“I don’t know if the players are organizing anything,” Silver said (via ESPN.com). “All I can say is what we have seen in multiple preseason games so far is our players standing for the national anthem. It would be my hope that they continue to stand for the national anthem. I think that is the appropriate thing to do.” With popular public figures such as LeBron James, Chris Paul, Dwyane Wade and Carmelo Anthony, Silver believes the league is poised to make an impact on social issues....

Silver says a visit to the White House would provide an opportunity for socially conscious players to speak with Trump about issues that concern them. MORE: National anthem protests in photos In a piece on The Undefeated that touches on several facets of the league’s intersection with social and political issues, Silver says: The Cleveland Cavaliers visited President Obama on Nov. 10, two days after Trump defeated Hillary Clinton in the presidential election, and there were suggestions it may have been the last trip to the White House by an NBA champion as long as Trump lives there....

The commissioner said during an appearance Thursday for The Economic Club of Washington, D.C., that he wants half of all new referees joining the league to be women. “It’s an area, frankly, where I’ve acknowledged that I’m not sure how it was that it remained so male-dominated for so long,” Silver said, per the Associated Press. “Because it’s an area of the game where physically, certainly, there’s no benefit to being a man, as opposed to a woman, when it comes to refereeing....

The launch of the blame game was understandable, because there certainly were people to blame for the Americans’ failure to reach the World Cup for the first time in three decades. But there was so much that was so wrong, so many alternative facts presented and fake news disseminated, it seems necessary at this juncture to point out where so many have gone so wrong. MORE: World Cup failure, from top down, will haunt U....

The “Hello” singer joined Ru Paul’s Drag Race star Cheryl Hole on stage to judge the weekly Porn Idol competition at London’s Heaven nightclub. Fresh from her three wins at the Brit Awards on Tuesday, the 33-year-old took to the stage in the Soho club to judge its stripping contest, where the best contestant is awarded a cash prize. Clips are circulating online of Adele in the crowd singing along to “It’s Raining Men” before getting up on stage herself and trying out some moves on the pole while the ecstatic crowd screams and cheers her on....

It is more common for someone to have ADHD, and as these disorders share many symptoms, this can mean that bipolar disorder is misdiagnosed or is missed altogether. It is also common for those with one of these disorders to also have the other, meaning that differential diagnosis can be challenging. A meta-analysis published in 2021 found that up to 1 in 6 patients with bipolar disorder also had ADHD and up to 1 in 13 patients with ADHD also had bipolar disorder....

The rapper, real name Jonathan Kirk, was running through a medley of his hits at the Hard Rock Stadium, when he asked the audience to “put a hand in the air with a cell phone and then turn the f****** light on.” As he ended his statement, the musician was seen deftly ducking a shoe, after it was hurled onto the stage. “Who the f*** threw that mother******* busted a** god-damn [Adidas]?...

The 29-year-old’s strike at Villa Park helped the Claret and Blue Army move to fourth on the league table. His latest effort comes just three days after hitting a double to lead Villa to a 2-1 triumph over Queens Park Rangers on Saturday. Against Sunderland, Adomah opened the scoring in the 10th minute, tapping in at the far post after Robert Snodgrass delivered a fine cross. Four minutes after recess, Joshua Onomah sent Villa 2-0 up with a strike from 20 yards....

The video, which was uploaded by KC Pet Project, shows the dog arriving at the shelter with mats so heavy he appeared to be struggling to walk. KC Pet Project is a nonprofit organization based in Missouri and Kansas, with over 14 locations for animals to be adopted out. “We can only guess how long it took for him to get into this condition, but one thing we know for sure is that life is about to get so much better for this boy,” prefaced the video....

“I conclude that the player has not demonstrated that the process and procedures surrounding his discipline were not fair and consistent,” Harold Henderson, the arbitrator assigned to the case, said in a statement. “He was afforded all the protections and rights to which he is entitled, and I find no basis to vacate or reduce the discipline.” MORE: NFL players arrested in 2014 | 38 disgraced athletes | NFLPA loses on arbitrator demand in new conduct policy...

Peterson threw down the gauntlet leading up to the game by saying, “Going back to Minnesota, playing the Vikings? Yeah, I want to stick it to them.” Saints coach Sean Payton likely was not pleased with Peterson’s challenge issued to a Vikings defense that ranked third in the league last season. And how much of an opportunity will Peterson actually have to “stick it” to the Vikings when, at 32, he’s probably the Saints’ third best back behind Mark Ingram and Alvin Kamara?...

