Kevin D

Good stuff from MJF:

Great bunch of lads.

https://www.cbc.ca/sports/olympics/summer/soccer/canada-soccer-priestman-suspended-1.7275945 Bev Priestman's time at the Paris Olympics ended before the opening ceremony. Canada Soccer has suspended its women's national team head coach for the remainder of the Games amid a drone spying scandal. The Canadian Olympic Committee added in a statement released shortly before 1:30 a.m. local time Friday that assistant Andy Spence will lead the defending gold medallists for the remainder of the tournament. Canada's camp was thrown into disarray this week when two team staffers were sent home for allegedly using a drone to spy on New Zealand's practices. Priestman denied any involvement, but didn't attend Thursday's 2-1 victory over New Zealand in Saint-Etienne as FIFA — soccer's world governing body — and the International Olympic Committee investigate. Canada Soccer CEO and general secretary Kevin Blue said in the COC release announcing Priestman's removal that "additional information has come to our attention regarding previous drone use against opponents, predating the Paris 2024 Olympic Games." He added Priestman is suspended from her duties until the end of the tournament — and the completion of the organization's independent external review. Things started to unravel for Canada when New Zealand's Olympic Committee complained to the IOC's integrity unit after it said drones were flown over a pair of pre-tournament practice sessions this week. The COC said Wednesday that assistant coach Jasmine Mander and analyst Joseph Lombardi were "sent home immediately" and that it had accepted Priestman's decision to remove herself from coaching the opening match. Priestman, who took over the Canadian women on Nov. 1, 2020, signed a contract extension through the 2027 Women's World Cup back in January after previously working on a rolling contract. She held a brief media availability Wednesday with reporters at Stade Auguste Dury after guiding her squad through a one-hour practice. "My reaction was you feel like this program has let the country down," Priestman said. "That's why I took the proactive step to do what I felt was the right thing. Irrespective of the details, I'm ultimately accountable." FIFA said its disciplinary committee has opened proceedings against all three individuals and Canada Soccer. Priestman, 38, was an assistant under women's national team head coach and current Toronto FC boss John Herdman. She also worked with Herdman when he led New Zealand's women's program. No. 8 Canada will meet second-ranked France on Sunday in Saint-Etienne before facing Colombia on Wednesday in Nice. COC chief executive officer David Shoemaker said during a video call Wednesday the organization believed the sanctions handed out to that point were appropriate and "at least mitigate any advantage Canada may have had or be seen to have had against New Zealand." Shoemaker added at the time further repercussions for Priestman had been considered. "At the end of the day, the drone footage remained in the hands of the pilot of the drone, and the advantage that I guess was intended to be obtained was not obtained, at least to the best of our ability to ascertain," he said. "I was persuaded by the fact that Bev Priestman had no involvement, no knowledge in the incident. Those who had the direct involvement in the incident we removed from Team Canada." Shoemaker said on the call he believed Priestman wasn't involved based on her denial. "[It's] my assessment of the veracity of those statements," he said. "If facts were to arise in the future suggesting otherwise, I guess we reserve the right to impose further sanctions." That is exactly what happened early Friday in Paris.

Thought this was going to keep going until Queen Elizabeth was on the phone telling you to fuck off.

