O’Neill dispensed with the dysfunctional 4-4-1-1 formation that resulted in a capitulation against Belgium in Bordeaux and sprung a surprise by opting for an attack-minded 4-1-4-1/4-3-3 shape, with Shane Long in a right wing role and Daryl Murphy leading the line. Citing age-related fatigue in his pre-match interview with RTE, O’Neill controversially omitted John O’Shea, Wes Hoolahan and Glenn Whelan from the starting XI. Ciaran Clark was also, unsurprisingly, dropped after contributing to two concessions in Ireland’s first two games....

A taxicab carrying the Manchester City star from a concert to the airport in Amsterdam hit a post, and Aguero suffered the injury that would keep him out of a total of four matches for club and country. Aguero 4/1 to be PL top scorer With Argentina needing results in their final two qualifiers to book their ticket to Russia 2018, Aguero was told he could not compete against Peru and Ecuador due to the severity of his injury....

Aguero picked up a heel injury in the second game of the season, against Everton on August 21, which has required frequent attention from City’s medical staff. That game was the last time City dropped points in the Premier League, with Pep Guardiola’s side going on to win 16 matches in a row since the 1-1 draw at the Etihad Stadium. Aguero has been managing a build-up of fluid under the skin of his heel for the past three months, and while the problem is not serious it has caused considerable discomfort at times....

But instead a shocked home crowd looked on as they blew a lead at home to 10-man relegation candidates QPR. As Jamie Mackie gave the visitors a shock lead, cross-town rivals United were champions for the second time that afternoon. It was crunch time – City needed a knight in shining, sky blue armour. They would eventually find one, in the most dramatic of ends to a Premier League season....

The whole issue arose after Ruidas, who had signed a two-year contract with East Bengal in 2015, stated his intentions to play for an Indian Super League club. However, East Bengal insisted that he was still under contract with them as he had signed for the 2017-18 season as well. Indian Football: Nagen Tamang’s Bhutan stint an eye-opener? The 21-year-old vehemently denied the claim and maintained that he was forced to sign a blank paper when he had initially signed the two-year-contract and the club had misused the same and forged his signatures....

Aikman will do analysis on Sunday's second game, in which the San Francisco 49ers challenge the Seattle Seahawks. That game has a scheduled 6:30 p.m. ET kickoff. First up: the AFC championship game and the latest renewal of Tom Brady vs. Peyton Manning. "These two have faced each other an awful lot and there's a lot of marquee value with that," Aikman tells SN's Rayven Tirado in this week's edition of Hot Reads....

The Department of Justice said Thursday that Izaak Vincent Kemp, 35, of Fairborn, Ohio, was charged in January, having violated laws prohibiting the removal and retention of classified documents. Kemp had been working as a contractor at the U.S. Air Force National Air and Space Intelligence Center based at the Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Fairborn. The center is responsible for analyzing intelligence on the operations and weapons of foreign air and space forces....

As the invasion into Ukraine enters its seventh day, over 870,000 refugees have fled into Poland, Hungary, Slovakia, Romania and Moldova. Because of this, a budget airline announced on Tuesday that they will be offering free transport to other countries. Wizz Air, a Hungarian airline, tweeted that the airline is “committed to helping Ukrainian refugees reach their destination, wherever that may be.” The airline offered up 100,000 free seats on flights leaving Poland, Slovakia, Hungary and Romania this month....

Shillong Lajong 1-1 Aizawl FC - Defiant Reds from Mizoram crowned champions of India Initially relegated last season despite an eighth-placed finish, Aizawl FC were re-instated by the All India Football Federation (AIFF) after two Goan clubs had pulled out of India’s topmost club football division. Khalid Jamil was roped in by the highlanders as head coach weeks ahead of the new season and the 40-year-old delivered immediately, winning the club and himself their first major honour....

