Winter Olympics 2018

Golden State Warriors bring New Orleans Pelicans back reality with crushing Game 1 victory

Winter Olympics 2018 — Sun, 29 Apr 2018 13:08:17 +0000

OAKLAND, Calif. — The Golden State Warriors offered the New Orleans Pelicans a harsh reminder in their 123-101 Game 1 beatdown on Saturday:

Just because the Pelicans came into this game with the confidence that they could beat the Warriors at their run-and-gun game doesn’t mean they will actually be able to do it when the playoff lights are brightest.

Before Saturday’s game, Pelicans players and coaches spoke with conviction that they weren’t going to change their up-tempo style just because they were facing the defending NBA champions. They believed that they could run up and down the floor with Kevin Durant and Klay Thompson and were steadfast in the notion that Anthony Davis and Jrue Holiday could impose their will on the game.

Sadly for the Pelicans, they were mistaken.

Durant and Thompson combined for 53 points on the night, 36 of which came in a first half that stayed close for a while but came bursting apart as the Warriors went on a 25-2 run toward the end of the second quarter and never looked back. As well as the hot-shooting pair played, it was Draymond Green who set the tone for the rest of his team to follow, going off for a triple-double with 16 points, 15 rebounds and 11 assists.

As resolute as Pelicans coach Alvin Gentry was before the game about his team’s ability to go shot for shot with the Warriors, the veteran coach offered this pregame reminder after Golden State coach Steve Kerr revealed that Stephen Curry (knee) wouldn’t make his long-awaited return.

“Steph is great, two-time MVP,” Gentry said. “But guys, they’re still pretty doggone good without him. They’ve already proven that. They just won a series against the Spurs without him, so you’re still going to have to play at an extremely high level to be able to win a game where he’s not in the game, and they’ve already proven that they can do that.”

Gentry’s words seemed more prescient as the night wore on. The Pelicans shot 60 percent from the field in the first quarter and trailed 35-34 after the first 12 minutes, in large part because they couldn’t keep a feisty-looking Warriors group off the offensive glass.

Davis was his usual steady self, finishing with 21 points and 12 rebounds, but he didn’t have the kind of dominant performance that defined the Pelicans’ first-round series sweep of the Portland Trail Blazers. Holiday struggled all night to find an offensive rhythm, shooting just 4-for-14 from the field. Pelicans guard Rajon Rondo nearly completed a triple-double with 9 points, 8 rebounds and 11 assists, but the Warriors made a point to sag off him defensively and were content allowing him to shoot from distance. He was just 4-for-10 from the field.

Despite all the issues, Gentry remained steadfast in his belief that his team will be fine.

“We’re still going to play with a fast pace,” he said. “And we are going to do a better job of spacing the floor. We’re going to be better defensively from the standpoint of not having breakdowns.

“We’re not going to go back and change everything that we did. We’re not going to all of a sudden walk the ball up the court now and try to play slow. You know, what we’ve got to do is we’ve got to get AD more involved in the game from the standpoint of even the double-teams, we’ve got to get him out on the floor and get space, and we’ve got to do a better job of shot selection. Then we’ve got to do a better job defensively.”

The Warriors had no such problems on either end, racing up and down the floor with the swagger of a championship team that is ready to hit its stride after going through periods of malaise throughout the regular season. The Warriors went to the free throw line 32 times, compared to just 11 attempts for the Pelicans. The Warriors not only set a tone for the rest of the series in Game 1 but also stopped all the momentum a confident New Orleans group had coming into the week.

The worst part of all for the Pelicans wasn’t even the final score. It was that they left Oracle Arena knowing that Curry is expected to play in Game 2 on Tuesday.

“We’re going to be more locked in defensively, especially with [Curry] probably coming back,” Davis said. “But for us, it’s about pride. What they did in the second quarter was an embarrassment to us. We’re not that type of team.”

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IPC hopes won’t be tough for Trump to see future Paralympics

Winter Olympics 2018 — Sun, 29 Apr 2018 12:04:06 +0000

AP
Published 11:30 a.m. ET April 28, 2018 | Updated 12:19 p.m. ET April 28, 2018

Paralympic Games organizers hope U.S. President Donald Trump won’t find it tough to watch their events in future.

