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2021 Sports Round Up

Since the corona virus became a pandemic in 2020, the entire sports syndicate has faced some ramifications in terms of the protocols that had to be adhered including the fans being unable to attend games among others. Well, in 2021 fans were finally able to attend games and some sort of normalcy had resume. “Sports without fans is nothing’ may sound like a cliché but fans being welcomed back into stadia provided a breath of fresh air for the games we all love.

In January, Manchester United enjoyed a brief spell at the top of the premier league but were however subsequently leapfrogged by arch rivals Manchester City. Lille, Inter Milan and Atletico Madrid already looked like favorites to win their respective leagues.

In mid-February, Accra Hearts of Oak were in absolute mayhem. Assistant Manager Joseph Asare Bediako had submitted his resignation letter because of the breach of a clause in his contract. Team manager Nii Saban Quaye was also axed by the club. Gaffer Kostas Papic was eventually fired after a run of poor form.

In May, Manchester City were crowned Premier League after slaloming through teams up and down the land.

Under the tutelage of Antonio Conte, Inter Milan were able to break the Juventus monopoly winning their first Scudetto in almost a decade.

In France as well, Lille beat PSG to win their first Ligue 1 trophy since 2011.

Albeit Atletico Madrid endure an iffy end to the season, they manage to cross the finish line winning their first La Liga title in 7 years.

In June, The Milwaukee Bucks’ 50 years wait for a championship came to an end. Giannis Antetokounmpo led the bucks to this win churning out a plethora of virtuoso performances helping them recover from a 2:0 deficit against the Phoenix Suns. Giannis Antetokounmpo in the process earned himself the finals MVP award.

Chelsea after starting the season poorly circumvented a way to UCL triumph beating Manchester City by a goal to nil courtesy of a Kai Havertz strike.

The Euro 2020 that had been postponed to 2021 finally took place and was hosted by 11 countries. In July Italy were crowned champions after beating England 3:2 on penalties in the final after a combative 1:1 draw after regulation.

Earlier in August, Ghanaian Footballing giants Accra Hearts of Oak completed a treble.

Midway into October, to mark the completion of a trilogy contract signed between Tyson Fury and Deontay Wilder, a third bout between the pair took place. The outcome was not any different from what happened in the second bout as Tyson Fury knocked out the ‘Bronze Bomber’ Deontay Wilder in the 11th round of the bout. The Gypsy King retained his WBC and his ring magazine titles.

In November, George Kambosos Jr did something that had not been done in the lightweight division of boxing. He defeated the only undefeated world champion Teofimo Lopez in the said weight division becoming an undefeated world champion himself.

Early on in December, Vasyl Lomachenko utterly brushed aside Ghanaian former champion Richard Commey. The fight lasted all rounds but Richard Commey was taught a boxing lesson.

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Vasyl Lomachenko vrs Richard Commey Bout

On Saturday, 11th December, 2021, the lightweight division of boxing serves us with the most mouthwatering encounter since Teofimo Lopez vrs George Kambosos Jr. All titles held by George Kambosos Jr currently were previously held by Richard Commey and Vasyl Lomachenko prior to their defeats to Teofimo Lopez.

Richard Commey goes into this bout having defeated Jackson Martinez last February in 6 rounds by technical knockout. With respect to career records, the Ghanaian lightweight boxer has fought 33 times winning 30 of them coupled with 3 losses. Of the 30 wins, Richard Commey can boast of, 27 of them have been knockouts representing a staggering 90% knockout rate. Ukrainian Lightweight sensation Vasyl Lomachenko goes into this matchup on the back of a win against Japanese Masayoshi Nakatani by technical knockout. In this division, Lomachenko has fought 17 times winning 15 of them and losing twice.

Lomachenko has praised Ghanaian Richard Commey in the build up to the bout. In an interview he said: “He [Commey] is an interesting fighter, good fighter [and] smart fighter. I think about his good side [strength], big power. He has experience, he has a reach and [a] big heart”. Nonetheless, the Ukrainian has made clear his desire to be an undisputed Champion and that must start with a victory against Richard Commey. He added: “I have a goal to be the undisputed world champion, I have this goal in my mind all the time. I go to bed with this dream, I wake up with dream and of course I live with this dream. That is why this is my motivation and it pushes me each day, going to the gym, training hard”

Richard Commey spoke on his comeback from the catastrophic defeat against Teofimo Lopez. He said: “I think losing is part of boxing so regardless of how you lost, its all about coming back. Whatever happened with Teofimo is fine, it is what it is and I take it as a man. In my mind, I needed to comeback and I cameback very strong. There is a reason why Loma chose me and the reason why I am sitting here���

On Saturday, the Mecca of sports, the Maddison Square Arena [NY] will host these two brilliant boxers. The world boxing syndicate will be watching on keenly.

