A few days ago, Madonna‘s brother, Anthony Ciccone, died at the age of 66, and although several media outlets criticized the superstar for not looking after her brother, PageSix reported that despite the tension in their relationship, Anthony had been in a treatment center in Michigan that was paid for by Madonna.
According to reports, Anthony actively struggled with alcoholism and his living situation was precarious, to the point that he was homeless, but he had mental health issues and rejected help from his family.
“Madonna helped support her brother when he accepted that support,” said a source. During his last months, Anthony was in contact with his family and Madonna, but he rejected the support offered by the rehabilitation center, and it was clear that he was ready to move on.”
The cause of death has not been revealed
TMZ reported that two days before Anthony’s death, he tried to remove his feeding and breathing tubes while seeking treatment. According to reports, Ciccone had also lost a significant amount of weight towards the end of his life. The cause of his death has not yet been revealed.
The Material Girl posted a tribute to her brother on Monday, via her Instagram Story, thanking him for introducing her to various artists and ideas when they were growing up.
“Thank you for blowing my mind when I was young and introducing me to Charlie Parker / Miles Davis / Buddhism / Taoism / Charles Bukowski / Richard Brautigan / Jack Kerouac / Expansive Thinking / Outside the Box,” wrote Madonna.
Witnesses claim that despite the difficult relationship between Madonna and her brother, she did what she could to help him in his struggle with addiction, but he ultimately succumbed to his problems and precarious health at the age of 66.
Shane Lowry finished T5 at the PGA Honda Classic, succumbing to eventual winner Chris Kirk who broke an eight-year drought to win the title.
He fell behind and just couldn’t keep up with Kirk or Eric Cole, who forced a playoff for the victory. Lowry opened up about the loss via the Independent:
“I played lovely, and I just couldn’t get it going. I started to get uncomfortable on the greens early on, and that was the way it was the whole day. Disappointing, but I had a lot of positives to take from this week.”
He added:
“I have to look at the positives. Obviously, I didn’t get the job done today. I just never got it going. I hit the ball well enough to get into contention but just didn’t hole the putts.”
Nevertheless, a top-10 finish in itself is a good thing for Shane Lowry. It’ll help his OWGR rank, which is currently 19th, and it helps for FedEx Cup standings as well.
“Some nice FedExCup points. My golf game is in a place where I’m happy with it. I’m going into a nice stretch of – a nice part of the season,” he continued.
“After my week in Phoenix, I was a little bit lost, and you’re standing there, and I was 180th or something in the FedExCup,” Lowry added. “You’re like, I need to make some FedExCup points soon. I’ve had two nice weeks, and hopefully, I can build on this going forward now.”
It’s still early, but Lowry has begun the season well and will hope to continue building on that success.
Shane Lowry reveals why he wears green and white ribbons
Those watching his latest PGA Tour outing may have noticed that Shane Lowry was sporting a green and white ribbon. This wasn’t for a trivial reason. On Thursday morning, the same day the tournament started, Lowry’s uncle died.
“Yeah, my dad’s brother, unexpected. It’s a very sad week for our family. To be honest, I wanted to go home on Thursday when I heard the news. A lot of people talked me out of it.”
Shane Lowry came up just short at The Honda Classic
He also said that he wanted to play for his uncle during the tournament:
“I’m here now. I’m trying to play for him and play for his wife and his kids and my cousins and my uncles and my aunts and everyone at home because we’re a very close family and very proud of our name and very proud of where we come from. Green and white is just where he’s from.”
He finished, adding:
“Yeah, hopefully, I can go out and make him proud tomorrow. Everyone keeps telling me how proud he was of me over the last number of years, and hopefully, I can do him another day proud tomorrow.”
Ultimately, Shane Lowry fell short of honoring his late uncle with a victory, but a top-10 finish and another strong appearance in 2023 will certainly make his family proud.
After Kevin Durant was traded at the deadline on Feb. 9, many have waited patiently for him to make his Phoenix Suns’ debut. The former MVP has been sidelined since early January due to an MCL injury.
