Mike Budenholzer has signed a new multi-year contract extension to remain head coach of 2021 NBA champions the Milwaukee Bucks.
The Bucks announced the deal on Tuesday, with ESPN reporting Budenholzer has committed to a new three-year extension.
The 52-year-old joined the Bucks in 2018 from the Atlanta Hawks and guided the franchise to their first NBA title in 50 years in his third season in charge.
"Bud is a great coach and a fantastic partner to work with every day as we build a team that consistently competes for championships," Bucks general manager Jon Horst said.
"We’re extremely grateful for the leadership Bud provides and we look forward to building on the success we’ve had over the last three years and congratulate Bud on this well-deserved extension."
Under Budenholzer's guidance, the Bucks have topped the NBA in scoring in each of the past three seasons, led by Giannis Antetokounmpo.
Milwaukee averaged a league-high 120.1 points per game, which is also a franchise-best, in the 2020-21 season.
"The appreciation I have for being a part of the Bucks organization is hard to express," Budenholzer said.
"The players make the success happen on and off the court. We have the best players and to them I am grateful. They’ve grown and we’ve grown together during the last three seasons.
"We’ve had success along the way, finishing with an NBA Championship this season!
"We all can’t wait to get back to work and face the great challenge of competing again for an NBA Championship... Let’s keep getting better and building great teams and doing great work on and off the court."
Budenholzer won the NBA Coach of the Year in his first season at Bucks in 2018-19, before being one of three finalists for the award in 2019-20. He also won the award in 2015 at the Hawks.
Jamaica’s Reggae Boyz are likely to be without a few key English-based players ahead of the start of next month’s World Cup qualifiers if the country is shifted to the United Kingdom’s red list of travel destinations.
In recent days both the English Premier League and Spain's La Liga have declared that they will not release club players to countries that are on the UK list of red destinations, due to strict coronavirus quarantine protocols.
According to the region’s current coronavirus re-entry rules, individuals returning from red list destinations face a mandatory 10 days of hotel quarantine on return to England. In stating that they will refuse the request of those nations for the upcoming qualifiers, the Premier League argued that in addition to the 10 days the athletes will then need more time to regain fitness and could miss a number of games.
At current, the South American countries of Argentina, Brazil, Chile, and Peru are those most likely to be heavy impacted in the region, but with La Liga also joining the decision, CONCACAF team Mexico is also likely to be affected with five players currently plying their trade in the Spanish Premier League.
Mexico will open their CONCACAF World Cup qualification hexagonal round at home to Jamaica on Thursday, September 2. Jamaica is currently not affected by the decision as the country remains on the list of amber countries for the time being. With the list due to be updated on Thursday, however, and a surge of cases in recent weeks it will be worth noting whether their status is changed or not.
In any case, the majority of the country’s English-based players ply their trade in the English Championship who have not issued such a directive on the matter. The decision may, however, impact the appearance of Jamaica international’s Leon Bailey, who now plays for Aston Villa, and West Ham’s Michail Antonio, the latter having received his national identity documents was expected to make his debut for the country next month.
Former NBA Rookie of the Year Michael Carter-Williams will miss the start of the new season after undergoing ankle surgery.
The Orlando Magic confirmed the guard had surgery on his left ankle on Monday to have a bone fragment removed and a ligament repaired.
The 29-year-old, who was the 2014 Rookie of the Year, is expected to make a full recovery although no precise timeframe has been provided on his return.
Carter-Williams will miss the start of the new season which starts on October 19 with his return dependent on how he responds to treatment and rehabilitation.
The former pick 11 played 31 games for the Magic last season, averaging 8.8 points, 4.5 rebounds and 4.2 assists per game.
Jamahl Mosley has taken over from Steve Clifford as Magic head coach after they finished 14th in the Eastern Conference with a 21-51 record last season.
Ten-man Benfica survived a PSV onslaught to join Young Boys and Malmo in clinching a spot in the Champions League group stage on Tuesday.
The Portuguese side lost Lucas Verissimo to a second yellow card with 32 minutes played in the second leg at Philips Stadion, yet PSV could not find a way through from any of their 21 shots, eight of which were saved by Odisseas Vlachodimos.
PSV had 73 per cent possession and wasted a huge chance when Eran Zahavi hit the bar with the goal gaping, but their failure to score ensured Benfica went through to the competition proper 2-1 on aggregate following their victory on home soil last week.
Young Boys are also through at the expense of stubborn Ferencvaros side thanks to a 3-2 win in Budapest to complete a 6-4 aggregate victory.
