Aces wallop Gin Kings, 101-86
Hotshots sear Painters Taiwan minister boards cruise ship turned away by Japan PLAY LIST 01:31Taiwan minister boards cruise ship turned away by Japan01:33WHO: ‘Global stocks of masks and respirators are now insufficient’01:01WHO: now 31,211 virus cases in China 102:02Vitamin C prevents but doesn’t cure diseases like coronavirus—medic03:07’HINDI PANG-SPORTS LANG!’03:03SILIP SA INTEL FUND Smart’s Siklab Saya: A multi-city approach to esports RJ Jazul was named Best Player of the Game after scoring a team-high 16 points. Calvin Abueva added 12 for the Aces.FEATURED STORIESSPORTSGinebra teammates show love for SlaughterSPORTSWe are youngSPORTSFreddie Roach: Manny Pacquiao is my Muhammad Ali Don’t miss out on the latest news and information. Alaska dealt Barangay Ginebra a masterful 101-86 beating last night to improve to 3-2 and a share of third place with four others in the PBA Philippine Cup at Smart Araneta Coliseum.The crowd-favorite Gin Kings, who topped the previous season’s Governors’ Cup, dropped to 2-3.ADVERTISEMENT Sports Related Videospowered by AdSparcRead Next PH among economies most vulnerable to virus EDITORS’ PICK View comments Ginebra teammates show love for Slaughter Where did they go? Millions left Wuhan before quarantine As fate of VFA hangs, PH and US forces take to the skies for exercise MOST READ Chinese-manned vessel unsettles Bohol town Shanghai officials reveal novel coronavirus transmission modes We are young Senators to proceed with review of VFA Smart hosts first 5G-powered esports exhibition match in PH
Worship In Spirit and in Truth (WIST) Ministries International Inc ushers in the season with “Behold!”; its fifth annual Christmas production scheduled for Saturday evening at the National Cultural Centre at 19:00h.This year’s theme – “Behold” – emphasises Christ, the gift of salvation, healing, deliverance and a symbol of hope for all mankind. Come and witness a spectacular display of dance, song, drama and poetry. It’s the perfect Christmas event for the entire family.In 2013, the board of WIST decided to host their first Christmas production. Ms Sandia Ramnarine, the founder of WIST, said: “Churches often shy away from the Christmas themed concerts.” So, to keep the spirit of Christmas alive, the team gathered 13 skilled dancers and the magnificent tradition was brought to life and has now grown to performances by more than 50 students.For the past 16 years, WIST has been contributing positively towards the lives of young people across Guyana through the performing arts, with dance being a specific focus.Latisha Davidson, a member of WIST since 2015, said it has been a “life changing experience,” and she has no regrets, adding “WIST has opened me up, helped me find myself, WIST has given me a family I never knew I needed.” WIST’s impact is evidential since the company was recognised this year by the Ministry of the Presidency and is the proud recipient of this year’s National Youth Award.Every year, WIST hosts charitable events in aid of various care homes and individuals in need. At Christmas, the proceeds from the production are donated to a selected home. In the past, WIST has given to the Ruimveldt Children’s Home and Care Centre, Carib Kids International and Hararuni Girls Home.This year, WIST will be giving to the Cheshire Home for Spastic Children (a home for disabled and autistic children) located at Unity, Lancaster Village, East Coast Demerara.With every purchase of a $1000 or $1500 ticket, patrons will not only be enriched on Saturday evening but will also be impacting the lives of those at Cheshire Homes.Tickets are available at WIST Ministries International; the National Cultural Centre; Roxie’s Fashion; Fon Roje; and Pinnacle Business Services, located in the Giftland Mall.