Amid recent developments, it appears the wait is over. The Phoenix Suns announced on Twitter that KD is expected to suit up against the Charlotte Hornets on Wednesday.
Kevin Durant is expected to make his Phoenix Suns debut tomorrow in Charlotte.
Kevin Durant is expected to make his Phoenix Suns debut tomorrow in Charlotte.
Before getting injured, Kevin Durant was in the midst of an MVP-level season for the Brooklyn Nets. In 39 games, he is averaging 29.7 points, 6.7 rebounds and 5.3 assists.
At long last, the NBA world will finally get its first glimpse of Durant alongside Chris Paul, Devin Booker and Deandre Ayton.
Kevin Durant has limited time to make it work with Phoenix Suns
When the Phoenix Suns traded away a haul of assets to bring in KD, expectations instantly skyrocketed. Upon adding the two-time Finals MVP, they are now at the top of the list of championship contenders.
Phoenix (33-29) might have all the pieces to make an NBA Finals run, but one thing they are lacking is time. Including his debut against the Charlotte Hornets on Wednesday, Durant and the Suns have just 20 games to gel before the postseason.
On top of making things mesh with their new core, the Suns also have little margin for error in the standings. The Western Conference standings have been air-tight all season as multiple teams want to make a deep playoff push.
Right now, the Suns sit in fourth place and are three games behind the Sacramento Kings (35-25) for third. That being said, only three games separate the Phoenix and the 11th-place Portland Trail Blazers (29-31). If they don’t come out of the gates hot, it could completely change their path to the NBA Finals.
One thing they have going for them is that KD has proven to be the best plug-and-play player in history. His skill set allows him to easily fit into any system no matter what kind of talent is around him. This should allow Phoenix to have minimal growing pains as the new star enters the fold.
Phoenix also has one of the best floor generals in the game to fall back on. Chris Paul is still one of the top facilitators in the league and will make sure everyone gets the proper touches.
With Kevin Durant’s debut in place now, all the league can do is wait to see if it has another superteam on its hands.
Phil Foden struck twice as Manchester City eased into the FA Cup quarter-finals with a 3-0 win against Bristol City, while 2021 winners Leicester suffered a shock 2-1 defeat against second tier Blackburn.
Pep Guardiola’s side were never in danger of a giant-killing in the fifth round tie at Ashton Gate thanks to Foden’s brace and a late strike from Kevin De Bruyne.
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City will hope for another boost when Premier League leaders Arsenal, two points ahead of the champions, face Everton in their game in hand.
De Bruyne returned after missing two games through illness, while Kalvin Phillips started for only the second time since joining City from Leeds last year.
City took a seventh minute lead when Riyad Mahrez crossed to the far post, where Foden fired into the roof of the net.
Phil Foden put on a show. (Photo by Shaun Botterill/Getty Images)Source: Getty Images
Foden doubled City’s lead after 74 minutes as Julian Alvarez flicked towards Foden, who produced another clinical finish past Max O’Leary.
De Bruyne got the visitors’ third from long-range in the 81st minute to ensure the smoothest of nights for the six-time FA Cup winners.
It was an impressive game for Foden and one that meant a lot given the adversity he has faced, with the Manchester City star opening up on the “lowest parts” of his career post-game.
“I am feeling much better in my feet,” Foden said, reflecting on injuries and time spent out of the team.
“You know it is not easy sometimes when you play with discomfort in your feet.
“I feel 100 per cent fit now and comfortable so hopefully I can come back into the team and help them as much as possible. It has definitely [been frustrating], it has been one of the lowest parts of my career but everyone goes through them, it’s how you react.”
LEICESTER ‘BULLIED’ AND BOOED OFF AFTER SHOCK DEFEAT
Leicester were booed off by angry fans after Blackburn ended the Foxes’ bid to reach a second FA Cup final in three seasons.