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The Stale Lake Show

The Los Angeles Lakers, the NBA’s most successful franchise together with the Boston Celtics have churned out a series of mediocre performances this season. Going into the season, expectations were high considering the recruitments they made, acquiring the services superstar guard Russell Westbrook in addition to LeBron James and Anthony Davies. They also acquired veterans in Carmelo Anthony, Rajon Rondo, Trevor Ariza, Wayne Ellington, Dwight Howard and Avery Bradley via trade or through free agency. Prospects such as Malik Monk and Kendrick Nunn were also acquired via trade.

It is fair to say that the roster comes with a lot of expectations and the Lakers boasting of a 14-13 record is underwhelming. Arguments could made that they have struggled with injuries and that has impaired their season but with the star power they possess, they should not be losing to the lowly Oklahoma City Thunders multiple times as well as defeats to Boston Celtics without Jaylen Brown and Memphis Grizzlies without their best player in Ja Morant.

The Lakers have been puzzling throughout the season but what has been their main impediment so far? A few valid questions can be asked, for example; Is it the injuries? Is it poor coaching? Is it the defense? Can certain star players play better? Or was the roster badly put together? Well, the jury is still out on the Lakers but their gross underperformance this season can be attributed to a number of factors.

Allstars like Anthony Davies can definitely play better. By his standards, Anthony Davies has been poor this season. Albeit he averages 24/10/3, he has failed to deliver in high leverage moments. He has not been able to grab games by the scruff of the neck when LeBron has been absent. He is shooting 72% from the free-throw line and 19.2% from beyond the arc which is well below his career averages. Russell Westbrook has been steady for the Los Angeles Lakers but he turns the ball over far too often to be the primary playmaker of the Lakers. He leads the league in turnovers averaging 5 per game.

With respect to injuries, Lakers have had a fair share of them but they have almost always had two superstars available and that alone should be enough to win games especially in the regular season.

The Lakers defense can definitely improve. It is quite surprising that a Frank Vogel coached team can be this abysmal defensively considering he is one of the better defensive coaches in all of the NBA. There has been calls for the Lakers to fire Frank Vogel because at the bare minimum he has failed to do what he does best which is coach defense. It can be argued that the ageing roster finds it difficult to stay in front of players as they are no longer athletic. In the last two NBA season, the Lakers were ranked top 3 in defense in the regular season but are ranked 15th this season which is not ideal for a team with championship aspirations.

Many have argued that the Lakers roster could have been better put together and have provided valid reasons. The fact of the matter is that some of these players are old. With age players become prone to injuries and the fact that the Lakers have had many injury issues accentuate why putting together a roster full of players above the age of 32 is not ideal. Their decline in defense is also a ramification of their old roster. Throughout the season, they have struggled to stay in front of opposition players on the defensive end as they no longer have the legs for it. In fact, some of them take certain plays off on that end.

Currently sitting 6th in the Western Conference, there are a lot of things that the Los Angeles Lakers can improve to be in a championship mode come April 2022.

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George Kambosos Jr Upset Teofimo Lopez

Having brushed aside lightweight boxing sensations in Richard Commey and Vasyl Lomachenko, the onus was on American Boxer of Honduras descent Teofimi Lopez to continue his undefeated streak and wallop George Kambosos Jr. Unfortunately, that was not the case for Teofimo Lopez.

Australian Lightweight boxer of Greek descent George Kambosos Jr defeated Teofimo Lopez in the early hours of Sunday, November 28, 2021 at the Hulu Theater. George Kambosos Jr won by split decision, 115-111, 115-113, 113-114.The Austraian lightweight boxer now claims the WBA (Super), WBO, IBF and The Ring Lighweight titles making him the new undefeated champion of the world. That makes him undefeated in 20 professional boxing bouts.