1 Arsenal v West Ham is live on talkSPORT at 1.30pm on Sunday 9 August.Arsenal start their assault on the title at home against West Ham having watched rivals Man United and Chelsea in action on Saturday.The Gunners have been quiet in the transfer market but the capture of goalkeeper Petr Cech could prove to be a masterstroke in what has been a problem position for the team.Who else will get the nod in the season opener against West Ham? talkSPORT has a look…Possible Arsenal line-up against West Ham:GoalkeeperNot since Jens Lehmann left in 2008 have Arsenal started a season with as solid a number one as Petr Cech. Neither David Ospina or Wojciech Szczesny cemented their place last season and when the big Czech goalie became available, Wenger didn’t hesitate in snapping him up.DefenceThere’s no change at the back for the Gunners, whose defence concede only 12 goals in the second part of last season. Laurent Koscielny and Per Mertesacker are the first choice centre-backs and can be expected to start most games.Hector Bellerin emerged as Wenger’s first choice right-back, ahead of summer recruits Calum Chambers and Mathieu Debuchy, while Nacho Monreal held off the challenge of Kieran Gibbs to make the left-back berth his own.MidfieldSanti Carzola and Francis Coquelin were a revelation as the central midfield duo in the second half of last season with Coquelin’s combative style and Cazorla’s distribution and creativity complementing each other with great effect.Benefiting from the midfield tandem will be attacking midfielders Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Aaron Ramsey and Mesut Ozil in the absence of Jack Wilshere, who suffered a hairline fracture to his right ankle, and Alexis Sanchez who is being introduced to first team action slowly following a busy summer winning the Copa America with Chile.AttackWith strong rumours of Karim Benzema’s imminent arrival, Theo Walcott and Olivier Giroud will want to stake a claim for the lone striker’s role whilst they still can. Walcott got the nod in the Community Shield and should keep his place for the visit of West Ham.Do you agree with the starting line-up?For live coverage of Arsenal and West Ham, keep it talkSPORT from 1pm on Sunday 9 August. Will Theo Walcott start up front for Arsenal against West Ham? 
Marton Fulop Former Sunderland goalkeeper Marton Fulop has died at the age of 32, MTK Budapest have announced.Hungarian international Fulop played in England between 2004 and 2010. He is best remembered for his time with Sunderland but he was also on the books of Tottenham, Ipswich and West Brom and also had loan spells with Manchester City, Stoke, Leicester, Chesterfield and Coventry.A statement on MTK’s official website read: “We are deeply sorrowful and grieved to announce that after a long illness, Marton Fulop has died.”Budapest-born Fulop joined Spurs from his first club, MTK, at the age of 21 in the summer of 2004 but did not make a first team appearance for them.Loan spells at Chesterfield, Coventry and Sunderland followed before he made the move to Wearside permanently in January 2007.He stayed with the Black Cats until 2010, making more than 40 appearances – although he also had loan stints at Leicester and Stoke during that time.Manchester City signed Fulop on an emergency loan in 2010 because of injuries to regular number one Shay Given and back-up keepers Stuart Taylor and David Gonzalez, while current England number one Joe Hart was on loan at Birmingham.The Hungarian made just one appearance for City before signing a two-year deal with Ipswich in 2010. The Suffolk side were managed by Roy Keane, who signed him at Sunderland.After more than 30 appearances for Ipswich, just one followed in a one-year spell at West Brom, before he joined Greek side Asteras Tripoli in 2012. 1
Sunderland manager Sam Allardyce offered a damning assessment of his side’s 4-1 thrashing at Manchester City, claiming he ‘can’t defend the indefensible.’The Black Cats found themselves 3-0 down at half time at the Etihad after goals from Raheem Sterling, Yaya Toure and Wilfried Bony, before man of the match Kevin De Bruyne and Fabio Borini struck for either side after the break.It was another convincing away defeat for the visitors whose plight is worsening by the week, and Allardyce admitted he had no evidence to offer a defence of his players.“You can’t defend the indefensible,” Allardyce said in his post-match comments.“I can’t defend them today. I’ve got nothing to defend – they’ve given me nothing. I have to say it is as it is and at the moment we aren’t good enough.“The players have got to work harder, be more dedicated and take more responsibility.”The defeat leaves Sunderland five points adrift of safety after a fourth straight league reverse.
