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CHAPECO, Brazil (Reuters) - Thousands of grieving fans in green and white filled the Chapecoense stadium in remote southern Brazil on Tuesday, singing their team’s praises and chanting one by one the names of players who lost their lives in a plane crash a day earlier. “We are champions!” they cried as club staff and relatives of the deceased joined hands in a circle at midfield, part of an impromptu ceremony that swung between mourning for the lives lost and pride in the unlikely feats of their fallen heroes....

The 2020 campaign saw plenty of shake-up with teams like Kansas State picking up a major upset win, Iowa State emerging as a legit contender and Oklahoma State showing it too can hang with the perennial powers like Oklahoma and Texas. Of course, this is the only conference that features a full round-robin schedule, meaning each Big 12 team will face every other in-conference foe. That means strength of schedule will rely on nonconference foes, the timing of difficult games and whether games are played at home or on the road....

Except for Tuesday night, that is. The NBA will hold its annual draft lottery in Chicago, and for (most) teams that did not make the playoffs, this night will have an enormous impact on the future. A couple of exceptions: The Nets will not have a pick at all in this draft, their last bit of penance for the disastrous trade for Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce in 2013. That pick is Cleveland’s....

Having emerged as a hot prospect in Serie A with Inter after beginning his career at Dinamo Zagreb, Kovacic joined Madrid in 2015 for a reported €35million with a burgeoning reputation. But it was argued by some that he accepted the move too early and he has subsequently struggled to earn a place in Madrid’s first-team. Midfield often proved a problem area for Chelsea under Antonio Conte last season, with signings Tiemoue Bakayoko, Danny Drinkwater and Ross Barkley failing to impress following their respective transfers....

The appointment of the three-time major champion, 47, was announced in a news conference at Wentworth on Tuesday. Harrington succeeds Thomas Bjorn, having served as a vice-captain as the Dane oversaw an emphatic European success at Le Golf National in September. A winner in four of his six Ryder Cup appearances as a player, Harrington was also a vice-captain in 2014 and 2016 under Paul McGinley and Darren Clarke....

Serbia international Matic had one year remaining on his previous deal. But the club announced on Monday he has been signed to fresh terms following some impressive displays under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. The 31-year-old joined United from Chelsea in 2017 and has made 114 appearances. “I am very happy that I will continue to be part of this great club,” midfielder Matic said in a statement. “As a player, I still have a lot more to give and achieve in my career and to do that with Manchester United will be a huge honour....

Raiola, who represents the likes of Paul Pogba, Matthijs de Ligt and Zlatan Ibrahimovic, was given a three-month suspension on Wednesday by the Italian Football Association (FIGC), although it did not provide any specific reasoning. Raiola moved to reassure his clients that potential business in the coming transfer window would not be affected as the ban was restricted to Italian territory, while he made it clear he would contest the FIGC’s decision....

Carry on like this, and you’ll see. Are Italians beginning to feel the same way about their billionaire bull-in-a-china-shop leader? Last week’s confrontation–over whom to name as Finance minister, a job to which Berlusconi had conveniently assigned himself temporarily–was a sign that his coalition partners, smelling blood, could push the government to its breaking point. The Italian economy, which 20 years ago was bigger than Britain’s, is today one of Western Europe’s shakiest....

What happened was a combination of terrible contract extensions on veterans from the championship squad that handicapped the team, the rise of division rivals in the Braves, the Nationals, and the Mets, and a farm system that was no longer churning out players like Chase Utley, Shane Victorino, Ryan Howard, and Cole Hamels. Philadelphia hitting the bottom of the league showed a painful, but necessary, rebuild that the team had to go through....

Birmingham Phoenix will be eyeing another big win in The Hundred with the likes of Moeen Ali and Liam Livingstone in fine form. However, they face a wounded Welsh Fire side who are desperately in need of a win as The Hundred enters the business end. BPH vs WEF Probable Playing 11 Today WEF XI Tom Banton (wk), David Lloyd, Ben Duckett (c), Glenn Phillips, Leus du Plooy, James Neesham, Luke Fletcher, Ryan Higgins, Qais Ahmad, Matt Milnes and David Payne...