The International Paralympic Committee pointed to the growing reach of its competitions in response to comments made on Friday by Trump when American athletes from the Winter Olympics and Paralympics in Pyeongchang were welcomed to the White House.

“What happened with the Paralympics was so incredible and so inspiring to me, and I watched,” Trump said, surrounded by members of Team USA. “It’s a little tough to watch too much, but I watched as much as I could.”

The Paralympics in March were broadcast in the U.S. on NBC, NBCSN, and streamed on the NBC website.

“Record numbers of people around the world are not finding the Paralympics tough to watch,” IPC communications director Craig Spence told The Associated Press on Saturday. “Billions of viewers now take in the Paralympics in hundreds of countries around the world.

“We’re confident Tokyo 2020 will be the biggest Paralympics ever, breaking the cumulative 4.1 billion viewers who watched Rio 2016. We hope the U.S. President continues to watch and be inspired by the Paralympics, an event that has a track record for transforming attitudes towards disability.”

The U.S. topped the standings at the Paralympics in South Korea with 36 medals — 13 gold, 15 silver and 8 bronze.

___

Rob Harris is at www.twitter.com/RobHarris and www.facebook.com/RobHarrisReports

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Jack Butland and Badou Ndiaye to lead Stoke exodus this summer

Winter Olympics 2018 — Sun, 29 Apr 2018 11:00:40 +0000

Jack Butland and Badou Ndiaye will lead an exodus at Stoke City this summer
Paul Lambert has promised an overhaul regardless of which division they play in
Butland, Joe Allen and winger Xherdan Shaqiri are likely high-profile departures
Ndiaye, a recent arrival from Galatasaray, has a clause to protect from relegation

Joe Bernstein for The Mail on Sunday

Published:
22:31, 28 April 2018

|
Updated:
01:21, 29 April 2018

England goalkeeper Jack Butland and £14million January signing Badou Ndiaye will lead an exodus of up to a dozen players at Stoke City this summer if the club are relegated from the Premier League.

Stoke manager Paul Lambert has promised an overhaul of the squad regardless of which division City play in next season but Saturday’s goalless draw at Anfield means relegation is certain unless the club win their remaining two games and other results go their way.

Butland, Wales international Joe Allen and Swiss winger Xherdan Shaqiri are the likely high-profile departures from the Bet365 Stadium.

Jack Butland will lead an exodus from Stoke City this summer if the club are relegated

Senegal midfielder Ndiaye, a recent arrival from Galatasaray, has a buy-out clause to protect all parties in the event of relegation.

Charlie Adam, Stephen Ireland and Glen Johnson will not be needed in the cut-and-thrust of the Championship while forward Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting could also be sold to reduce the wage bill after signing on a free.

Jese and Kurt Zouma are due to return to their loan clubs, while Lambert is refusing to pick Ibrahim Afellay and Saido Berahino because of their attitude during the relegation battle.

Stoke, 12 games without a win, are now relying on other results going their way to extend their 10-year stay in the Premier League. ‘If they do, it will make the last couple of games interesting,’ said Lambert.

January signing Badou Ndiaye has a clause in his contract to protect him from relegation

Wales international Joe Allen and Swiss winger Xherdan Shaqiri are also braced to leave

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De Grasse returns to track with 4th-place finish at Drake Relays

Winter Olympics 2018 — Sun, 29 Apr 2018 09:58:46 +0000

Andre De Grasse finally returned to the track on Saturday, racing to a fourth-place finish in the 100-metre at the Drake Relays from Des Moines, Iowa.

The 23-year-old from Markham, Ont., last raced July 16, 2017 in Rabat, Morocco in the Diamond League before pulling out of August’s world track and field championships due to a hamstring injury.

On Saturday, De Grasse clocked in at 10.15 seconds, finishing behind Isiah Young (10.02), Mike Rodgers (10.03) and CJ Ujah (10.13). He said that was the fastest he’s run in a season opener.

“For me, it’s all about coming out healthy,” De Grasse said. “Now there are no limits for my next meet, and as the races go on [I’ll hopefully] continue to get better.”