“I worked with him from the age of eight or nine and taking him abroad for tournaments and he was always having to fight battles because he was of tiny build. But all things level themselves out and eventually those three things make a difference – quick feet, a quick brain, and a big heart. And he has done every so well.“The fans always need to associate themselves with players who have come through the ranks. While I was there and Sir Alex was there it was so important to keep bringing young players through. Oxlade-Chamberlain suffers another setback as Klopp confirms serious injury BEST OF Where Ancelotti ranks with every Premier League boss for trophies won 2 Which teams do the best on Boxing Day in the Premier League era? 2 Premier League Team of the Season so far, including Liverpool and Leicester stars REVEALED Top nine Premier League free transfers of the decade MONEY Forbes list reveals how much Mayweather, Ronaldo and Messi earned this decade Manchester United star Jesse Lingard celebrates REPLY “The difference with Jesse is that he was always the English version of Iniesta. He can play in the pockets, he’s very mobile and very agile. He can beat a man and he’s good in combination play. The last few seasons he started to score important goals as well.”Read the full 888sport interview with Rene Meulensteen, including this thoughts on how Mata doesn’t matter anymore at Old Trafford Former Manchester United coach Rene Meulensteen has reiterated his belief Jesse Lingard is the ‘English version of Andres Iniesta’.Like most of his team-mates, Lingard appears rejuvenated under the tutelage for Red Devils legend Ole Gunnar Solskjaer who took over as interim manager following the sacking of Jose Mourinho. huge blow RANKED no dice REVEALED Son ban confirmed as Tottenham fail with appeal to overturn red card Berahino hits back at b******t Johnson criticism – ‘I was in a dark place at Stoke’ Every time Ally McCoist lost it on air in 2019, including funny XI reactions Andres Iniesta leads Barcelona’s LaLiga title celebrations after playing his final game for the club ADVICE shining Ronaldo warned Lukaku how hard scoring goals in Serie A would be before Inter move LATEST FOOTBALL STORIES The England international has three goals and two assists in five Premier League starts under the Norwegian.Meulensteen has previously stated his adoration of the Man United academy product.And speaking exclusively to 888sport the Dutchman suggested Lingard has many attributes similar to that of legendary Barcelona and Spain midfielder Iniesta.Meulensteen said: “Sir Alex always had a clear picture of what a good player looked like and they had to have quick feet, quick brain, and a big heart. That is basically everything that Jesse had but he was very slight for his age.
Chelsea and Manchester United target Elseid Hysaj has confirmed his intention to leave Napoli this summer, declaring he needs ‘to win something’ in his career. FULL STORYTottenham are closing on in a double swoop for Fulham duo Ryan Sessegnon and his twin brother Steven. FULL STORYJuventus are understood to be preparing a compensation package to prise Maurizio Sarri away from Chelsea. The Italian giants want Blues boss Sarri to replace Massimiliano Allegri in Turin, and must now stump up in the region of £5million to secure their top target. (Independent)Arsenal could sign defender Eder Balanta this summer in a cut-price deal. Arsenal are shopping for bargains this summer after failing to qualify for the Champions League. The Colombian is on the books at Swiss club FC Basel and would cost just £4m. (Star)Leicester manager Brendan Rodgers will test Crystal Palace’s resolve to keep Andros Townsend. With just two years left to run on his contract, the winger is seen as a good option for the Foxes as Rodgers gets a first transfer window to start shaping his squad. Townsend, 27, is valued at around £14million — similar to the figure Palace paid Newcastle to sign him three years ago. (Mirror) 3 Manchester City have asked to be kept in touch with developments about Lyon’s French international midfielder Nabil Fekir. Fekir, 25, is set to leave his home town club this summer just 12 months after a move to Liverpool fell through at the 11th hour after the results of a medical. Jurgen Klopp is still interested in a player who he almost signed for £53 million but will attempt to get him for a lower fee given his knee problems, although could now face a fight with Man City. (Express)Liverpool are in talks over drafting in German striker Max Kruse on a free transfer. He’s out of contract at Werder Bremen this summer and a move to the Champions League winners could now be on the cards. (Star)Ajex starlet Dillon Hoogewerf has signed for Manchester United. The forward, 16, announced his move in an Instagram post having rejected a professional contract offer from the Amsterdam side. (Various)Bayern Munich has placed a £20m price tag on Germany defender Jerome Boateng, who is being eyed by Arsenal and Manchester United. (Bild) GETTY 3 Jerome Boateng is set to be on the move this summer GETTY 3 Aston Villa are set to make their move for loan star Tyrone Mings in the next week. The defender played a key role in helping the Midlands club win promotion back to the Premier League and is keen to join on a permanent basis, and Bournemouth are charging £15m for his services. (Daily Star)Atletico Madrid are reportedly considering legal action against Barcelona over their pursuit of Antoine Griezmann. The 28-year-old French striker revealed last month he wants to leave the Wanda Metropolitano, sparking rumours of a move to the Nou Camp. But Atletico are understood to feel unhappy with Barca’s tactics to recruit Griezmann, who has a £108m release clause in his contract. (Spanish media)Follow talkSPORT’s LIVE transfer blog here Andros Townsend is on Leicester’s radar All the top tittle-tattle doing the rounds in the Sunday newspapers and online…