Ajax turn to inexperienced Keizer to lead golden generation Keizer, 48, was trusted with Jong Ajax, the reserve team, last season and guided them to the runner-up spot in Dutch football’s second tier. Following Bosz’s move to Dortmund shortly after leading Ajax to the Europa League final in his year in charge, Keizer has been trusted with the first-team. The former Cambuur coach signed a two-year deal with the Amsterdam side with an option for a third....

After turmoil of the past several weeks subsides, Gore may just want to decompress. But should he get back into the public spotlight, a likely occupation would be keynoting. While his charisma may not match Bill Clinton’s, “I think he’s a better speaker than he’s given credit for,” says Carlton Sedgeley, head of Royce Carlton Inc., a lecture-management agency that handles Naomi Wolf and David Halberstam, among others. Gore could pull in somwhere between $60,000 and $75,000 per engagement, guesses Sedgeley....

The AL West produced two playoff teams last year and another that was in the mix all season, but it may not be as competitive in 2019. Still, a bevy of storylines exist that should keep fans enthralled with the division throughout the season. We’ve tried to provide some clarity on the burning questions in the AL West. SN’s 2019 MLB GUIDES: AL: East | Central | West NL: East | Central | West...

We’re leaning toward A’s in our lineup, and that’s largely because we like Manaea’s matchup better than Morton’s. He won’t be our captain, though – that honor goes to the underpriced Matt Chapman, who should shine under the bright lights and has a great shot of lifting a ball out of the ballpark. DraftKings Showdown Picks: Rays vs. A’s CAPTAIN (1.5x points, 1.5x price): 3B Matt Chapman, Athletics ($11,100)...

Ivey, a Republican, urged Alabama residents to get vaccinated, calling the vaccine “our greatest weapon against COVID” in a statement. Her order is aimed at meeting surging demands by allowing flexibility in hospital staffing and authorizing out-of-state practitioners to operate in Alabama. It also increases hospital capacity, allows alternative standards of care to be adopted and authorizes that government meetings be held remotely. Ivey insisted that the state of emergency proclamation was focused only on “cutting red tape” for health care workers that were “treating a new wave of patients in Alabama’s hospitals....

You remember Foster, the senior kicker who went 0-for-3 in the Iron Bowl and was passed over on the final kick in favor of freshman Adam Griffith. MORE: SN All-Americans | 10 freak athletes in BCS games | All the Heisman winners Well, it's been a tough few weeks for Foster. He received death threats and hate mail, so much so that he had to delete all of his social networking accounts....

Freshman linebacker Dylan Moses, who stepped into a starting role on defense after a deluge of injuries this season, is “out indefinitely,” Alabama coach Nick Saban said (via The Tuscaloosa News). According to AL.com, Moses suffered a broken foot in practice. MORE: Clemson vs. Alabama: Date, time, TV, predictions Moses took over as a starter in the Tide’s last two games of the season against Mercer and Auburn. The SEC All-Freshman selection has 30 tackles, 5....

What wasn’t common was the fact Alabama did it without the most impactful person in college football. Nick Saban was forced to watch from home, in isolation with a COVID-19 diagnosis, as offensive coordinator Steve Sarkisian led the team in his stead. And still Alabama won 42-13. MORE: Tide dominant in revenge game, even without Nick Saban “I think the coaching staff did a marvelous job today,” Saban told reporters from his home after the game....

Sims and Auburn wideout Sammie Coates have worn the bracelet in games this season. “Sometimes as fans, we get caught up in what team we pull for the games themselves, but the players, they know what’s important and they know when to be rivals and when to be friends,” Perry said. Perry and Sims have yet to meet but are working on arranging a face-to-face. Meanwhile, the support on the field has been significant for Perry....

Just as with Clemson, the ultra-talented defensive back and leader for this 2017 team could only watch as his White team’s mistakes cost them a win against the Crimson team at A-Day. MORE: Alabama 2017 season preview A targeting call on safety Ronnie Harrison with less than a minute remaining in the game gave the Crimson team a free third-down conversion, instead of allowing the White team to mount a last-minute field goal attempt....