It must be said that Teofimo Lopez was the overwhelming favorite prematch but George Kambosos has now put the entire boxing fraternity on notice and has shown why he is a force to be reckoned with in the lightweight division of boxing.

Teofimo Lopez has since expressed his sentiments with respect to the bout. He tweeted: “Thank you all for the love and support tonight. I am grateful for you all and I know God has his plans set for me. They can punch me high and kick me low. It’s going to take more than that to break my soul! God bless everyone and Happy Holidays. See you all back in the ring in 2022”

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Isaac Dogboe vrs Christopher Diaz Bout

Tonight, serves us with an intriguing bout in the superbantam weight division of boxing between Ghanaian Isaac ‘the royal storm’ Dogboe and Puerto Rican Christopher Diaz. For Isaac Dogboe, this provides him another opportunity to rebuild his reputation so he can earn a title match against the best boxers in the division.

The former WBO superbantam weight champion was on an upward trajectory in his career in 2018 until two defeats against Emmanuel Navarrette, losing his belt to the Mexican. He has since won two bouts on the bounce and is looking to make it three consecutive victories against Christopher Diaz tonight. Isaac Dogboe has 24 career bouts, winning 22 and losing 2. This record includes 15 knockouts. Christopher Diaz on the other hand has 29 career fights, winning 26 and losing 3 with 16 knockouts.

The matchup will take place at the Michelob Ultra Arena at Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA. The fight night will begin on Saturday, November 20 at 9 p.m. ET

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The Resurgent Gunners

Arsenal Football Club have consistently underperformed for quite some time now, notably last season when they finished outside the European spots which is considered a monumental failure for a club that huge. There were calls for Spanish tactician Mikel Arteta to be fired but those rumblings have subsequently gone down.

The Gunners started the Premier League season with three straight loses including an opening day embarrassing defeat to newly promoted Brentford Football Club. The pressure heightened and it looked like the gaffer would not last a month into the season but since then the fortunes of Arsenal have changed and they are currently on the longest unbeaten run of any club in the premier league. They have gone 10 games unbeaten, a run that includes impressive wins against Leicester City and Tottenham Hotspurs. In all Arsenal have won 8 and drawn 2 in their last 10 games. It can be argued that Arsenal have benefitted from no European football distraction which helped them stay fresher for their PL games.

Their unimpressive start can be pardoned because they were missing a number of key players including Thomas Partey and Gabriel Magalhaes. The new signings have now been integrated fully and the improvement of the team is there for all to see. Aaron Ramsdale has been exceptional in between the sticks, pulling top class saves as well as his ball playing skills providing Arsenal with a new dimension in terms of their build up play. Japanese right back Tomiyasu has been pretty solid at right back for the gunners as well. Opposite wingman Tavares has also shown glimpses of what he can do.

Later today, they face rivals Liverpool Football Club and this presents the Gunners an opportunity to silence their critics and put the whole league on notice that they are a force to be reckoned with this season.

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The Jadon Sancho Conundrum

Manchester United’s £73m forward Jadon Sancho has been subject to enormous scrutiny over the past fortnight purely due to a consistent number of underwhelming performances. Missing out on the latest England call up confirms how underwhelming he has been. The 22year old forward came with a lot of expectation considering the price tag and the hullabaloo that accompanied his signing from Dortmund. He was supposed to be Manchester United’s marquee signing until Cristiano Ronaldo became available. For years, it became blatant that one of the positions Manchester United needed to strengthen was the right wing and the signing of Jadon Sancho was supposed to provide the needed quality in that position.

It is fair to say that, so far, the English winger has been a letdown. This can be blamed partly on his inability to grab games by the scruff of the neck as well as poor coaching. With Jadon Sancho, you cannot use the lack of acclimatization to English football as an excuse because he rose through the youth ranks of English football before subsequently making a move to Borussia Dortmund in Germany. So, what then is the issue? A change in position, poor coaching, a lack in confidence or a change in role?

Jadon Sancho in the past few years has primarily played as a right winger, that has always been his bread and butter but he has not had the opportunity to play in his favourite position at Manchester United frequently. In the current football dispensation, it is very rare to find lateral wingers as they are a diminishing breed in world football but not Sancho. He has always thrived in that role and evidences so far has pointed to the fact that he struggles playing as an inverted winger or as an “inside forward”. The dilemma here is his teammate Mason Greenwood has lockdown the right-wing position and it does not look like he will be displaced anytime soon. Marcus Rashford has returned after a long spell out with injury and has reclaimed the left wing starting spot and that has meant that, Jadon Sancho has had to settle for a place on the bench.