Brendan Rodgers led Leicester to the club’s first ever FA Cup triumph in 2021, but Rovers punished woeful defending from the Premier League side to shatter their hopes of emulating that run.
With Leicester 14th in the top-flight, just three points above the relegation zone, Rodgers made six changes to the side beaten by Arsenal at the weekend and paid the price for his gamble.
Jon Dahl Tomasson’s side, fourth in the Championship, are into the last eight for the first time since 2015.
Rovers took the lead when Tyrhys Dolan curled home from the edge of the area in the 33rd minute.
Blackburn won the match 2-1. (Photo by DARREN STAPLES / AFP)Source: AFP
Sammie Szmodics made it 2-0 to Blackburn seven minutes after the break following good work by Sam Gallagher.
Kelechi Iheanacho netted from Harvey Barnes’ pass in the 67th minute, but Blackburn held on.
“Leicester are a strange team they suffer some real poor results and performances and then they can go on a run,” former Everton midfielder Leon Osman said on BBC Sport.
“They are a team in transition but performances like tonight will always worry a manager, they were bullied by at times by a Championship team here and they will need to get that out of their system.”
As for Blackburn, Osman said based on Wednesday’s game, they are “onto bigger and better things”.
“They showed all the different styles of how to win a game and dominated Leicester at all of them,” he said.
“They have group of young players who are going to develop and it is really enjoyable to see.”
It was a disappointing result for Leicester. (Photo by Alex Pantling/Getty Images)Source: Getty Images
FULHAM’S STUNNING 13-YEAR FIRST
Manor Solomon scored for the fourth time in four game as Fulham beat Leeds 2-0 at Craven Cottage to make the last eight for the first time since 2010.
Fulham, who have exceeded all expectations to climb to sixth place in the Premier League this year, took the lead through Joao Palhinha’s superb 25-year curler in the 21st minute.
Palhinha’s strike came after Georginio Rutter thought he had scored his first goal for Leeds when he tapped home after Marek Rodak had palmed the ball into his path.
But referee Chris Kavanagh ruled it out for a foul in the area and VAR did not intervene.
Israel forward Solomon, on loan from Shakhtar Donetsk, finished off Leeds in the 56th minute, curling in from the edge of the area after playing a one-two with Aleksandar Mitrovic.
Fulham can still dream of a first FA Cup final appearance since 1975.
Fulham celebrates after scoring. (Photo by Clive Rose/Getty Images)Source: Getty Images
But it was a first defeat for new Leeds boss Javi Gracia, whose side won 1-0 against fellow strugglers Southampton in the Premier League last weekend.
Brighton won 1-0 at second tier Stoke to reach the quarter-final for the third time in the last six seasons.
The Seagulls, who beat holders Liverpool in the fourth round, remain in the hunt for a first FA Cup final appearance since 1983.
Brighton landed the decisive blow in the 30th minute when teenage forward Evan Ferguson met Kaoru Mitoma’s pass with a close-range finish.
Among the four remaining fifth-round ties on Thursday, League Cup winners Manchester United host West Ham, while Tottenham travel to Sheffield United.
One veteran quarterback could be off the market before he even reached it this offseason.
According to Myles Simmons of Pro Football Talk, new Tennessee Titans general manager Ran Carthon told reporters Tuesday at the NFL combine he’s “excited about moving forward with” Ryan Tannehill on the roster.
“I just want to speak freely for a moment, I know everybody wants to make a big deal out of the quarterback position and whether he will or won’t be here,” Carthon said during his comments. “But you guys just have to accept the fact that Ryan is under contract for us and right now he is a Titan and he will be a Titan.”
Carthon raised eyebrows shortly after he accepted the Tennessee gig when he said last month he needed “more time to evaluate and make those decisions” regarding the futures of players such as Tannehill.
According to Nick Suss of The Nashville Tennessean, the Titans could save $27 million against the salary cap by waiving or trading Tannehill after June 1.