He’s set to go head-to-head with Christian Coleman on May 12 in the Diamond League opener at Shanghai Stadium in China.

Canadian Sage Watson also competed, finishing sixth in the women’s 400 hurdles with a time of 56.55.

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Al Horford shines against Bucks, Celtics now look towards 76ers

Winter Olympics 2018 — Sun, 29 Apr 2018 08:57:20 +0000

BOSTON — His long work week finally complete, Al Horford elected to take the long way home.

Boston Celtics coach Brad Stevens fetched Horford with 41.8 seconds remaining in Saturday’s Game 7 win over the Milwaukee Bucks, but after a 26-point, 8-rebound performance that only confirmed the notion Horford was the MVP of the series, the big man showed a rare bit of emotion during a slow stroll back to the Boston bench.

With fans inside TD Garden serenading him with a standing ovation, Horford took in the moment before repeatedly pumping his right fist near midcourt. Finally, he gave one more gigantic arm swing in celebration of a gritty first-round victory.

A series of handshakes and hugs followed with teammates and coaches before Horford reached the end of the bench and, a wide smile on his face, turned to watch Boston’s younger players close out a 112-96 triumph.

“It’s an emotional game,” said Horford. “These are the kind of moments that you play for. And, for me, that time there was just me enjoying, with the players and with the fans that were there, and it’s just emotional. I’m happy that we came out on top.”

A short while before his victory strut, Horford had given a similarly emphatic hand gesture to signify the series was over, this as Boston pushed its lead as high as 19 in the final quarter. Around that time, Boston fans chanted, “We want Philly!” while readying for the Eastern Conference semifinal series against Atlantic Division rival Philadelphia 76ers that tips here Monday.

Having vanquished the Greek Freak — though Horford made sure to gush about the job rookie Semi Ojeleye did in helping to defend Giannis Antetokounmpo over the final three games of the series — Horford now pivots to find a Process-trusting frontcourt of Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid waiting for him.

Which is to say, things don’t get any easier for Horford and his frontcourt brethren. For all the headaches Antetokounmpo presented — and there were plenty — Boston bigs had to otherwise worry only about Thon Maker and Tyler Zeller after John Henson didn’t return after Game 2 of the series.

Horford often matched up on the versatile Simmons during the regular season and could routinely get that assignment again when not asked to close the lid on Embiid’s offensive toolbox.

“[The Sixers] are playing great. They have a great team, a great coach,” said Stevens. “I think everybody talks about Embiid and Simmons — and rightfully so. But I think the skill that they have added to their team and their other young guys getting better and obviously [J.J.] Redick’s presence have just opened everything up.

“They are a bear to play against. You can tell from the last series. I think Brett [Brown] is terrific, and on down the line, they are terrific.”

Fortunately for Boston, Horford has been terrific and the stabilizing force for a team decimated by injuries. He’s the only upright All-Star the Celtics have as Gordon Hayward recovers from a fractured ankle and Kyrie Irving mends from knee surgery.

“I think that the best way to phrase it with Al is he provides stability for all of us,” said Stevens. “Whenever you have lost other guys to injury, when people aren’t available when things aren’t going your way, he has likely been through it, and he provides a very calming influence to the younger players.”

Horford beams with pride when discussing Boston’s younger players, including the leaps displayed by Jaylen Brown and Terry Rozier, or the late-series emergence of rookie Jayson Tatum.

The Celtics are going to need all of them against the 76ers.

But, maybe more than anything, they’re going to need Horford to continue to be spectacular at both ends of the court.

“Al makes the right play, does the right thing. That’s what a five-time All-Star is supposed to do,” said Jaylen Brown. “[Horford] continues to play the game the right way, and when times get tough, we lean on him a little bit. And tonight, Game 7, biggest game of the year, he showed out.”

Among the 26 high-volume offensive players with at least 100 postseason possessions finished, Horford ranks fourth in at 1.124 points per play, per Synergy Sports data. He’s one spot behind Anthony Davis (1.133) and one spot ahead of LeBron James (1.12). Decent company.