The Manchester United gaffer has not helped at all. This issue is rooted in the lack of a system exhibited by Manchester United. Very often, when you watch Jadon Sancho at Man Utd, it looks like he does not know what he is required to do. He has no chemistry with both fullbacks and as result, anything he tries to do is mostly spontaneous and lacking rhythm.

At Borussia Dortmund, Jadon Sancho thrived as the primary playmaker of the team whereas at Man Utd, the primary playmaking responsibility has always fallen on the shoulders of Paul Pogba and Bruno Fernandes. Playmaking is literally what Jadon Sancho does best but at Man Utd he is not getting enough touches of the ball to be able to do what he thrives at. At Dortmund, Jadon Sancho used to average 83 touches per 90 minutes but that has dropped to 64 touches per 90 minutes at Man Utd. He has always been more of playmaker than a goalscorer and he providing more assists than scoring goals accentuate this chain of thought. Jadon Sancho has not been the guy to run in behind defences expecting long balls from others, he prefers the ball to feet and has enjoyed being the player playing the through balls for other attackers to chase rather than being the one at the end of those balls.

Jadon Sancho was bought to be Manchester United’s go-to man in attack for the next decade but early glimpses have not been encouraging and there is a risk of him following the Anthony Martial trajectory where a wonderkid becomes the forgotten ma

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Glorious Accra Hearts of Oak

What a turnaround for the Continental Masters. Just in mid-February, Accra Hearts of Oak were in total anarchy and drastic measures had to be taken.

Assistant coach, Joseph Asare-Bediako had resigned due to the breach of a clause in his contract. Veteran manager, Kostas Papic was subsequently fired. Team manager Nii Saban Quaye was also axed by the club and Die-Hard fans of the club were infuriated by what had happened. To them, this sequence was all too familiar and that the changes were not going to result in any significant improvement as has been witnessed in times past. In fact, they staged a demonstration at the club’s secretariat to express their dissatisfaction with the occurrence. The uproar from the fan base was comprehensible because they had witnessed their club go 12 years without a League Title. They laid bare their demands and it included appointing a local head coach. Some fans went to the extent of suggesting current manager Samuel Boadu as a viable option.

The club’s front office listened and made the necessary adjustments including appointing Samuel Boadu and then signing midfield maestro Salifu Ibrahim. This was when the season turned around for the Phobians. In recent times, managerial changes by the Hearts of Oak did not necessarily yield the desired dividends but this was an exception.

The fortunes of Accra Hearts of Oak changed for the better. Albeit Samuel Boadu’s spell as Hearts of Oak manager did not come off to a brilliant start, picking up 13 out of a possible 21 points in his first 7 games, he subsequently got his squad playing brilliantly and that ended up with his side being crowned Champions of Ghana Football for first time in 12 years. Well, it did not end there. After a feisty 120 minutes battle against Kumasi based Ashanti Gold, the Phobians prevailed by winning 8-7 on penalties. For the first time since the year 2000, Accra hearts of Oak had done the double.

What an ending to a season that looked bleak at a point in time. The players and fans will have time to enjoy this glorious feat, but it is very essential that the club does not rest on it laurels and strengthen the team for the upcoming season.

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Phobians Seek Gladson Awako's Signature

Ghana Premier League giants, Accra Hearts of Oak are interested in veteran free agent Gladson Awako. Over the past few days, there has been rumblings of a probable agreement between the player and the club.

In the just ended season, the former TP Mazembe player consistently churned out a pool of tremendous performances for Accra Great Olympics and earned the status as one of the better midfielders in the country. Such performances earned him a call up to Senior National Team, the Blackstars of Ghana.

After winning the league, Accra Hearts of Oak have now turned their attention to the CAF Confederation Cup as they seek to represent Ghana on the African continent so bolstering their squad is highly expected and the signing of Gladson Awako is the perfect way to start.

Accra Great Olympics however, are desperate to retain the services of the 30 year old midfielder but will find it difficult to provide a financial package that outweighs the one being presented by the Phobians.