Arsenal director Josh Kroenke has revealed last season’s Europa League final humbling at the hands of Chelsea forced the club into an ‘aggressive’ rethink of their transfer strategy.The Gunners were thrashed 4-1 by their London rivals in Baku back in May, conceding all four goals in a second-half collapse. FAREWELL “This summer, even though we weren’t in a position of strength coming out of Baku, I think there were a few people caught off guard that Arsenal Football Club still has the aura that it does.“The guys went out, worked their magic and I’m happy to have them on our side. We’re excited to keep pushing that now and into the future.”Kroenke also said his father was “thrilled” with Arsenal’s new signings and that they have “come back with a stronger squad”.Arsenal faced criticism earlier in the summer from supporter groups, who urged the club directors to fund a squad overhaul to get them back competing for titles.It appears their prayers were answered, but Kroenke said the fan protests were not the reason why they finally splashed some cash this summer.“I would say that if you’re reacting and doing club record signings based on public opinion, you’re not going to go very far as a club,” he said.“We weren’t reactive this summer, we were actually proactive. Unai Emery could not guide his Arsenal side to victory in last season’s Europa League final on target getty images Winning the final, under three-time winning manager Unai Emery, presented the club with their only chance of qualifying for the Champions League – and their disastrous performance consigned them to a third straight campaign outside of Europe’s premier competition.It also meant a big loss of potential transfer funds, with reports Arsenal had only around £40m to spend this summer.However, supporters were surprised as the club splashed out on over £100m in a number of big signings, including Ivory Coast winger Nicolas Pepe, Scotland full-back Kieran Tierney and Chelsea’s Brazilian centre-back David Luiz.And Josh Kroenke, the son of club owner Stan Kroenke, said their disappointment in Azerbaijan was the spark that led to the Gunners being one of the Premier League’s biggest spenders this summer. 3 latest GETTY Redknapp calls Son ‘petulant’, but Holloway says red card for Rudiger kick was ‘soft’ Man United transfer news live: Haaland ‘wants a change’, two players off in January OFF “As the second half of the match unfolded, understanding the position we were in and some of the targets as we headed into the summer from a transfer standpoint, we had to rethink some of our strategy based on that last 45 minutes,” said Kroenke in an interview with BBC Sport.“We knew we wouldn’t have Champions League football and that’s what those type of talents are after. Coming back from Baku, my main message to Vinai [Venkatesham, managing director], Raul [Sanllehi, head of football] and Unai [Emery, head coach] was: ‘Let’s be aggressive and find out what’s possible’.“These guys went out into the market place and – through their contacts and our fantastic new team behind the scenes – were able to find some talented players who are really excited about playing for Arsenal Football Club.“I think we had a very strong summer. We addressed certain areas on the pitch for this season and in the years ahead. We had certain age profiles that we were after. Without Champions League football we weren’t exactly sure, but I encouraged our football operations department to be aggressive and when Arsenal Football Club knocks on a player’s door it’s a different knock. LATEST Nicolas Pepe joined Arsenal in a club-record £72m move from Lille deals LATEST FOOTBALL HEADLINES Liverpool news live: Klopp reveals when Minamino will play and issues injury update Arsenal director Josh Kroenke says his father and club owner was ‘thrilled’ with their summer business stalemate Top scorer in 2019: Messi, Mbappe and Sterling trailing Europe’s top marksman Getty Images – Getty 3 What every Premier League club’s fans dream of this Christmas Arsenal transfer news LIVE: Ndidi bid, targets named, Ozil is ‘skiving little git’ BIG PRESENTS UP TOP Matic one of two players for sale with ‘two Premier League clubs’ interested 3 Strugglers Wigan hold Blackburn to goalless draw in Championship “It was unfortunate that the summer unfolded publicly the way it did with some of the supporters groups. I tried to answer some of their concerns to the best of our ability.“The transfer market is an evolving, living, breathing thing. We identified key targets, worked on those deals and over time we were able to execute them.“That’s hopefully a sign of encouragement for Arsenal fans that, when we’re out in the market place, you might never know what we’re thinking and you could be surprised by some of the names that come up.“As for January, I don’t want to get ahead of ourselves. We’ve got to evaluate some things in the short term and figure out where we might need to address going forward, so when January does roll around we’re going to be proactive again.”And the goal of Arsenal’s ‘aggressive’ transfer rethink?“Our ambitions are the same as the fans,” Kroenke said.“We want to win and we want to win as much and as often as possible. And doing it a fun way, where they’re seeing some really entertaining football as well. I think we’ve got the group to do it.”Arsenal finished 28 points behind champions Manchester City last season, but the Gunners are confident they can end their long wait for the title. It’s now more than 15 years since their famous ‘Invincibles’ victory – the last time the Gunners were crowned Premier League winners.“We have the highest of ambitions,” he added.“In North America, we are trying to win. The [Los Angeles] Rams were in the Super Bowl last year. I can only imagine what a Champions League final is like after being over in Baku.“There are six great clubs in the Premier League and unfortunately only four [Champions League] spots that are guaranteed. The economics involved – to be able to reinvest back into the club, attract different players who only want Champions League football… our goal is to get back and to win the Premier League.”