The knock on Horford has always been that he lacks offensive aggressiveness for a max-salary player. Horford’s first instinct will always be to pass first, but he showed Saturday he’s capable of being ultra-assertive in a must-win game. While Antetokounmpo struggled to consistently find good looks, Horford muscled his way around the basket. Only four of his 17 shot attempts came outside the painted area, and Horford was 11-of-13 on the paint attempts for a career postseason-best 22 paint points.

Overall, Horford made 13 of 17 field goals for a Boston team that shot 53.6 percent from the field in Game 7.

Horford seemed to relish the accomplishment of beating a scrappy Bucks team despite all the youth on Boston’s roster. He’s excited about the more distant future when his All-Star teammates will be back, but he’s also excited about the right now — which starts Monday against Philadelphia.

“This experience is unlike any other,” said Horford. “Being in the playoffs, the type of pressure and intensity, this type of experience will shape [Boston’s younger players’] careers in the NBA because they see the level of commitment and the way that you have to play. It’s going to make them better players.

“It’s all for the best for our group.”

Proud of this group, we keep finding ways to get it done. Go Celtics!

— Al Horford (@Al_Horford) April 29, 2018

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1 on 1 with Wes The Sports Guy – Episode 7

Winter Olympics 2018 — Sun, 29 Apr 2018 07:54:48 +0000

Roglic extends lead on toughest Tour of Romandie stage

Winter Olympics 2018 — Sun, 29 Apr 2018 06:53:35 +0000

AP
Published 3:22 p.m. ET April 28, 2018

SION, Switzerland (AP) — Primoz Roglic of Slovenia tightened his grip on the Tour de Romandie, extending his overall lead by placing second in the toughest mountain stage won by Jakob Fuglsang on Saturday.

After three Category 1 climbs, Denmark’s Fuglsang broke from the leaders’ group on the final descent of a 149-kilometer (92-mile) trek around Sion.

Fuglsang finished 48 seconds ahead of Roglic, who edged his closest rival Egan Bernal of Colombia at the finish to earn two bonus seconds. Bernal could not shake off Roglic despite constant attacks.

Roglic, riding for LottoNL-Jumbo, leads Bernal by eight seconds overall ahead of Sunday’s final stage of the six-day race.

Third-placed Richie Porte of Australia trails Roglic by 35 seconds after finishing fifth in the stage.

Sunday’s stage is a 182-kilometer ride into Geneva favoring sprinters.

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Mohamed Salah’s edges out Kevin De Bruyne in my Player of the Year vote

Winter Olympics 2018 — Sun, 29 Apr 2018 05:48:00 +0000

Voting for the Football Writers’ Association Footballer of the Year closes on Monday and, until last week, I had intended to make Kevin De Bruyne my choice for our award. I would still be delighted if he won it. I have enjoyed watching Manchester City this season more than any other team over a single domestic league campaign and De Bruyne has been their best player.

If anything, the midfielder is underrated. It is not just that he can hit wonderful passes with both feet, score with finesse or ferocious power, receive the ball under pressure and look as calm as if he were in acres of space. It’s more than that. He has both the vision and the unselfishness that makes him the personification of what Pep Guardiola has built at City.

Nor does De Bruyne feel the need to boast about his talents and his triumphs. He is as close to self-effacing as a modern footballer can be. He appeals to the old-fashioned among us who still flinch at the antics of some players for whom every victory seems to be a selfie opportunity, one more shot at self-aggrandisement. De Bruyne is not like that. He is supremely gifted but he does not feel the need to shout about it.

Mohamed Salah has received my vote for Football Writers’ Association Footballer of the Year

The Liverpool star has left defenders trailing in his wake all season domestically and in Europe

Kevin De Bruyne brilliance for Manchester City would earn my vote in any other season

He has been the main for City as they romped to the Premier League title with a stylish brand

I wanted to vote for him, too, because he plays for a City team who have played such brilliant football this season, a team who dominated the top tier of the English league as majestically as any team in recent memory. This City team brought fantasy football off the pages of newspapers and the internet and put it on the pitch.

They played with the kind of expression and beauty that we have not seen before in one season. They cannot yet claim the greatness that the Liverpool teams of the Seventies and Eighties and the Manchester United sides of the Nineties and 2000s earned through the longevity of their brilliance and their strength, but they have played football that lifted the soul and De Bruyne has been at the heart of that.