According to those close to the situation, it is highly likely that Gladson Awako wears the famous rainbow colours of Accra Hearts of Oak next season.

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Milwaukee Bucks Clinch 2021 NBA Championship

Led by Greek Basketball Player, Giannis Antetokounmpo, the Milwaukee Bucks last night won the 2021 NBA Championship after a 50 years dry spell. The Franchise last won a championship in the year 1971 with Kareem Abdul Jabbar as their kingpin. The Milwaukee Bucks swept the Baltimore Bullets with Kareem Abdul Jabbar posing 27 points, 18.5 rebounds and 2.8 assists earning him the finals MVP.

Last night, the Milwaukee Bucks ended the series with a 105-98 win over the Phoenix Suns. Giannis Antetokounmpo dropped 50 points, grabbed 14 rebounds and made 5 blocks. In addition, he was deservedly given the finals MVP award after his virtuoso performances throughout the series with 35/13/5 averages.

At a point in time during the finals, it appeared that this Championship campaign from the Bucks was going to be reminiscent to that of previous seasons especially considering how they embarrassingly got eliminated by the Toronto Raptors and then subsequently by the Miami Heat. Nonetheless, they weathered the storm and were able to overcome a 2-0 deficit.

Giannis had been subject to a lot of scrutiny in the last two post seasons and had a lot prove to his doubters and boy did he deliver. His co-star Khris Middleton had a rough start to the series but answered all calls with great performances in Game 3 and 4 and that essentially changed the dynamics of the series giving his side all the momentum they needed.

Head Coach Mike Buldenholzer made the needed adjustments after his side went 2-0 down and that made the difference throughout the rest of the series.

The Milwaukee Bucks team as it is will still contend for Championships in the near future. With Giannis Antetokounmpo locked down, they winning multiple Championships in the next 5 seasons is feasible.

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The Azzuri vrs The Three Lions Showdown Preview

At 7pm tonight, England and Italy will battle it out for who gets to sit on the throne as Kings of European Football. Both sides have been tremendous throughout the tournament and blown teams away but have also shown some grit when needed in tight game situations.

The Azzurri utterly brushed aside all teams in Group A earning 9 points, scoring 7 goals and conceding no goal. In the knockout stages, under the guidance of Roberto Mancini, they eliminated Austria by beating them, 2 goals to 1 in extra time, they beat world No.1 Belgium by 2 goals to 1 and subsequently beat former European Champions Spain 4-2 on penalties after a 1:1 drawn game. In all, the Azzurri have conceded 3 goals and scored 12 goals in 6 games. The Three Lions on the other hand won two games and drew once in Group D, earning 7 points, scoring twice and conceding no goal. They subsequently knocked out Germany, Ukraine and Denmark to reach the finals. The three lions of England beat Germany by 2 goals to nil, Ukraine by 4 goals to nil and then grinded out a 2:1 win against the Danes in extra time.

Head-to-head, the Azzurri have had the better record. They have beaten the Three Lions of England 11 times, drawn 8 and won 8 times.

But for Spinnazzola suffering an ACL injury, both teams would have had fully healthy squads. Now to the key men for both sides; Lorenzo Insigne and Raheem Sterling have been that good for respective sides, coming up clutch when needed. It is very likely that the one who performs best between the two players is likely going to drag his team to a Euro 2020 triumph.

In the pre match press conference, Gareth Southgate claimed that he and his squad would not rest on their laurel and are in the finals to win. He said: “But we’re in a final and we’re here to win. Now we want to go and bring the trophy home”. Italy gaffer, Roberto Mancini praised England’s performances in this tournament but also laid bare the brilliance of his team as well. He said: “England are a good side because they have a lot of good players on the bench, but if we have made it this far, it also means we are a good team”.

Unlike the English who have never won the Euros, Italy have tasted Euro triumph once but that was long ago in the year 1968 when they beat Yugoslavia by 2 goals to nil in a replay after the previous game ended 1:1 between the pair. Will the Three Lions of England win their first Euros or will the Azzurri add another to their trophy cabinet? We find out at 7pm tonight.

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The Obsolete Doc

Philadelphia Sixers Head Coach Doc Rivers has been subject to scrutiny recently and deservedly so. A few weeks ago, his side got eliminated by the Atlanta Hawks in a 7 games series albeit with home court advantage. Barely a year ago, he was head coach of the Clippers side that blew a 3-1 lead in Western Conference Semifinals.