3 Frank Lampard sprung to the defence of Ross Barkley after he was pictured on a night out in Liverpool, although the Chelsea boss admitted his played had been ‘naive’.Photos of Barkley appearing to argue with a taxi driver on Sunday night were published in newspapers ahead of the Blues’ Champions League trip to Lille on Wednesday. 3 Getty Images – Getty Lampard on competition for places at centre-back“[Fikayo] Tomori, I worked with him last year and I have a lot of trust in him.“I see it as four very good centre-backs. He has given himself a really good place in the race. He must keep improving.”Lampard on Kepa getting his first clean sheet of the season against Brighton“In the lack of clean sheets, to get one the person I was most happy for was Kepa.“He is very determined and wants to improve. Clean sheets are not just his responsibility, but he has worked to improve.“In his role he can maybe become a bit more vocal and that is part of the process as well.” 3 Barkley made the headlines for the wrong reasons on Tuesday Kante could return for the trip to France Lampard on N’Golo Kante’s fitness“He has trained and got through it okay. One that we have to assess.“We are positive. It doesn’t relate to the Europa League. The fallout of that meant he has had a broken pre-season.“He has had a few niggles, some bad luck. Everyone is working to getting him fit.”Lampard on Lille“We have to be honest, I didn’t think Valencia was the worst game for us, we should have got a result.“With Lille they have a lot of threats, speed and quality. It is not the be-all and end-all, we have to see it in the big picture, but it’s a game we have to be ready for.” Getty Images – Getty Lampard downplayed the Barkley incident Getty Images – Getty Blues boss Lampard said he had spoken to Barkley about the incident but added: “He hasn’t committed a crime.”Lampard said: “In terms of permission, I don’t expect people to ask to be in Liverpool on their day off. That’s not a problem. Especially with his family there. As an issue, he hasn’t broken the club code about being out.“He hasn’t committed a crime – apart from eating chips in the back of a cab! He has been naive to be out on an evening leading into a Champions League game.”According to the Mirror, Barkley was marched to a cash machine by police after he refused to pay a fine for spilling chips in the back of a cab.Lampard was keen to focus on more pressing issues in his press conference, however, as the Blues look to get their Champions League campaign back on track.Chelsea were stunned by Valencia at Stamford Bridge in their opening group game and the Lille clash is already a must-win.Here’s everything Lampard told the media on Tuesday.
Why Tech Companies Need Simpler Terms of Servic… Top Reasons to Go With Managed WordPress Hosting Tags:#AOL#news#web Related Posts SocialThing, a lifestreaming/social aggregation site, has been acquired by AOL, TechCrunch reports. We currently have no information about the final price of the acquisition, but given that SocialThing was still in private beta, we assume that it was relatively low. SocialThing was founded in 2007 with $15,000 in seed capital from TechStars. AOL seems to be rather interested in the lifestreaming and aggregation business these days. As AOL product manager Frank Gruber reported, AOL also just released its AIM BuddyUpdates yesterday.While it is not unusual for a company to be bought up this quickly, it is interesting that SocialThing was acquired before it even came out of private beta. This could mean that AOL was less interested in the technology behind SocialThing and more in the team behind the service. SocialThing, after all, is still in such an early phase of its development that it doesn’t even support Microsoft’s Internet Explorer yet (though some people might, of course, consider that a good thing). A Web Developer’s New Best Friend is the AI Wai… frederic lardinois While SocialThing does the things it does well, it never quite got the hype and user base that its nearest direct competitor Friendfeed has been getting for the last few months. While SocialThing CEO and founder Matt Galligan pointed out to us that he doesn’t think SocialThing is actually competing with FriendFeed, the similarities between the two are just too striking. It is true, though, that SocialThing is less focused on creating an internal community and puts more emphasis on sharing information back to the aggregated services than Friendfeed, especially since they just integrated ping.fm updates.It will be interesting to see what AOL is going to do with this new property. Chances are that it will be integrated into AOL’s new BuddyUpdate service or that the SocialThing team will move over to work on BuddyUpdates while SocialThing itself will become a thing of the past. 8 Best WordPress Hosting Solutions on the Market