Megan Rapinoe has added another award to her collection after the United States star beat Lucy Bronze and Alex Morgan to win the Ballon d Or Feminin.
The 34-year-old became a World Cup winner for the second time in July, claiming both the Golden Ball and the Golden Boot in France as her six goals helped Jill Ellis team retain their trophy.
That led to Rapinoe being named The Best FIFA Women s Player in September and she has now succeeded Ada Hegerberg by winning the second ever Ballon d Or Feminin.
England and Lyon right-back Bronze finished second in the voting while Rapinoe s USA team-mate Morgan was third.
. from is the 2019 Women s Ballon d Or winner!
— #BallondOr (@francefootball)
Rapinoe was not at the ceremony in Paris on Mo…
Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo are not among the final nominees for the 2020-21 Champions League positional awards.
On Friday, UEFA announced the 12 players, three per position, who could win the individual prizes on August 26.
The 12 players each received the most points in each positional category following a jury vote. The jury comprised coaches from the 32 clubs that entered into the group stage last season, as well as 55 journalists representing UEFA s 55 member associations. Coaches could not vote for players from their own teams.
Messi came fourth in the poll for the best forwards, while Ronaldo did not make the top 10. Each player was eliminated at the last-16 stage, Barcelona losing to Paris Saint-Germain and Juventus to Porto.
Five of the 12…
Holger Badstuber made his long-awaited return to action on Friday as the Bayern Munich defender played his first game since 2012.
Badstuber played for an hour as the defending Bundesliga champions claimed a 3-0 win in a pre-season friendly with the Red Baroons fan club.
The 25-year-old s appearance marked the first time he has played in a game since rupturing a cruciate ligament against Borussia Dortmund in December 2012.
And his return went to plan as the Germany international got nearly 60 minutes under his belt in a comfortable victory for Bayern.
David Alaba was the star of the show with two goals, the first a cracker from 25 yards and his second a free-kick after 17-year-old midfielder Daniel Hagler had doubled the lead.
Bayern and Badstuber …
The Jordan Love era in Green Bay hasn’t been all roses, but the Packers quarterback heads into a Thursday Night Football matchup vs. the Detroit Lions fresh off a comeback win over the New Orleans Saints.
With injuries on his offensive line, young pass catchers, and both his top wide receiver and Pro Bowl running back missing time, Love has been solid given the circumstances. Tonight, the cavalry returns in the form of Christian Watson and Aaron Jones.
Given how the Lions run defense has looked to start the season, Packers head coach Matt LaFleur could lean on his young franchise quarterback to pull off the win at Lambeau Field where the NFL odds have the Lions as 1.5-point road favorites in Week 4. Let’s break down the current TNF odds and how they spec…
The countdown to Christmas is coming at you like a runaway Polar Express, which means the pressure is on to wrap up your holiday gift giving wish lists.
The big debate facing yuletide shoppers is the same sticky scenario troubling NFL bettors this time of year: quantity versus quality.
Do you buy a bunch of cheaper gifts or a few really nice ones? Do you grab the pile of points with crap teams or look for NFL point spread picks on competitive clubs as short underdogs?
If the past two weeks are any evidence, short NFL underdog picks are the gift that keeps on giving. And big pups, well… enjoy your off-brand smart watch. I’m sure it’ll work fine.
Underdogs of six points or more are just 2-9 ATS, with double-digit dogs…
The Arizona Cardinals will try to get their offense on track in Week 7 as the Cards host the New Orleans Saints as slight favorites with a total of 45 Thursday night.
DeAndre Hopkins’ suspension is over but I’m backing another Arizona pass catcher, and whoever is under center for the Saints should have an easy time in the air. Arizona’s defense ranks dead last in success rate per drop back on the season.
Find out all my thoughts in my free NFL player prop picks for Thursday Night Football between the Saints and Cardinals.
Be sure to also check out Jason Logan’s full game betting analysis before kickoff!
…
The first bye weeks of the 2023 NFL season have arrived in Week 5, but that doesn’t mean the betting opportunities have dried up.
I’ve scoured the NFL odds and put together a parlay of my two top total plays, plus a same-game parlay involving the early-morning affair in London.
Read on for my free NFL picks.
…
Buckle up for an AFC West grudge match when the Los Angeles Chargers battle the Las Vegas Raiders this evening at Allegiant Stadium. The total for this TNF showdown opened at 42.5, but that was before Justin Herbert was lost to a season-ending injury and the Raiders laid an egg against the Minnesota Vikings in a positively odoriferous 3-0 defeat. The Over/Under is now available as low as 34.5, and could continue to dip as gametime approaches.
While there are a number of different subscription-based TV channels and streaming services available to watch tonight’s game, you can also live stream Chargers vs. Raiders directly from legal sports betting sites.
FanDuel, Caesars, BetRivers, and Fanatics Sportsbook are four of our most trusted NFL betting sites — …
The second week of the NFL preseason is upon us, and two teams who have yet to pick up their first win of the year will do battle in the Midwest on Saturday when the Detroit Lions visit the Kansas City Chiefs.
While Detroit will play things conservatively to protect its best players from injury, it looks like Andy Reid is set to give his starters plenty of run this weekend in preparation for the regular season. Will that lead to a big win?
Let’s get right into it with our Lions vs. Chiefs predictions and NFL picks for August 17.
Lions vs Chiefs prediction
My best betChiefs -7 (-112 at DraftKings)
My analysis
The Saturday outlook for the Kansas City Chiefs looks rosy. Andy Reid told reporters this week that he plans t…
A lacklustre England Under-21s suffered a nightmare start to Euro 2021 with a 1-0 defeat by Switzerland. The Nice striker Dan Ndoye’s 77th-minute winner decided the Group D game in Koper, Slovenia, on Thursday.
The impressive Bastien Toma hit a post for Switzerland and Andi Zeqiri was denied by Aaron Ramsdale in a deserved win for Mauro Lustrinelli’s side, who had only 34% of possession.
England 0-1 Switzerland: European Under-21 Championship – live!Read more
The extended tournament means the top two from the groups will qualify for May’s quarter-finals but Aidy Boothroyd’s team face an uphill battle with games against Portugal in Ljubljana on Sunday and Croatia in Koper next Wednesday.