This has been the issue with Doc Rivers over the part 8 years. To be fair, there are not many greater offensive minds in basketball better than Doc Rivers but he is probably the most robotic coach in the NBA. He is a typical old school head coach who does not make any adjustments but relies on the talents at his disposal to figure things out when the rubber meets the road.

Over the better part of the last decade, Doc Rivers has coached Superstars such as Kawhi Leonard, Paul George, Chris Paul, Blake Griffin, Joel Embiid, Ben Simmons and has still failed to make the conference finals even once. In his career as a coach, Doc Rivers haw blown three 3-1 leads in the playoffs more than any other manager, with one coming as Orlando Magic head coach and the latter two at the Los Angeles Clippers.

In the Denver Nuggets versus Los Angeles Clippers series, the adjustments Doc Rivers had to make were so clear for all to see. Montrezl Harrell and Lou Williams were defensive liabilities for the Clipper and hence their minutes had to be significantly reduced but Doc Rivers failed to do so. In games 5,6 and 7, the Denver Nuggets spotted that Achilles heel and vehemently exploited it. The infuriating part was that, in post-game interviews he admitted to having access to all the stats that proved that Montrezl Harrell and Lou Williams were unplayable yet, he still played them. That admission alone was a sackable offense and franchise owner Steve Ballmer did not hesitate to do so after the Clipper got eliminated.

In the Sixers-Hawks series, Doc Rivers had three of the top 4 players in Ben Simmons, Joel Embiid and Tobias Harris on his roster but however failed to beat the Hawks. The jury is still out on Doc Rivers, he is a puzzling coach to rate.

The only championship Doc Rivers has won was with the Celtics big three in 2008 where it was virtually impossible to lose because of the large talent disparity favoring his side.

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The Fury/Wilder Conundrum Part 2

So the hype that accompanied a probable third bout between Tyson Fury and Deontay Wilder had died down. In fact, the boxing fraternity was looking forward to a matchup between Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury to determine who becomes the undisputed best heavyweight boxer until there was a late twist.

Initially, both boxers had signed a trilogy contract that was binding which means a third match between the two boxers had to happen. Everyone was looking forward to the Anthony Joshua vrs Tyson Fury bout until a US Court ruling made that abundantly clear. The court gave a time frame for a third fight and that it had to happen before the 15th of September. The other way out this was if Tyson Fury could afford to provide Deontay Wilder a financial package. Deontay Wilder named a $20m price which resulted in Tyson Fury calling him a "joker" which meant that a third matchup was going to happen. Deontay Wilder in the past 16 months has given every excuse under the Sun as to why he got annihilated by Tyson Fury in their second bout. From blaming the weight of his costume, to his coach betraying him, among others. This matchup provides him another opportunity for redemption.

24th of July has been set as the date for the third fight between the "Bronze Bomber" and the "Gypsy King" and It will take place at the T Mobile Arena in Paradise, Nevada.

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Champions League Finale Preview

After 13 games played each, Chelsea and Manchester City circumvented their way to the finals of UEFA Champions League. Tonight, both clubs will lock horn at the Estadio do Dragao to see who assumes the throne as the Kings of European Football. This is the second time two English clubs will meet in the finals of the UCL within the past three years as Liverpool and Tottenham did same in 2019.

A Manchester City win will earn them their first European Trophy in the club's history whereas a Chelsea triumph will earn them their second UCL win equalling Nottingham Forest as the third most successful english club in this tournament.

In the past three games in all competitions between the sides, Chelsea have had the upper hand, winning two and losing just once.

Going into this game, both sides have fully fit rosters.

In his prematch interview Chelsea gaffer Thomas Tuchel accentuated the relevance of togetherness in this game. He said: “Tomorrow we will be there absolutely together, as a strong Chelsea group, to win this game and win this cup.”

Pep Guardiola pointed out the importance of even keeledness in games of such magnitude. He said: Pep Guardiola: "Some players go out there with tension, some struggle, but they have to handle this. I'm pretty sure we have to suffer to win the final."

At 7pm, the game will commence and both sides will be eager to win.

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Kobe Bryant's Hall Of Fame Induction

Tonight, a pantheon great, Kobe Bean Bryant will be inducted into the basketball Hall Of Fame. It is very deflating that Kobe Bryant is not around to read his own Hall Of Fame speech. His demise on the 26th of January 2020 in a helicopter crash, left a sour taste in the mouth of sports fans around the world.

