THE SOCCER REPORT
Ronaldo powers Juventus to SuperCoppa trophy; Dynamo's Elis to stay put
Jan 22, 2019, 9:47 am
Photo courtesy of Nike, Inc.
English Premier League
Every goal from Matchday 23 in the Premier League | NBC Sports www.youtube.com
The race for the top four spots continues to intensify in the Premier League with Manchester United running hot with six straight wins. Their latest win over Brighton now puts the Red Devils three points out of a Champions League spot, thanks to Arsenal's 2-0 win over London rivals Chelsea. At the top of the table, Liverpool continue to march on despite complicating themselves a bit in an eventual 4-3 win over Crystal Palace. Manchester City also picked up three points with the hope of catching up if Liverpool were to slip up.
Top six: 1. Liverpool (60), 2. Manchester City (56), 3. Tottenham (51), 4. Chelsea (47), 5. Arsenal (44), 6. Manchester United (44)
Scoring leader: 16 - Mohamed Salah (Liverpool)
Assists leader: 10 - Eden Hazard (Chelsea FC)
Spain's La Liga
Top six: 1. FC Barcelona (46), 2. Atlético Madrid (41), 3. Real Madrid (36), 4. Sevilla (33), 5. Alavés (32), 6. Getafe (31)Scoring leader: 18 - Lionel Messi (FC Barcelona)
Assists leader: 10 - Lionel Messi (FC Barcelona)
German Bundesliga
The Bundesliga is back on after the end of the winter break. The top two dogs in the title fight- Dortmund and Bayern Munich - each picked up three points. The storyline here will be to see if Dortmund will be able to break Bayern's quest for a seventh consecutive league title. Dortmund's 1-0 win over Leipzig featured a unique matchup for American fans as U.S. men's national team players Christian Pulisic and Leipzig's Tyler Adams were on opposite ends of the sideline. Adams, who recently transferred to RB Leipzig from sister club New York Red Bulls, is still waiting to make his Bundesliga debut.
Top six: 1. Dortmund (45), 2. Bayern Munich (39), 3. Monchengladbach (36), 4. RB Leipzig (31), 5. Eintracht Frankfurt (30), 6. Wolfsburg (28)
Scoring leader: 13 - Luka Jović (Eintracht Frankfurt)
Assists leader: 8 - Sébastien Haller (Eintracht Frankfurt)
Italian Serie A
Juventus and A.C. Milan faced off midweek in the SuperCoppa Italiana final that was contested on foreign soil in Saudi Arabia. Cristiano Ronaldo scored the lone goal to pick up his first piece of silverware with his new club.
Top six: 1. Juventus (56), 2. Napoli (47), 3. Inter Milan (40), 4. Milan (34), 5. Roma (33), 6. Lazio (32)Scoring leader: 14 - Cristiano Ronaldo (Juventus) / Duván Zapata (Atalanta) / Fabio Quagliarella (Sampdoria)
Assists leader: 8 - Suso (A.C. Milan)
French Ligue 1
Top six: 1. PSG (53), 2. Lille (40), 3. Lyon (37), 4. Saint-Étienne (36), 5. Strasbourg (32, 6. Montpellier (31)Scoring leader: 17 - Kylian Mbappé (PSG)
Assists leader: 7 - Angel Di Maria (PSG) / Kenny Lala (Strasbourg) / Memphis Depay (Lyon) / Nicolas Pépé (Lille)
Dutch Eredivisie
Top three: 1. PSV Eindhoven (49), 2. Ajax (47), 3. Feyenoord (36)
Scoring leader: 15 - Luuk de Jong (PSV)
Assists leader: 9 - Arbër Zeneli (Heerenveen)
Belgian First Division A
Top three: 1. Genk (51), 2. Club Brugge (41), 3. Antwerp (41)
Scoring leader: 16 - Mbwana Samatta (Genk)
Assists leader: 12 - Hans Vanaken (Brugge)
Portuguese Primeira Liga
Top three: 1. Porto (46), 2. Benfica (41), 3. Braga (40)
Scoring leader: 12 - Dyego Sousa (Braga)Assists leader: 7 - Pizzi (Benfica)
Scottish Premier League
Top three: 1. Celtic (42), 2. Rangers (42), 3. Kilmarnock (41)
Scoring leader: 12 - Alfredo Morelos (Rangers)
Assists leader: 8 - James Tavernier (Rangers)
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Major League Soccer
Chris Duvall says winning mentality set on day one www.youtube.com
Preseason is officially underway for all 24 teams in Major League Soccer, including the hometown Houston Dynamo. The Dynamo will host an open practice at BBVA Compass Stadium on Saturday. The transfer saga surrounding star Alberth Elis appears to be over as reports from Honduras state that the player has agreed to forego his transfer demand, at least until the summer transfer window.
Up the road in Austin, Major League Soccer announced Austin FC as the newest club to join the league. The team will begin play in the 2021 season. Soccer Matters host Glenn Davis spoke exclusively with MLS Commissioner Don Garber and FOX Sports Analyst Alexi Lalas on what the addition of Austin means for the league and soccer in Texas.