Ferencvaros battled back through goals from Henry Wingo and Ryan Mmaee in the space of nine first-half minutes to cancel out Cedric Zesiger's opener on the day, making it 4-4 on aggregate.
But Christian Fassnacht swung the game back in Young Boys' favour and Felix Mambimbi sealed the win after Aissa Laidouni had been shown a second yellow, condemning Ferencvaros to Europa League football in the process.
Ludogorets must also settle for a place in Europe's secondary competition this term, despite beating Malmo 2-1 in the second leg of their playoff-round tie.
The Swedish visitors held a 2-0 advantage from the reverse fixture and that came in handy when Ludogorets skipper Anton Nedyalkov struck 10 minutes into the match at Huvepharma Arena.
Veljko Birmancevic hit back for Malmo before half-time to restore their two-goal lead and they held on to reach the Champions League group stage for a third time, and first since 2016, despite Pieros Sotiriou's penalty on the hour setting up a nervy finish.
Malmo, along with Benfica and Young Boys, will discover their group stage opponents on Thursday when the draw is made in Istanbul.
The second legs of the other three play-offs involving Brondby, Salzburg, Dinamo Zagreb, Sheriff Tiraspol, Shakhtar Donetsk and Monaco will take place on Wednesday.
LaLiga has confirmed it will support clubs who elect not to release players who represent national teams in South America for next month's fixtures.
Earlier on Tuesday, the Premier League announced that all 20 clubs had agreed to block their players travelling to countries on the United Kingdom's red list amid concerns over enforced quarantine periods on their return.
The majority of countries in South and Central America are on the UK's red list, while the Premier League also confirmed it had aired its frustration with FIFA over the decision to extend the CONMEBOL international window from nine days to 11.
Similarly, LaLiga has now hit out at world football's governing body, insisting it would fully back clubs who choose not to release South American internationals for this reason, while also taking into account concerns over coronavirus.
"In relation to the serious unilateral decision by FIFA to increase by two days, from nine to 11 days in both September and October, the international FIFA period for the CONMEBOL confederation, without addressing other solutions that were raised in the World Leagues Forum, LaLiga wants to communicate that it will support in all areas the decision of the Spanish clubs not to release their players belonging to the national teams for the convocation of CONMEBOL, and will take the pertinent legal actions against this decision that affects the integrity of the competition by not allowing the availability of the players," a statement read.
The statement went on to declare that 25 players from 13 LaLiga clubs had already been called up by South American nations, with the squads for Ecuador and Venezuela still to be announced.
"The Spanish association understands that the world calendar cannot and should not be modified in this way, especially when there are alternative solutions," LaLiga's statement continued.
"LaLiga, through the World Leagues Forum, has already expressed its discomfort in this situation and in the absence of sensitivity towards the clubs, on an issue, such as the international calendar, which is set and agreed four years in advance and to which the national leagues have already adapted taking into account the circumstances of the COVID, but always in a way agreed between all the parties involved.
"LaLiga will summon the affected clubs for a meeting in the coming days."
Juventus midfielder Aaron Ramsey has been ruled out indefinitely with a thigh injury sustained on the opening weekend of the Serie A season.
The 30-year-old started Juve's 2-2 draw against Udinese on Sunday but only lasted an hour before being replaced at the Dacia Arena.
Ramsey will miss Juve's home match against Empoli on Saturday and is also expected to withdraw from Wales' squad for their triple-header of fixtures in September, including World Cup qualifiers against Belarus and Estonia.
A statement on Juve's website on Tuesday read: "Ramsey underwent diagnostic tests this morning, which revealed a low-grade injury to the adductor muscle of the right thigh.
"In 10 days he will undergo new exams in order to precisely define the recovery time."
Despite lasting just 59 minutes against Udinese, Ramsey played the fourth-most passes of any Juve player (47), behind Matthijs de Ligt (68), Danilo (73) and Leonardo Bonucci (74).
He completed 44 of those 47 passes for a pass accuracy of 93.6 per cent, which was the most of any Juve player to start the match.
Ramsey was used 30 times by Juventus in all competitions last season and created more chances per 90 minutes in Serie A (2.55) than any Bianconeri player to feature more than four times.
The former Arsenal midfielder has been linked with a move away from the Allianz Stadium in recent weeks, with Juve reportedly seeking a €10million offer for his services.
Odd Christian Eiking took over the red jesey from Primoz Roglic while Michael Storer claimed another solo win on stage 10 of the Vuelta a Espana.
Storer dominated the final downhill of the opening hilly stage to take victory at Rincon de la Victoria.