Then last Tuesday, I went to Anfield to see Liverpool play Roma in the first leg of their Champions League semi-final. It turned into one of the great nights in even the rich history of English clubs in European football.

In the midst of Liverpool’s breathtaking demolition of the Italians, the performance of Mo Salah was astonishing.

I am usually wary of comparing any player to Lionel Messi because Messi is usually beyond compare, but the way Salah played against Roma invited those comparisons. He was untouchable.

The Roma defence could not get anywhere near him. They were as mesmerised by his pace and his close control as the supporters were. It was a privilege to watch Salah that night. It was an evening of thrilling football and the Egypt forward contributed two stunning goals and two assists that made it impossible for the scorers to miss. Roberto Firmino was a quite brilliant support act, as he has been for much of this season, but Salah was out of this world.

Salah was astonishing on Tuesday as Liverpool swept aside Roma in the Champions League

The Egyptian scored twice against his former club as the Reds won the first leg 5-2 at Anfield

It was the best individual performance for an English club I’ve seen in an important European game since Roy Keane inspired Manchester United’s comeback in the 1999 Champions League semi-final second leg against Juventus in the Stadio Delle Alpi.

Others will talk of George Best’s display for United against Benfica in the Estadio da Luz in the European Cup quarter-finals in 1966 – Kevin Keegan in the 1977 European Cup final against Borussia Monchengladbach and Steven Gerrard during the Miracle of Istanbul.

There are more candidates, too, but Salah’s performance was up there with all of them. It wrote another glorious chapter in Liverpool’s rich European history and took them to the brink of another Champions League final.

When I cast my vote for Salah on Saturday, it wasn’t because of just one night, although it helped to have been a witness to a magical evening. The truth is that Salah has become a phenomenon this season. He has become so prolific that it is almost funny.

I’ve seen him win games for his club on less glamorous occasions than Tuesday night. I saw him ram home the late winner for Liverpool at Crystal Palace last month that kept Jurgen Klopp’s side firmly on course for the top four and set them up for their stunning Champions League triumph over City.

The 25-year-old has become so prolific that it is almost funny – he is a phenomenon this season

Salah has not just done it on the big occasions. He has travelled the hard yards. He has been a team player.

For a player to eclipse Liverpool club marks held by strikers of the calibre of Billy Liddell, Roger Hunt, Robbie Fowler, Kenny Dalglish, John Aldridge and Luis Suarez shows what a special season he has had. Salah has 43 goals in all competitions this season now. Only Ian Rush, with 47 in 1983-84, stands between him and the all-time Liverpool record.

Add to all this the fact that it was Salah who, in October last year, scored the injury time penalty against Congo in Alexandria that took Egypt to the World Cup finals for the first time in nearly 30 years and it adds up to a season of personal achievement that has been utterly remarkable.

Choosing either De Bruyne and Salah is a fool’s errand as both have brought so much joy, but a vote is a vote and Salah gets mine.

Fran Kirby is a player who gets you up out of your seat with her skill and vision. The FWA did the right thing by ensuring there was a women’s version of the Footballer of the Year award for the first time and Chelsea and England star Kirby is a worthy recipient of it. It is another landmark in the rise of the women’s game.

Fran Kirby has been named women’s footballer of the year by the Football Writers’ Association

The Chelsea and England striker was also named PFA female player of the year last week

Sale of Wembley can help to lift our nation

There are many reasons for welcoming the proposed sale of Wembley to the American businessman Shahid Khan.

The first is that, if the FA are to be taken at their word, much of the money from the sale will be spent on improving grassroots football in this country. At a time when kids’ teams sometimes go months without a game in the winter because of the sorry state of local pitches and when we desperately need more all-weather surfaces and when more use of facilities should be available for free, that can only be a good thing. When Wembley was being rebuilt around the turn of the century, I enjoyed England playing in the provinces.

The FA are considering selling Wembley to Fulham owner Shahid Khan for £1billion

There was something refreshing and vital about playing in Sunderland, Newcastle, Manchester and Liverpool. There was something more democratic about not forcing fans from the north to trek to Wembley for every England game and find they could not get home that night because there were no trains.