You might expect those words to come out of the mouth of Manny Pacquiao, who will face Broner on Showtime PPV, live from the MGM Grand Garden Arena on Saturday night in Las Vegas. But Pacquiao didn’t utter those words. As a matter of fact, Pacquiao ranked Broner as his “seventh or eighth” toughest opponent heading into their Jan. 19 clash. MORE: Join DAZN and watch more than 100 fight nights a year...

It’s not easy being an athlete under the Taliban, the hard-line Islamic movement that took power in Kabul in 1996. For one thing, the United Nations has refused to extend recognition to the Taliban-led government. For another, the International Olympic Committee suspended Afghanistan’s National Olympic Committee because it “no longer functioned in any manner nor organized sports in the country.” Actually, it does. From spartan offices in the Kabul Olympic Stadium, the national committee’s officials have continued to organize sports events, though they are limited to a $50,000 budget....

Dole, no doubt, is tempted. Bush has been his lodestar. Bush’s 1988 primary campaign was the model for Dole’s lurch this year. He made peace early with Ralph Reed and the Christian Coalition. He set up a South Carolina fire wall. And he was quietly brutal, doing to Lamar Alexander in New Hampshire what Bush had done unto him–a devastating, last-minute “tax and spend liberal” advertising blitz (augmented by an uncool $1 million in negative “push” polling)....

We saw good matches, some intriguing ones made for next week, and some commentating that needs to be reevaluated. Each week, Sporting News will give you the winners and losers from the “Wednesday Night Wars.” Join DAZN and watch more than 100 fight nights a year Winner: Darby Allin You might ask: How the loser of a world championship match can be regarded as a winner? It’s quite simple, actually....

Nuriddin Davronov and Dmitrii Barkov scored for the away side, while Rahul Bheke and Sunil Chhetri found the back of the net for Bengaluru FC, Spanish coach Albert Roca fielded his team in a 4-3-3 formation in the must-win AFC Cup semi-final second leg game. The front three comprised of Sunil Chhetri, Daniel Lalhimpuia and Udanta Singh. It was a horrific start for Bengaluru FC as they conceded a penalty as early as the 2nd minute....

After topping Group E (South Zone) in the AFC Cup with a 1-0 win over Maziya S&RC on Wednesday, Federation Cup champions Bengaluru FC will be involved in the draw as they seek their next opponent in the Inter-Zonal playoff. As far as the AFC Cup is concerned, seven clubs will participate in the draw from the five zones. Bengaluru FC and three other clubs will be involved in the Inter-Zonal playoffs....

GROUP C: NEJMEH 1-1 AL WEHDAT [Al Husein 88’ - Wasswa (OG) 84'] Jordanian side Al Wehdat lost their lead atop Group C after a late goal from Abdelrazak Al Husein condemned them to a 1-1 draw against Nejmeh in Saida on Monday. But the draw was not enough for Nejmeh who see themselves out of the reckoning from qualification for the playoffs from the group. After the first half and most of the second half failed to bring about a goal, the game exploded into life the final six minutes....

BY ZULHILMI ZAINAL Follow on Twitter Malaysia have been drawn in Group A of the 2018 AFF Cup, alongside Vietnam, Myanmar, Cambodia and Laos, in the draw event that was held in Jakarta, Indonesia on Wednesday. Coincidentally, Cambodia, Vietnam and Myanmar were also in Malaysia’s group in the previous edition in 2016, which saw Malaysia fail to progress into the knockout stage. Group B meanwhile sees the involvement of Thailand, Indonesia, the Philippines, Singapore and the play-off winners between Brunei and East Timor....

The cease-fire is planned to start Wednesday or Thursday, the Taliban said, as Afghanistan has experienced heightened violence. Hours after the Taliban announced a cease-fire, 11 bus passengers died in a roadside bombing. Responsibility for the attack has not yet been claimed. Taliban fighters have been directed to halt all attacks in the meantime “to provide a peaceful and secure atmosphere to our compatriots … so that they may celebrate this joyous occasion with a greater peace of mind,” Suhail Shaheen, a spokesman for the group, told the Associated Press....