In his nearly two decades basketball career, Kobe Bean Bryant churn out a myriad of iconic performances. He won 5 NBA Championships, 2 Finals MVP, 1 regular season MVP. He was an all-star 18times. He was a 4x NBA all-star game MVP. His resume is stacked and this has earned him the status as a first ballot Hall Of Famer.

Spouse Vanessa Bryant and daughter Natalia Bryant will stand in his place tonight.

Other Hall Of Fame inductees tonight include legendary San Antonio Spurs power forward Tim Duncan and Timberwolves kingpin Kelvin Garnett.

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LA Clippers: The Championship Dark Horse

The Los Angeles Clippers are a diamond hiding in plain sight. Many basketball fans are skeptical when it comes to tagging the Clippers as championship favorites and that is understandable considering the 3-1 blown lead in the Western Conference Semi Finals last year against the Denver Nuggets. However, it feels like they have become an underrated team.

This season, they boast of a top 10 offensive and defensive rating. They have the 3rd best offensive rating in the NBA at 116.7, the 6th best defensive rating at 110.5 and the 2nd best net rating at 6.2. The LA Clippers are also the best 3PT shooting team as well as the best freethrow shooting team.

In the off-season, they managed to remedy some of the problems they faced in the last post season. They axed the robotic Doc Rivers and replaced him with a more dynamic Head Coach in Tyrone Lue. The let go of 6th Man of the Year Montrezl Harell because he caused mayhem in the dressing room as well as his inability to guard bigs because of his undersized nature. They also traded Lou Williams for a more orthodox point guard in Rajon Rondo. The Clippers felt the Harell-Williams duo was not suited to a playoff environment primarily because they were liabilities defensively. The Denver series laid bare this fact and the Clippers have managed to address it.

All-star two guard, Paul George has been on a mission this season. His resurgence has been impressive and he making the all-star team this year after missing out last year accentuates this fact.

Head Coach Tyrone Lue has managed to get the best out of role players like Reggie Jackson, Luke Kennard, Marcus Morris, Ivica Zubac and Nicolas Batum. All have, in spells, proved their relevance to this Clippers team.

Kawhi Leonard has consistently proved why he's a top 3 player in basketball. Last year's Game 7 against the Denver Nuggets was one of the worst games in his career. This year, he has a chip on his shoulder to remind everyone just how good he is.

I know the Clippers can be puzzling at times but they have done everyone possible to correct their wrongs and this has provided them a platform to be able to win a championship.

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Champions League Finale Dress Rehearsal

The final before the final. Game week 35 of the Premier League served us with an intriguing matchup between Manchester City and Chelsea. It provided a glimpse as to how both sides will set up when they play each other on the 29th of May in the Champions League final.

Game commenced with Manchester City taking charge and dominating the possession stats. It was end to end until a piece of school boy defending from Andreas Christensen at the brink of halftime gave Manchester City an opening as Gabriel Jesus squared the ball to struggling Raheem Sterling for an easy tap in. In added time of the first half, a late challenge from English starlet, Billy Gilmour in the penalty box earned Manchester City a penalty. However a poor penalty from Sergio Aguero was saved by Sengalese shot stopper Edouard Mendy with ease. He attempted a panenka, Mendy easily read it and stayed centrally to make the save.

The second half was more of the same with both sides going at each other. Chelsea attacked more in this half as they were focused on getting an equalizer. The leveller came in the 63rd minute from ex Ajax star Hakim Ziyech. A low shot from within the box was enough to beat Manchester City goalkeeper Ederson.

The goal gave Chelsea more confidence to attack that Man City defence and they got rewarded for that. After a few goals being rule out as offiside, Chelsea finally got a late winner in the 93rd minute after Marcos Alonso tapped in a Timo Werner cross. The game ended [1:2]. This result delayed Manchester City's inevitable PL win.

Overall, Edouard Mendy was deservedly given The Man Of The Match award as his saves in the first half kept Chelsea in the game.

For the second consecutive time, Chelsea have defeated Manchester City in all competitions. Will the UCL final be a replication of this or will Pep Guardiola and his boys prove why they're force to reckon with this time around when it comes to European football?