Tannehill is in the final year of his contract, and Carthon said Tuesday it wouldn’t be “fair” to the 34-year-old to publicly speak about the two parties potentially altering the deal to decrease the quarterback’s cap number.
Carthon also praised Tannehill for his commitment to rehabbing the ankle issue that cost him five games this past season.
“He’s in the building every day. He’s doing his work and he’s around the guys so I respect that about him,” Carthon added about Tannehill.
The New York Jets reportedly are high on Tannehill to the point that they may have him as high as third among their options for the position this winter.
Gang Green still doesn’t know if Green Bay Packers star Aaron Rodgers would facilitate a trade to New York or if free agent Derek Carr will potentially sign elsewhere.
Jets general manager Joe Douglas made it clear on Tuesday that somebody such as Tannehill will have to mentor 2021 second-overall draft pick Zach Wilson. Tannehill initially sounded annoyed about having to work with then-rookie Malik Willis last spring, but the two silenced any chatter about a possible issue well before the start of the season.
Manchester City are through to the quarter-finals of the FA Cup after a comfortable 3-0 win at Championship side Bristol City.
Kevin De Bruyne returned after missing two games through illness to captain Manchester City.
England midfielder Kalvin Phillips started for only the second time since leaving Leeds in a side showing five changes from Saturday’s Premier League win at Bournemouth, with Ederson, Jack Grealish and Erling Haaland among those on the bench.
Bristol City made one change to the side that stretched their unbeaten run to 12 games on Saturday by beating Hull, with Nahki Wells replacing the cup-tied Anis Mehmeti in the Sky Bet Championship side’s attack.
Phillips struck the crossbar from 25 yards after 63 seconds before Bristol City fashioned their first chance, Manuel Akanji’s slip allowing Sam Bell a shooting opportunity which was deflected wide.
Manchester City took a seventh-minute lead when Riyad Mahrez and De Bruyne worked a clever one-two for the Algerian to cross to the far post where Phil Foden fired high into the roof of the net.
Foden doubled Manchester City’s lead after 74 minutes.
De Bruyne found Nathan Ake with a delicious pass and Julian Alvarez helped it on to Foden, who produced another clinical finish past Max O’Leary in the Robins goal.
City claimed a third goal after 81 minutes to kill off the tie.
De Bruyne was left in space 20 yards out and arrowed a shot in to the bottom corner.
Communicate! It’s the age-old command soccer players hear from their coaches constantly. But, it’s one of the things that individual players will often say they need to do more of. And, when teams huddle and captains give pep talks, “we need to communicate more” is one of the lines that often comes up.
For many socceristas, communication is not an issue. They are confident in their ability to lead well from the field, direct the ball from player to player, and speak up to take control of the game. But for others, talking more in soccer continues to be challenging year after year.
When players feel stuck–like when ‘communicating more’ seems impossible for them to overcome–it is likely because the root of the problem lies much deeper than it looks.
Here are several reasons why some players struggle to communicate with their teammates effectively:
they don’t know what to say
they are worried they might say the wrong thing
they believe no communication is better than bad communication
they are afraid they will be held responsible if they give bad information
they are worried they will be labeled as ‘bossy’ if they appear to be telling their teammates what to do
If we take a closer look at these, we can see that some are simply due to a need to grow game awareness and tactical knowledge (not knowing what to say, for example). And then all the rest fall under the umbrella of being concerned with what others think of you and not wanting to do anything that risks you being a part of the group.
This GSN article on over-apologizing in women’s soccer explains the situation well, “girls are implicitly and explicitly taught to be more of people-pleasers than boys from the time they start playing in the sandbox,” and “bossy, know-it-all girls are more likely to experience backlash in female social groups.”
These two statements sum up the age-old communication problem in girls’ soccer. Girls are socially conditioned to be hyperaware of everyone else’s feelings and opinions. So they learn to keep the peace and do what it takes to have others like them. They shift their behavior so that they don’t ruffle any feathers.
However, these ingrained ways of operating create many challenges on the soccer field. They hold back both players and teams from playing to their full potential. Here are several suggestions for combatting this issue and ‘communicating more’ on the soccer field.