But does Clinton’s early advantage mean we’re past gender when picking presidents? Not so fast, say experts. The Democratic primary is one thing—Dems are typically more comfortable than Republicans when it comes to voting for women. But the general election is a much different test. (Assuming Clinton gets that far: the latest ABC/Washington Post poll shows Obama ahead in Iowa, and tied among women there.) “The idea that gender won’t matter in the general election is just insane,” says unaffiliated Democratic pollster Mark Blumenthal....

Keselowski team engineer Brian Wilson and the team’s Nationwide Series competition director Greg Erwin, who has extensive Cup crew-chief experience, will guide the team for The Profit 500 at Phoenix International Raceway. Third in the Cup standings, Keselowski is on the pole for the second race of the 2014 season. Wolfe’s wife, Aleah, going into labor was not a surprise and the team was prepared to fly him home for the birth of the couple's first child....

The race, which this year is Sept. 2, continues a recent tradition of a throwback theme. Wallace won the Cup Series title in 1989 and the following year drove the No. 27 to two wins at Charlotte and Sonoma for owner Raymond Beadle. Beginning in 1991, Wallace drove the No. 2 for owner Roger Penske until the end of Wallace’s full-time driving career in 2005. This will be the fourth year of the annual throwback program at “too tough to tame” Darlington, with this year’s slogan celebrating NASCAR’s 70th anniversary: “Seven Decades of NASCAR....

If you expected him to be remorseful and contrite after nearly getting beat up twice late last season, forget about it. MORE: Biffle says Roush will be back | Stewart buys sprint-car series | Wood Brothers expand | Race start times change If you expected Keselowski to learn his lesson after heated and physical confrontations with Matt Kenseth and Jeff Gordon, the latter incident igniting a crew brawl, you are going to be sorely disappointed....

The Boston winger and the Hurricanes goaltender got into it with 2:08 left in the second period. Kochetkov came out of his crease to pass the puck when Marchand gave him a cross-check in the back. After a slash to the shins and shove by Kochetkov, Marchand retaliated with a slash to the goalie’s side. The two were each given minor penalties on the play. It was one of a number of altercations between the two sides on the night, which resulted in a 5-2 win for the Hurricanes to take a 2-0 series lead....

Chicago couldn’t pay Richards much more than that, and he certainly doesn’t need the money. The New York Rangers bought out Richards after the season; they didn’t have a choice, given the cap recapture penalty they’d have invited had they kept him past this offseason, but the way he played down the stretch and in the playoffs made it even easier. He eventually dropped out of New York’s top six, and he deserved it....

In a post shared to Facebook, the authorities called on the public to get in touch if they have any information on an unidentified male accused of stealing a Bosch Rotary Laser Kit from a branch of the popular home improvement store in McDonough. However, while the social media post was quickly flooded with replies, the majority appeared to focus on the fact the suspect bore a striking resemblance to Hollywood actor Bradley Cooper....

You and your family will be provided with information about your surgery before, during, and after the procedure. It can also help if you know what to expect. In the days prior to your brain aneurysm surgery, you may already have had brain imaging tests and blood tests in preparation. Some diagnostic tests may need to be repeated on the day of surgery. Before the Surgery If you are having a prophylactic brain aneurysm repair, you could be coming to your appointment from home....

Rickey, the Pacific Coast League president and grandson of the Hall of Fame executive with the same name, won the 2014 Warren Giles Award for excellence by a league president. His acceptance speech included a colorful memory of a 1958 Class D game in Hobbs, N.M. MORE: Best MiLB states | Odd MiLB trades | 17-inning no-hitter | Longest scoreless game “The owner released a dozen jackrabbits before the game,” Rickey said....

Hundreds took to social media to share videos and images of Jennings partying during the parade. And perhaps the most viral videos of Jennings showed him chugging beers while standing on the bed of a truck as it made its way through the crowded streets. A video shared by Barstool Sports shows that Jennings caught the beer from a fan who threw it over to him. “Brandon Jennings is absolutely DOMINATING the Bucks Parade,” commented Barstool....