Having also won stage seven at Balcon de Alicante on Friday, the Australian became only the second rider from his nation to win two in a single edition of La Vuelta – after Michael Matthews in 2013.
"I was feeling good on the last climb. I knew exactly what I needed to do to win today. I had to attack," the DSM rider said.
"I didn't have exact time gaps but I knew it was tight. I had to go fast down that descent. There are dry and slippery roads in this region. I felt my descent was just enough to hold on.
"I don't realise yet that I have won two hard stages at this Vuelta after 10 days. It's actually unbelievable."
Storer finished 22 seconds ahead of Mauri Vansevenant, Clement Champoussin, Dylan van Baarle and Eiking.
Olympic champion Roglic – GC leader since the end of stage six at Alto de Cullera – went down on the slopes of Puerto de Almacher as he finished just under 12 minutes behind Storer.
That meant he surrendered La Roja to Eiking, who became only the second Norwegian leader of La Vuelta – and first since Thor Hushovd in 2006.
"I couldn't expect that this morning," he said. "I was nine minutes behind and it would almost take a miracle to be in the jersey.
"I heard on my earpiece eight minutes, nine minutes, 10 minutes. And then in the end, I understood this was really possible.
"I tried to get as many minutes as possible in the end. I can't describe what this means, it's really, really big."
STAGE RESULT
1. Michael Storer (Team DSM) 4:09:21
2. Mauri Vansevenant (Deceuninck-QuickStep) +0:22
3. Clement Champoussin (AG2R Citroen) +0:22
4. Dylan van Baarle (Ineos Grenadiers) +0:22
5. Odd Christian Eiking (Intermarche-Wanty-Gobert) +0:22
CLASSIFICATION STANDINGS
General Classification
1. Odd Christian Eiking (Intermarche-Wanty-Gobert) 38:37:46
2. Guillaume Martin (Cofidis) +0:58
3. Primoz Roglic (Jumbo-Visma) +2:17
Points Classification
1. Fabio Jakobsen (Deceuninck-QuickStep) 180
2. Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Fenix) 164
3. Arnaud Demare (Groupama-FDJ) 74
King of the Mountains
1. Damiano Caruso (Bahrain Victorious) 28
2. Romain Bardet (Team DSM) 22
3. Michael Storer (Team DSM) 17
What's next?
The hilly stages continue on Wednesday with a 133.6km route from Antequera to Valdepenas de Jaen.
Cristiano Ronaldo hinders Juventus' attack and needs to be sold by the Italian giants before the transfer window closes, according to former president Giovanni Cobolli Gigli.
Portugal international Ronaldo joined Juve from Real Madrid in a high-profile €100million transfer ahead of the 2018-19 campaign on a lucrative four-year contract.
He is now into the final year of that deal and has been linked with a move away from Turin after requesting to be named among the substitutes against Udinese on Sunday.
Gigli previously questioned why incumbent president Andrea Agnelli sanctioned the signing of Ronaldo and has once again claimed Juve made a big error when bringing in the superstar forward.
"I've always been honest: signing Ronaldo was a mistake," Gigli, who was in charge between 2006 and 2009, told SerieANews.com. "It's impossible to recoup the investment and it will remain that way.
"He's a great player, but I have to be honest – the sooner he leaves, the better for him and for Juventus.
"I hope that Massimiliano Allegri knows how to continue using him like he did against Udinese. That is, with intelligence and when the game is in progress.
"Ronaldo hampers Juventus' attack. Without him, they can do excellent things in collective terms."
Paris Saint-Germain had been tipped to move for Ronaldo prior to signing Lionel Messi earlier this month, while a move to Major League Soccer has also been touted.
However, head coach Allegri recently insisted he has been assured by Ronaldo that he does not intend to go anywhere this month.
With the transfer window set to close in a week's time, Gigli has urged Juve to focus on finding a suitor for Ronaldo while also reaching an agreement with Paulo Dybala over a new deal.
"Renewing Dybala and selling Ronaldo in the next week would be best for all parties," he said. "But I don't believe someone like Ronaldo can be put on the market in seven days."
Ronaldo has scored 101 goals in 134 appearances since joining Juventus and won five trophies across his first three seasons in Italy.
The Portuguese netted 29 goals in 33 league games last term to top the scoring charts, becoming the first player to win the Golden Boot in Serie A, LaLiga and the Premier League.
He scored two more the second before, however, which was a 10-goal increase on his first campaign in Italy.
Simon Kjaer and the medical team who acted rapidly to tend to Christian Eriksen following a cardiac arrest at Euro 2020 have been recognised with the 2021 UEFA President's Award.