https://www.theguardian.com/football/article/2024/jul/26/premier-league-games-being-held-abroad-is-inevitable-says-sadiq-khan Sadiq Khan, the mayor of London, likes to portray himself as a football fan but has risked upsetting many with his claim that Premier League fixtures being played abroad is an inevitability. The idea of competitive English top-flight games taking place outside the country was first mooted by the Premier League in 2008 and was met with an immediate backlash from domestic supporters, with various organisations, including the Football Association, also making clear their objections. The proposal, which would have seen clubs receive around £5m from their involvement in an additional “international round”, was quickly ditched only to rear its head this year when Jon Miller, an executive at NBC Sports, which hold the rights to screen the Premier League in the United States, outlined the network’s desire to hold matches there, with the Premier League’s chief executive, Richard Masters, stating soon after that the “door looks ajar” for such a move. Now Khan, who in his eight years as London mayor has heavily supported US sports, namely the NFL and Major League Baseball, holding competitive fixtures in the capital, has waded into the debate with tentative support for football travelling in the other direction. “I think that’s the way it is going,” the 53-year-old told the Sports Agents podcast. “We’ve seen some other leagues across Europe have some of their competitive games held elsewhere. All 32 NFL teams have now played in London and all of them have had a great experience. We have some of the top baseball teams now playing in London. “We’ve got seven Premier League clubs in London but when you look at the way the Premier League works, a lot of the revenue they receive is TV rights. Liverpool, the team that I support, are currently on tour in America. I think the point that the Premier League would make and some of the owners would make is, why can’t their fans in those countries benefit from a competitive game? “The key thing for me is to make sure our fans don’t lose out. The thing we’ve learned from American football is often when the players go back to America the next game is an issue because of time zone, because of diet and so forth.” After the comments from Miller and Masters, the Football Supporters’ Association made clear its opposition to any competitive English games taking place abroad. “We defeated Game 39 in 2008 and we’d attack any attempted revival with a full blown, two feet off the ground, studs to the knee tackle,” the FSA stated, coming to the fore again in reaction to Khan’s comments. “Dear @MayorofLondon – a quick question. Are you really saying you’d be happy to see the North London derby played in LA or NYC?” it wrote on X. “We suggest you talk to matchgoers (or the PM!) to find out what supporters really want – and we’re happy to meet you.” Khan may well be aware that Liverpool’s chairman, Tom Werner, last month stated his desire to see a Premier League match in New York, as well as in other cities across the globe, an idea that was swiftly played down by Fenway Sports Group’s principal owner, John W Henry, and rejected entirely by the Liverpool supporters’ union, Spirit of Shankly. “Anyone determined to play competitive LFC Premier League matches abroad should remember that we as fans are determined they don’t,” it stated.

Don’t think he can have any complaints, in fairness. I also suspect that “lured” here really means abducted, but they’re not exactly going to say that.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c4ng4g31x1wo One of the world's most powerful drug lords, Ismael "El Mayo" Zambada, leader of Mexico's Sinaloa cartel, has been arrested by US federal agents in El Paso, Texas. Zambada, 76, founded the criminal organisation with Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman, who is currently jailed in the US. Arrested with Zambada on Thursday was Guzman's son, Joaquin Guzman Lopez, said the US justice department. In February, Zambada was charged by US prosecutors with a conspiracy to make and distribute fentanyl, a drug more powerful than heroin that has been blamed for the US opioid crisis. Details of the arrests of the two men remain unclear, but it appears they flew into the United States. Citing Mexican and US officials, the Wall Street Journal reports, external that Zambada was tricked into boarding the plane by a high-ranking Sinaloa member following a months-long operation by Homeland Security Investigations and the FBI. The paper added that Zambada believed he was going to inspect clandestine airfields in Mexico. Officials said Zambada was "lured" onto a private plane under "false pretences" by Guzman Lopez, the New York Times reports, external. Zambada believed the plane would fly south in Mexico but instead it flew north and landed in El Paso, said Fox News Correspondent Bryan Llenas, externalciting law enforcement sources. Guzman Lopez surrendered to US authorities and turned on Zambada because he “blamed Mayo for the capture of his father”, Mr Llenas added. In a written statement on Thursday evening, US Attorney General Merrick Garland said the two men lead "one of the most violent and powerful drug trafficking organisations in the world". "Fentanyl is the deadliest drug threat our country has ever faced, and the Justice Department will not rest until every single cartel leader, member and associate responsible for poisoning our communities is held accountable,” he added. American prosecutors say the Sinaloa cartel is the biggest supplier of drugs to the US. US authorities have previously noted that fentanyl is the leading cause of death for Americans aged 18 to 45. The US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) had been offering a reward of up to $15m (£12m) for Zambada's capture. During Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman’s trial in 2019, his lawyers accused Zambada of bribing the “entire” Mexican government in exchange for living openly without fear of prosecution. "In truth [Guzman] controlled nothing," Guzman’s lawyer, Jeffrey Lichtman, told jurors. "Mayo Zambada did," he claimed. According to the US state department, external, Zambada is also the owner of several legitimate businesses in Mexico, including “a large milk company, a bus line and a hotel”, as well as real estate assets. Alongside fentanyl charges, he is also facing charges in the US ranging from drug trafficking, murder, kidnapping, money laundering and organised crime. In May, Zambada’s nephew - Eliseo Imperial Castro, who was known as "Cheyo Antrax" - was killed in an ambush in Mexico. He was also wanted by US authorities. Zambada is arguably the biggest drug lord in the world and certainly the most influential in the Americas. He had evaded authorities for decades, and as such, his arrest has come as a shock in Mexico. In a statement, US Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas said the Sinaloa cartel "pioneered the manufacture of fentanyl and has for years trafficked it into our country, killing hundreds of thousands of Americans and devastating countless communities". FBI director Chris Wray said the arrests are "an example of the FBI's and our partners' commitment to dismantling violent transnational criminal organisations like the Sinaloa Cartel," he said. As more information emerges, Zambada's arrest will no doubt be heralded by President Joe Biden's administration as one of the most significant operations by the DEA in years. Zambada co-founded the Sinaloa cartel in the wake of the collapse of the Guadalajara cartel at the end of the 1980s. While Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman was the public face of the organisation and the most notorious of the two men, many believed it was in fact El Mayo who was its real leader. Not only ruthless, he was also innovative, creating and maintaining some of the earliest links with Colombian cartels to flood the US with cocaine and heroin. And more latterly, fentanyl. His leadership of the criminal empire has endured in the face of changing presidents in Mexico and the US, amid repeated anti-drug offensives from successive governments and constant efforts by his enemies in other drug-trafficking organisations to bring him down. That is no mean feat in the violent, dangerous and treacherous underworld in which he has operated as an unassailable kingpin for many years. Yet that extraordinary resilience appears to have run out in El Paso, Texas – a city blighted by the influx of the synthetic opioid, fentanyl, much of which was smuggled in by his organisation.

