempt at a chase had been poor – Heinrich Klaasen's 29 representing their best showing, Friday's was truly woeful, with only De Kock, Van der Dussen and Jansen reaching double figures during a chastening chase.

Pandya and Karthik step up

India had been wobbling early on, but Pandya and Karthik stepped up following top-order failures.

In particular, Karthik's 55 off 27 balls carried the hosts into the final over, and helped to leave the series delicately poised.

Stephen Curry is used to the feeling of winning. It is one that has defined his spectacular career. However, watching him to sink to the court in tears in the final seconds of the Golden State Warriors' Game 6 victory over the Boston Celtics, it was clear Curry was not used to being quite so overcome by triumph.

The Warriors' 103-90 win at TD Garden, sealed by Curry's 34-point blitz, secured their fourth NBA title in eight seasons and, as Golden State revelled in returning to the mountaintop, it was tough to disagree with co-owner Joe Lacob's assessment that this one was the most meaningful.

Curry's outpouring of emotion upon the final buzzer illustrated as such, the Warriors' hoisting of the Larry O'Brien Trophy capping a remarkable journey for a team many believed had reached the end of their time in the sun.

Two seasons ago, with Kevin Durant having departed for the Brooklyn Nets and Klay Thompson starting the first of two injury-enforced seasons on the sideline following the torn ACL he suffered in the 2019 NBA Finals series with the Toronto Raptors, the Warriors had the worst record in the league at 15-50, a hand injury suffered in the fourth game of the campaign severely restricting Curry's involvement.

There was agony in 2020-21 as an MVP calibre season from Curry ended with defeat in the play-in tournament, Thompson again a spectator, this time with a torn Achilles that kept him out until January 2022.

Even with Thompson's return on the horizon, few anticipated the core of Curry, Thompson and Draymond Green to dazzle on the Finals stage in 2022, the Warriors' decision to hold on to the draft assets they accumulated rather than packaging them to acquire a fourth star met with scepticism in plenty of corners.

Those sceptics have now been silenced. While the faith in the blend of youth and experience and the unqualified success of the trade for former number one overall pick - and Golden State's second-best player in these Finals - Andrew Wiggins, played major roles in shutting up the critics, it was Curry who ultimately sealed the lips of Golden State's doubters.

Doubters have been a bewildering constant during Curry's career, even as he has blossomed into the greatest shooter in NBA history, one whose seemingly unlimited range has revolutionised the game of basketball.

Curry's resume has long since been sparkling and he has continued to embellish it. Prior to the Finals, he already had three NBA titles, two MVPs (the second of which made him the league's first unanimous winner) and the all-time record for three-pointers.

Still, there was never a shortage of observers who would respond to those list of achievements with "Yeah, but..."

"Yeah, but Kyrie Irving got hurt in 2015", "Yeah, but he won two rings after they signed Durant", "Yeah, but he doesn't have a Finals MVP".

Finally, the sceptics can no longer rely on their extremely pedantic excuses to deny Curry's position among the all-time greats, which is firmly secured after a Finals in which he was the dominant force.

Curry averaged 31.2 points per game, almost 10 full points more than his nearest challenger, Jayson Tatum (21.5), and his 31 three-pointers were comfortably the most by any player in the series. He averaged five assists per game - only Tatum (7) and Green (6.2) had more, while he was also third in average plus-minus (5.8). The two players ahead of him on the list, Kevon Looney (8) and Gary Payton II (7), averaged 21.7 and 18.6 minutes per game in the series respectively, Curry spent 37.5 minutes per game on the court.

The devastating offense provided by Curry, who supplements his devastating deep shooting by attacking the rim for lay-ups with the same remarkable consistency, was undoubtedly the decisive factor in the series. Indeed, Curry's production and the attention it forces defenses to commit to him had the Celtics bereft of ideas of how to stop the Warriors by Game 6, Golden State at one point in the first half going on a 21-0 scoring run that marked the longest in the last 50 years of Finals history.

Curry's 'gravity' cannot be overstated, the Warriors' supporting cast continuing to reap the benefits of the additional space the threat posed by their star point guard creates.

With Curry on the court in the Finals, the Warriors averaged 111.9 points per 100 possessions. That dipped to 90.1 points when he was off the floor. Their field goal percentage with Curry in the lineup was 47.1, compared to 34.9 with him on the bench.

Illustrating his effectiveness both beyond and inside the arc, the Warriors hit on 38.3 per cent of their three-point field goal attempts and averaged 42.2 points in the paint per 100 possessions with Curry in the team. Without him, they connected on 30.9 per cent of threes and put up 21.5 points in the paint per 100.

The Warriors' point differential in the Finals per 100 possessions with Curry on court was plus-7.6. In his absence, it was minus 6.2, a swing of 13.8 points in a series where Golden State's average margin of victory in their wins was... 13 points.

That plethora of evidence left Curry as the only, and indeed unanimous, selection for Finals MVP, moving him into exalted company.

Curry is the sixth player to have won four NBA titles, multiple league MVP awards and a Finals MVP. The other five are LeBron James, Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Tim Duncan. Among players to have won at least two titles, he is second for points averaged in championship-clinching games (32.5). Only Jordan (33.7) stands above him.

The territory Curry occupies is shared by undisputed basketball legends, and he knows his previous doubters now do not have the qualifiers with which to dispute his legacy.

"I hear all the narratives," Curry said. "You hear everything about what we [as a team] are and what we aren't, and what I am as a player and what I'm not. I have a hard time figuring out what they're going to say now, so this is pretty special."

The reasons used by those who sought to keep Curry out of the NBA's pantheon of all-time greats have always been dubious at best. Now, after a career-defining Finals performance, they are non-existent and, regardless of what else he achieves before he retires, his place is reserved for good.

Southampton have completed the signing of Manchester City goalkeeper Gavin Bazunu, paying a reported £12million for the Republic of Ireland international.

Bazunu, who has 10 caps for his country but never played for City's first team after joining from Shamrock Rovers in 2019, has signed a five-year contract.

The transfer news will be even sweeter for Southampton fans given Bazunu spent the 2021-22 campaign on loan at local rivals Portsmouth, winning the club's Player of the Season award.

Ralph Hasenhuttl's team ended the 2021-22 Premier League season in 15th after failing to win any of their final six games, and will lose the experienced Fraser Forster to Tottenham at the end of his contract this month.

Southampton used three different goalkeepers in their league fixtures last term, with Forster's 19 appearances making him the most frequently selected Saints shot stopper.

With a save percentage of 66.02 per cent, Forster, as well as Alex McCarthy (61.97 per cent), and Willy Caballero (54.55), struggled between the sticks for Southampton, and Hasenhuttl says Bazunu's experience of working with Pep Guardiola's men makes him an ideal acquisition.

"He is a goalkeeper with a very modern style of play, comfortable in the build-up phase, who has developed physically through some very important loan moves early in his career," he said.

"He is already an international goalkeeper, which is very rare for his age.

"Coming from Manchester City, we know he has learned from some of the very best coaches and team-mates, and coming here gives him more opportunities to develop his game through playing in the Premier League."

For Bazunu, who was behind Ederson, Zack Steffen and Scott Carson in the City pecking order, the move represents a chance to play regular Premier League football.

"The biggest thing is opportunity - the fact that I can come here and have a chance to play regular football," the 20-year-old said.

"Just to be given that opportunity to fight for my place is the biggest thing that I could've asked for."

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