Eriksen collapsed during Denmark's opener against Finland in June, with Kjaer the first on the scene to place his team-mate in the recovery position before leading his side to form a protective screen while the Inter man received treatment.
The 29-year-old was subsequently taken to hospital, where he was fitted with a pacemaker before returning home, though it remains unclear if he will ever play again, despite visiting Inter's training ground in August.
For Kjaer's exemplary leadership, the centre-back – along with eight medics – have been hailed as the "true heroes of Euro 2020" and presented with the award by UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin.
"This year, the President’s Award transcends football," Ceferin said.
"It serves as an important and eternal reminder of just how precious life is and puts everything in our lives into the clearest perspective.
"I would also like to send my very best wishes to Christian Eriksen and his family as he continues his recovery."
After Kjaer had performed the initial CPR, the medical team responded quickly, resuscitating Eriksen before taking him off the pitch on a stretcher to rush him to hospital.
"We rushed to the field to help [Christian] and to do our job," said Mogens Kreutzfeldt, chief medical officer for Euro 2020 in Copenhagen.
"We did what we should, what we were taught, what we were trained to do.
"Everybody knew their role, everybody knew what to do.
"We were not emotional at the scene. Afterwards, we were, of course, like everybody. We're very happy and proud of the outcome."
England will hope some fresh faces can help revitalise their series hopes as they look to avoid suffering back-to-back Test defeats against India on home soil for just the second time.
After rain wiped out the prospect of a dramatic finish in the opener at Trent Bridge, India made sure there was final-day drama at Lord's last time out, taking 10 wickets in the final two sessions to go 1-0 up.
The teams have had a brief period of respite before battle resumes in Leeds on Wednesday, with England certain to make changes to their XI.
Dom Sibley was dropped after averaging just 14.25 in the series, meaning Haseeb Hameed seems set to slide up to open and the recalled Dawid Malan will bat at three, a position he has never previously occupied during any of his 15 Test appearances.
However, captain Joe Root is confident Malan – who averages 27.84 in the format, including hitting an Ashes century in Perth – can fill a problem position.
"He's played a lot of red-ball cricket over the course of his career and he's also had great success," Root told the media.
"He's played in a massive series in Australia away and been our leading run-scorer out there, so we know that he's capable of big things in Test match cricket."
England will also have to select a replacement for Mark Wood; the pace bowler is ruled out with the shoulder injury suffered at Lord's. Either Craig Overton or the uncapped Saqib Mahmood will get a chance in the bowling attack.
As for India, they are sitting in a position of strength, not just in terms of the series score but also the options they have available to them.
A pace-heavy bowling unit was the key to their impressive success last time out but the move north could prompt a change in approach, should the Headingley surface look to aid spin. Ravichandran Ashwin - who has just the 413 Test wickets to his name - is waiting in the wings for an opportunity.
The only occasion India have ever recorded successive Test triumphs in England came back in June 1986, when they followed up a victory at Lord's by beating their hosts in Leeds a fortnight later. Could history be set to repeat itself?
Siraj shines as bowlers prosper
Opener KL Rahul was named man of the match at Lord's following a first-innings century, yet it was Mohammed Siraj and his fellow pace bowlers who overwhelmed England on the fifth and final day, skittling them for 120 in 51.5 overs.
India boast a bowling average of 22.4 in Tests since the beginning of 2019, the best by any team in that time. England, in contrast, are ranked sixth in this category with an average of 28.1.
Root still waits for record
Root has been the one England batsman to prosper against India so far, scoring two hundreds and a half-century. His series average of 128.66 is outstanding yet his runs have not provided the foundation for his team to be successful.
This outing at his home venue in Yorkshire will be his 55th as Test captain, the second most by any England player. He has won 26 of those games in charge, leaving him level with Michael Vaughan at the top of the list.
Key match facts
- India have lost only one of their last six Tests (W4, D1), an eight-wicket defeat to New Zealand in the ICC World Test Championship Final (June 2021).
- England are winless in their last seven Tests (D2, L5). The last time they recorded a longer winless run in the format was an eight-match span from November 2017 to May 2018 (D2, L6).
- India (126) and England (110) have hit more sixes than any other teams in Test cricket since the beginning of 2019.
- Rishabh Pant has a batting strike rate of 68.8 in Tests since the beginning of 2019, the second best by any player to face at least 1,000 balls in that time (Quinton de Kock – 71.4).
- James Anderson has an economy rate of 2.4 in the format since the beginning of 2019, the best by any bowler in that time (minimum 500 overs bowled).