He despises Klopp and I don’t blame him.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/article/2024/jul/26/kamala-harris-benjamin-netanyahu-us-visit-palestine-israel-gaza-war Harris’s backers say that she is more likely to engage in public criticism of Netanyahu than Biden and to focus attention on the civilian toll among Palestinians from the war in Gaza – even if she would maintain US military aid and other support for Israel that has been a mainstay of Biden’s foreign policy.

Taking no chances after the Bivol fight: https://www.boxingscene.com/its-official-canelo-alvarez-face-edgar-berlanga-on-sept-14-las-vegas--185013 After months of jockeying and speculation over who would next face unified super middleweight champion Saul “Canelo” Alvarez, the fighter and his promoters confirmed Thursday that Alvarez will fight Edgar Berlanga on Sept. 14 in Las Vegas. Mexico’s Alvarez (61-2-2, 39 KOs) had been sizing up Berlanga (22-0, 17 KOs) for weeks, with an eye toward a high-profile Mexico-Puerto Rico rivalry fight that could be staged on Mexican Independence Day weekend – which has become a staple on Alvarez’s annual fight calendar. Despite the eagerness of longtime WBC super middleweight mandatory challenger David Benavidez to fight Alvarez, as well as a dalliance with William Scull and several other possible options, Alvarez – for better or worse – chose Berlanga, now the WBA No. 1-ranked mandatory challenger. “I am very happy for this fight between Mexico and Puerto Rico,” Alvarez said. “It’s exciting to be part of another great Mexico-versus-Puerto Rico battle inside the ring, because historically we have always offered unforgettable fights full of passion. I am proud to contribute to this legacy, and facing an opponent like Edgar Berlanga adds even more excitement and meaning to this event.” Critics have panned Alvarez’s continued aversion to fighting Benavidez and disparaged Berlanga as a too-green opponent for Alvarez, a four-division champion and pound-for-pound fixture who, despite showing signs of slowing, remains one of boxing’s elite fighters at age 34. Although Berlanga, 27, most recently aced his most difficult challenge to date, delivering a sixth-round knockout of Padraig McCrory in February, he has yet to face anyone remotely near Alvarez’s class. Ultimately, the allure of Berlanga's power – he began his career with 16 consecutive first-round knockouts – and Puerto Rican heritage helped make him a bankable (and thus suitable) opponent for Alvarez. “This is the opportunity of a lifetime,” Berlanga said. “I deserve to be here, and I'm going to shock the world and silence the critics by delivering a masterful performance and knocking out Canelo Álvarez on Sept. 14. I will prove that my Puerto Rican heritage surpasses Mexican boxing, from Gomez to Trinidad to Cotto, and now to Berlanga. I will reclaim what is rightfully ours. I'm ready to make this a historic firefight, continuing the greatest rivalry in boxing: Puerto Rico vs Mexico.” The fight, set for Vegas' T-Mobile Arena – where Alvarez has fought on nine occasions, including in four of his last five bouts – will headline a PBC PPV event on Prime Video. In the co-main event, Cuba’s Erislandy Lara will defend his middleweight title against Puerto’s Rico’s former two-division titleholder Danny Swift in a 12-round fight.

Looks like he’s been putting in the hard work in the gymnasium and fancies the job:

Considerably better than the first season.