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Gunners slip to meek 2-1 defeat at Craven Cottage ‘What happened today, it cannot happen again’ Mikel Arteta bemoaned Arsenal’s meek New Year’s Eve 2-1 defeat at Fulham as the club’s worst performance of the season, warning that they will come nowhere near challenging for the title if they repeat it. From their position at the top of the table a few weeks before Christmas, Arsenal have now dropped 11 points in their past five games, leaving them in fourth place at the turn of the year. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/bP36DSX

Luke ‘the Nuke’ tipped to be Lionel Messi of darts as he reaches quarter-final on way to £500,000 prize On Saturday night, as the 16-year-old darts sensation Luke “the Nuke” Littler surged to an easy win over one of the game’s greatest ever players, a TV commentator remarked: “It’s almost as if the kebab shop is closing at 10 and he’s rushing to get there on time.” The Warrington teenager is known for celebrating wins with a takeaway and was landing repeated 180s as he swatted aside Raymond van Barneveld, who had won several world titles before Littler was even born. There was something paternal about how the older champion congratulated the rising star. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/vczMXo9

The Magpies manager needs results but his side face Liverpool, City and Villa in the league – and Sunderland in the FA Cup When results go awry, football clubs tend to have only one response. Sometimes the act is undertaken with a sense of ruthlessness, sometimes relief, sometimes with the dutiful sombreness of somebody taking a faithful labrador to the vet for the final time, but always there is a feeling of necessity. “I’m sorry, Nigel/Antonio/Steve, but there’s no other way.” Inevitably, though, the result is the same: whatever is going wrong at the club, however good a job has been done before, the manager is the one who takes the blame. That is just the nature of the modern game. Managers may just about be given time to work their way through a dip, but nobody ever sees the other side of a slough. Which should concern Eddie Howe. Newcastle are in a dip at the moment, the Christmas defeats by Luton and Nottingham Forest meaning they have lost eight of their last 12 games. They a

2nd ODI: Australia, 8-258, beat India, 8-255, by three runs Annabel Sutherland’s late wickets seal dramatic series win Australia absorbed Deepti Sharma’s historic five-wicket haul and Richa Ghosh’s batting masterclass to notch a nailbiting, series-clinching three-run win over India in the second women’s one-day international in Mumbai. After a bungling, butterfingered fielding display from India allowed Australia to post eight for 258, the hosts looked well on track in their reply at Wankhede Stadium on Saturday (Sunday AEDT) before faltering late to finish on eight for 255. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/YobVBwO

Galatasaray and Fenerbahce were set to play in Riyadh on Friday Tribute to founder of modern Turkey was reportedly rejected The Turkish Super Cup final between Galatasaray and Fenerbahce scheduled to be played in Saudi Arabia’s capital, Riyadh, on Friday was postponed over what the clubs have described as “some problems” in the event’s organisation. At the heart of those issues, according to media reports, was the wish of the two teams to wear T-shirts featuring the founder of modern Turkey, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, during the warm-up before the evening kick-off. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/LoIR2VA

A charismatic performer and fine composer who played a key role in the development of bossa nova The singer, composer and guitarist Carlos Lyra, who has died aged 90, played a key role in the development of bossa nova, the “new wave” in Brazilian music of the late 1950s. This cool, sophisticated fusion of samba-canção (samba song), jazz and western classical influences emerged from the bars and clubs of Rio de Janeiro to become massively popular in the US and around the world. Unlike many other early bossa heroes, Lyra was both a charismatic performer and a fine songwriter, known for his exquisite melodies. He was also determined to bring a political edge into a style associated with gently languid songs about young women and sunshine. Interviewed for the BBC series Brasil, Brasil in 2007, he told me that bossa was “the discreet charm of the bourgeoisie … something that came from the middle class for the middle class”. And this was something that he was determined to change. Continu

Updates as all 24 Championship clubs play on a packed night Any comments? Feel free to email Dominic Half time: Southampton 0-0 Plymouth. Wigan v Carlisle is about to kick off. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/ay3pES8