Building trust in your team
When teammates trust each other, they play better soccer. Because when teammates trust each other, their concerns about being liked, saying the wrong thing or being called bossy all go out the window because they know deep down that they have each other’s backs no matter what happens.
However, this is a team effort. It requires a culture shift from the entire group–both the players who want to talk more and those who already do.
If you are the teammate of someone who struggles to communicate, you have a role in this. You absolutely stand to gain individually because the entire team will have more success as the trust builds.
If your teammate is quiet on the field, don’t get angry with her. Instead, support her and encourage her to give you information. If you play next to her on the field, try to help her gain confidence by asking her for information. Then express your gratitude when she gives it to you. This will go a long way in improving your connectivity and ability to work together on the pitch.
Individual awareness, growth-mindedness, and confidence
Along with doing your part to help create a team culture of trust, here are some tips to help you overcome your communication hurdle if you struggle to talk more in soccer:
Self-awareness & self-reflection: Simply knowing why ‘communicating more’ is hard for you (use the bullet point list above) is a huge first step. If you don’t know why you struggle to communicate, overcoming it will be near impossible.
Growth-mindedness: Once you know why talking more in soccer is hard, you can work on making changes. Self-compassion is essential here because you must be self-reflective without being overly critical and beating yourself up. This can be complicated as it requires a lot of reflective work, self-examination, and a growth-minded perspective.
Grow your confidence: How do you grow confidence? Through preparedness. And in this case of communication, preparedness means collecting more information in the run of play. The more you scan the field, the more you keep your head on a swivel and check your shoulder, the easier and easier communicating will get. Why? Because communication is mostly about making sure you have information and feeding that information to your teammates so they have what they need to make good choices. The whole group can make better gameplay decisions when the information flow is constant and reliable.
Listen up, socceristas; your communication is valuable to your teammates. Whether you think so or not, your words are an important part of the puzzle. Your teammates will play better the more information you give them.
Think about this: is it helpful when the person behind you on the soccer field is feeding you information about what is around you? Do you play better? Of course, you do! Now, what would happen to the gameplay of the players around you if you started paying that forward?
Five months out from the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup, and the United States women’s national team appears undecided on its center-back situation. Three players are battling for two positions. Head coach Vlatko Andonovski rotated his pairings in the recent SheBelieves Cup — Alana Cook and Becky Sauerbrunn against Canada; Cook and Naomi Girma against Japan; Girma and Sauerbrunn against Brazil.
Of this trio, Girma is the most junior. At 22, she is three years younger than Cook. She is also the least experienced, with 14 caps to Sauerbrunn’s 214. However, over the last few months, Girma has made a strong case for being the first defender Andonovski writes down on his team sheet when the World Cup begins. The question is: Will she be?
There were times in the SheBelieves Cup where the U.S. leaned on its back line, particularly in the 1-0 win over Japan. Japan dictated play early, then attacked in waves in the second half, searching relentlessly for an equalizer. The Americans required a solid performance from goalkeeper Casey Murphy, and duly got one. They also needed their defense to engage more than usual to stop attacks getting that far, and Girma led the way, obstructing shots, cutting out through balls, heading away crosses.
The minute preceding the game’s only goal was a microcosm of what makes the youngster so reliable. On 43 minutes and 19 seconds, she intercepted a pass to prevent Japanese striker Riko Ueki from getting in on goal, then slid in to stop Yui Hasegawa from having a clear shooting chance. Ten seconds later, Girma made a headed clearance to repel a long ball, helping the U.S. defense move up the field. There was no switching off, no loss of focus, no slowing down as she fended off attack after attack. It was a comprehensive, resilient display.
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Everton boss Sean Dyche was unable to make a single addition to his first-team squad in the January transfer window and will now have to avoid the drop without any reinforcements.
The Toffees are currently 18th in the Premier League table and have a real battle on their hands to avoid dropping down to the Championship next season.