Liga MX
Top eight: 1. Chivas Guadalajara (9), 2. Monterrey (7), 3. Toluca FC (6), 4. Lobos BUAP (6), 5. Club America (6), 6. Necaxa (6), 7. Tigres UANL (4), 8. Atlas (4)Scoring leader: 4 - Leonardo Ramos (Lobos BUAP)
Assists leader: 3 - Carlos Rodríguez (Monterrey)
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Upcoming Matches (All Times CT):
Tuesday, Jan. 22
1:30 p.m. - [Women's International Friendly] Spain vs. USA (ESPN2/Univision Deportes)
1:45 p.m. - [Portuguese League Cup] Benfica vs. Porto (fuboTV)
2:30 p.m. - [Copa Del Rey] Getafe vs. Valencia (beIN SPORTS)
Wednesday, Jan. 23
1:45 p.m. - [English League Cup] Burton Albion vs. Manchester City (ESPN+)
1:45 p.m. - [Scottish Premiership] Kilmarnock vs. Rangers (B/R Live)
2:30 p.m. - [Copa Del Rey] Sevilla vs. FC Barcelona (beIN SPORTS)
7:00 p.m. - [Argentine Superliga] River Plate vs. Union Santa Fe (Fanatiz)
Thursday, Jan. 24
12:30 p.m. - [Copa del Rey] Espanyol vs. Real Betis (beIN Sports)
1:45 p.m. - [English League Cup] Chelsea vs. Tottenham (ESPN+)
2:30 p.m. - [Copa del Rey] Real Madrid vs. Girona (beIN Sports)
Friday, Jan. 25
1:30 p.m. - [Bundesliga] Hertha Berlin vs. Schalke (FS2/Univision Deportes)
1:45 p.m. - [Scottish Cup] Cowdenbeath vs. Rangers (ESPN+)
1:55 p.m. - [English FA Cup] Arsenal v Manchester United (ESPN+)
Saturday, Jan. 26
8:30 a.m. - [Bundesliga] Borussia Dortmund vs. Hannover (FS1/Univision Deportes)
8:30 a.m. - [Bundesliga] Monchengladbach vs. Augsburg (FS2)
9:00 a.m. - [English FA Cup] Manchester City v Burnley (ESPN+)
9:15 a.m. - [La Liga] Atletico Madrid vs. Getafe (beIN Sports)
11:30 a.m. - [Bundesliga] Werder Bremen vs. Frankfurt (FS2)
1:30 p.m. - [Serie A] A.C. Milan vs. Napoli (ESPN+)
1:45 p.m. - [La Liga] Athletic Bilbao vs. Real Betis (beIN Sports)
Sunday, Jan. 27
9:15 a.m. - [La Liga] Girona vs. FC Barcelona (beIN Sports)
10:00 a.m. - [English FA Cup] Crystal Palace v Tottenham (ESPN+)
11:00 a.m. - [Serie A] Torino vs. Inter Milan (ESPN+)
12:00 p.m. - [English FA Cup] Chelsea v Sheffield Wednesday (ESPN+)
1:30 p.m. - [Serie A] Lazio vs. Juventus (ESPN+)
1:45 p.m. - [La Liga] Espanyol vs. Real Madrid (beIN Sports)
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How new leadership represents a fraction of intricate puzzle facing Astros
Apr 25, 2024, 1:11 pm
Dusty Baker has won the fourth Lifetime Achievement Award presented by Baseball Digest.
The beloved Baker retired following the 2023 season after spending 56 years in the majors as a player, coach and manager. He was honored Thursday with an annual distinction that “recognizes a living individual whose career has been spent in or around Major League Baseball and who has made significant contributions to the game.”
Willie Mays won the inaugural award in 2021, followed by Vin Scully in 2022 and Joe Torre last year.
“Receiving this award is a tremendous honor,” Baker said in a news release. “I never thought that I’d be in the class of the people that received this award. I know that my late mom and dad would be proud of me. This is really special.”
The 74-year-old Baker broke into the big leagues as a teenager with the Atlanta Braves in 1968 and played 19 seasons. He made two All-Star teams, won two Silver Slugger awards and earned a Gold Glove in the outfield.
He was the 1977 NL Championship Series MVP and finished fourth in 1980 NL MVP voting before helping the Los Angeles Dodgers win the 1981 World Series.
Following his playing career, Baker was a coach for the San Francisco Giants from 1988-92 and then became their manager in 1993. He won the first of his three NL Manager of the Year awards with the Giants that season and spent 26 years as a big league skipper, also guiding the Chicago Cubs, Cincinnati Reds, Washington Nationals and Houston Astros.
Baker took all those teams to the playoffs, winning 10 division crowns, three pennants and finally a World Series championship in 2022 with the Astros. He ranks seventh on the career list with 2,183 wins and is the only manager in major league history to lead five franchises to division titles.
In January, he returned to the Giants as a special adviser to baseball operations. Baker's former team is 7-18 under new Astros manager Joe Espada.
“On behalf of Major League Baseball, I am honored to congratulate Dusty Baker as the 2024 recipient of Baseball Digest’s Lifetime Achievement Award. He joins an incredible club," Commissioner Rob Manfred said. "Dusty represents leadership, goodwill, and winning baseball. His ability to connect with others, across generations, is second to none. He is a championship manager and player. But, most importantly, Dusty is an extraordinary ambassador for our national pastime.”
Baker was selected in voting by an 18-member panel from a list of candidates that also included Bob Costas, Sandy Koufax, Tony La Russa, Jim Leyland, Rachel Robinson and Bud Selig, among others.