Julian Nagelsmann confirmed Bayern Munich will be without Robert Lewandowski and Manuel Neuer for their DFB-Pokal clash with Bremer on Wednesday.
The head coach is set to rotate as Bayern launch their campaign against the fifth-tier side at Werder Bremen's Weserstadion.
Bayern are aiming to reclaim the trophy after suffering a surprise defeat against Holstein Kiel in the second round of last season's competition.
Nagelsmann has overseen an unbeaten start to the new season; Bayern taking four points from their opening two games while also retaining the Supercup after a 3-1 win over Borussia Dortmund.
And the head coach revealed he will rest some of his senior players ahead of their trip to Bremen.
"Manuel [Neuer] will be rested, as his foot has flared up again, as we expected," he said. "He won't travel to the game.
"Neither will Robert [Lewandowski], he will stay behind and do some intensive training here. The same goes for Leon [Goretzka].
"For them [Bremer], this is a once-in-a-lifetime game. In the end, the fact is that we need to and want to win, which means that we need to remain focused on the task at hand."
Nagelsmann will soon be able to call upon the services of Lucas Hernandez, who returned to team training on Tuesday.
The France international underwent surgery on a meniscus injury at the beginning of July and missed Bayern’s first three games of the season.
Wales caretaker boss Rob Page insists Gareth Bale still has the hunger and desire to play for his country after including the player in his squad for the upcoming international break.
Page's side face Finland in a friendly on September 1, before resuming their 2022 World Cup qualifying campaign with a double-header against Belarus and Estonia.
Speculation surrounded Bale's international future following the Dragons' exit from Euro 2020 at the hands of Denmark.
However, the Real Madrid forward, who has 96 caps to his name, could edge closer to becoming Wales' second centurion after being selected by Page.
Bale, who spent last season on loan at Tottenham, has started twice this season under new Madrid head coach Carlo Ancelotti, scoring in Sunday's 3-3 draw at Levante.
And Page is confident his talisman has "got the bug back" for football.
"It's great news. You want all your players playing competitive football when they come to the camp," Page told Sky Sports News.
"To get any of your players playing week in, week out is a bonus.
"But when you've got Gareth playing now and finding he's got the bug back again, which I saw in some of his performances for Tottenham at the back end of last season, is great news for us.
"He's got a hunger to play week in, week out for his club and he's got an absolute hunger and desire to play for Wales.
"As long as I can see that in his performances then there's going to be no issues whatsoever."
Real Madrid midfielder Federico Valverde has agreed a contract extension that will keep him at the Santiago Bernabeu until June 2027.
The 23-year-old Uruguay international's original agreement ran until 2025 but he signed a deal for a further two years, and it reportedly includes a €1billion release clause.
A statement on Madrid's website on Tuesday said: "Federico Valverde signed a contract renewal at Real Madrid. The Uruguayan midfielder remains linked to our club until June 30, 2027."
Valverde joined Madrid from Uruguayan club Penarol in July 2016, initially playing for Real Madrid Castilla, the club's reserve team.
He joined Deportivo La Coruna on loan for the 2017-18 season before establishing himself in the Madrid first-team setup under Santi Solari.
Valverde won LaLiga in 2019-20 under Zinedine Zidane, making 21 starts. Last season he featured 24 times for Madrid in the league and scored three goals.
The midfielder becomes the latest player to agree new terms at Madrid since Carlo Ancelotti took charge of Los Blancos in June.
Luka Modric, Nacho Fernandez, Karim Benzema, Dani Carvajal and Thibaut Courtois have all recently signed new deals.
Barcelona forward Ansu Fati has returned to training with the LaLiga club's first-team squad following a lengthy lay-off through injury.
The 18-year-old missed the second half of last season after tearing the meniscus in his left knee in November 2020.
Fati sustained the injury during Barcelona’s 5-2 victory over Real Betis at Camp Nou, and has subsequently undergone three operations.
However, the Spain international is closing in on a return to action after he was photographed back on the training pitches at Barcelona's Ciutat Esportiva Joan Gamper training ground on Tuesday.
Although he will not be available for this weekend’s LaLiga showdown with Getafe, Fati could be in contention for Barcelona's trip to Sevilla on September 11.
The forward became the youngest goalscorer in Barca's history when he scored against Osasuna in August 2019 aged 16 years and 304 days.
Fati has since added a further 12 goals in 42 appearances across all competitions for the Blaugrana, who he joined at the age of 10.
The Guinea-Bissau-born youngster has been capped four times by Spain, and scored his first international goal against Ukraine in September 2020.
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