However, the club already have one eye on what they could do in the summer if they are able to retain their top-flight status as Nottingham Forest left-back Renan Lodi is reportedly a target.
Steve Cooper’s side have an option to sign him permanently from Atletico Madrid for €30m (£26m) at the end of his current loan spell but are said to be set to pass up on the chance to exercise it, with the Spanish side willing to negotiate with the Toffees over a deal if that comes to pass.
Could Renan Lodi replace Vitaliy Mykolenko?
Dyche must now swoop to sign the Brazilian defender as it may allow him to brutally ditch current left-back Vitality Mykolenko from the side heading into the 2023/24 campaign.
Should Everton sign Renan Lodi?
Yes
No
Journalist Richard Buxton recently criticised the full-back, dubbing him the “defensive weak link” in the side, whilst stating that he is “getting turned over so regularly.”
The Ukraine international has been dribbled past 19 times in 24 Premier League appearances with that an indication opponents are finding it too easy to get past him out wide, as they are dribbling by him 0.8 times per game.
Mykolenko has not made up for his defensive shortfalls with attacking quality as the defender ranks in the bottom 26% or lower of players in his position in Europe’s top five leagues over the last 365 days for successful take-ons and assists per 90.
Lodi, whose “lung bursting” runs were hailed by journalist Josh Bunting, ranks in the 32nd and 69th percentiles in assists and take-ons per 90 respectively, suggesting that the Brazilian, who scored six goals and provided ten assists in 118 games for Atletico, would offer more at the top end of the pitch.
The 24-year-old has also won 54% of his duels in the Premier League this season, whereas Mykolenko has lost 53% of his. That is proof of the Forest man being an upgrade on the Everton defender in terms of the defensive strength he offers on the pitch.
Therefore, Dyche could brutally ditch the left-back by signing Lodi from Atletico in the summer as the Forest loanee could offer more at both ends of the pitch.
Indeed, the “attacking threat” – as Josh Bunting once lauded him – is far more efficient in winning possession back and providing more quality in on the ball to make things happen going forward.
Chelsea sold Timo Werner to RB Leipzig, loaned out Romelu Lukaku to Inter Milan and sold Michy Batshuayi to Fenerbahce last summer, but the strikers they brought in to replace them haven’t been delivering, so Football Insider say Graham Potter is ‘weighing up’ bringing Tammy Abraham back to Stamford Bridge.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang only has one goal in 12 Premier League appearances this season, netted three in 18 games overall, so he’s flopped in West London. Raheem Sterling only has four goals in 18 league games since leaving Manchester City, so he’s not been the best signing either.
Armando Broja scored nine goals while on loan at Southampton last season but only has one goal back at Chelsea this campaign. David Datro Fofana scored 24 goals with 10 assists for Molde FK before making the switch, but the 20-year-old is goalless from his first three appearances.
Chelsea are 13th in the league for goals, scoring only 23 times in 24 games. They don’t have an attacker in the squad with more than five goals to their name this season, so Abraham could make a big difference.
The 25-year-old joined AS Roma in 2021 and has gone on to make 85 appearances in all competitions, scoring 34 goals with 10 assists. Per Fabrizio Romano’sCaught Offside column, his release clause to Chelsea is €80m (£70m) next summer.
Abraham endured a slow start to the season with only two goals in 13 Serie A games, but he’s since bagged four goals and two assists in his last 10. The England international was an academy graduate at Chelsea, scoring 10 goals in 11 games for the U18s, 12 goals with four assists in 16 games for the U19s, and 13 goals with four assists for the U21s, so he knows the club well.
Abraham has three-and-a-half years remaining on his deal at the Stadio Olimpico and Roma may want to keep him for a third season, so Chelsea could have their work cut out. They currently sit 10th in the table and have gone five games without a win, so they’re not an attractive destination right now.
Roma, on the other hand, are only three points adrift of second-placed Inter, so they’re battling for a Champions League spot and their highest league finish since 2017.