Our London-centricity dominates much of English life. It need not dominate football, too. The atmosphere at the new Wembley is too often flat these days. Fewer games there would be an advantage.

Wembley was always supposed to be somewhere special. In milking it to try to pay the bills, the FA have lost that. Maybe this will bring it back.

Fulham and Jacksonville Jaguars owner Khan made a near £1bn offer for the stadium

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Canada captures bronze at world mixed doubles curling championship

Winter Olympics 2018 — Sun, 29 Apr 2018 04:46:38 +0000

Canada’s Laura Crocker and Kirk Muyres didn’t have much time to feel sorry for themselves after losing the semifinal game at the world mixed doubles curling championship on Saturday in Sweden.

After a 7-5 loss to Switzerland to dash their golden dreams, Crocker and Muyres had to regroup and refocus in a hurry and prepare for the bronze medal game against Korea just a couple of hours later.

Canadian curlers have often called the bronze medal game the most difficult to play — in the curling-crazed country of Canada it’s gold or bust.

Instead of dwelling on the fact they wouldn’t become the first Canadian team ever to potentially win gold at the mixed doubles championship, they took to the ice for bronze and played a strong game against Korea. With the score 4-3 in the 7th end, Crocker and Muyres finished off the game by scoring four and defeating the Koreans 8-3 to capture bronze.

“To have a world medal in our sport is such an honour and something I have been working towards since I was about 12 years old,” said Muyres.

“When you are playing for the maple leaf, it is your duty to give it your all and that’s what we did.”

New partners haven’t looked back

Perhaps making their performance even more impressive is that Crocker and Muyres are a very new team. They came together just weeks before the national mixed doubles championship at the beginning of April. Crocker, who normally plays with her fiancé Geoff Walker, had to find a new partner because Walker was busy curling with Team Gushue at the world championship.

Crocker approached Muyres in March at the Brier in Regina to be her partner and they’ve never looked back. In total, the two played 20 games together over the past month and have won 17 of those games.

After the bronze medal win, Crocker was beaming with pride over what they accomplished together in a short time.

“I’m really proud of Kirk and I,” said Crocker. “I really couldn’t have asked for a better teammate and we battled every single shot.”

Muyres was also very complimentary towards Crocker.

“I’m so proud of Laura and I’m honoured to call her my teammate. She’s a true champion,” Muyres said.

Swiss domination continues

Switzerland is a powerhouse in the mixed doubles curling world. Last year they defeated Canada’s Joanne Courtney and Reid Carruthers in the championship game.

This year, they defeated Crocker and Muyres to go to the championship game. Then they went and won another title by defeating Russia. It marks the seventh time in the 11 times the event has been played that Switzerland has won gold. Canada is still looking for its first-ever mixed doubles title.

That being said, Canada’s John Morris and Kaitlyn Lawes captured the first-ever Olympic mixed doubles gold medal when the new discipline made its debut in PyeongChang.

The spotlight is now on this new style of curling and this bronze medal world championship experience already has Muyres thinking about the future.

“I think this experience will really help my career as I move forward,” said Muyres. “We are relatively young in curling terms and to be able to have this pressure-packed experience for our country will go leaps and bounds in our development for 2022 and 2026.”

Golden day for Canada in senior championships

Canada won gold in the men’s and women’s competitions at the world senior curling championships, held at the Ostersund Arena.

Sherry Anderson’s Saskatoon team of third Patty Hersikorn, second Brenda Goertzen and lead Anita Silvernagle beat the United States 5-4 in the final.

“World champion sounds marvellous, it really does,” Anderson said. “I’ve been playing this sport a long time trying to get this title, so it’s really sweet.”

Switzerland topped Sweden 5-3 to win bronze.

Wade White’s Edmonton rink of third Barry Chwedoruk, second Daniel Holowaychuk and lead George White won the men’s title with an 8-2 rout of Sweden’s Mats Wranaa.

“World champion? It’s taken forty years of curling, it feels good,” White said. “It’s been a battle all my life just to get out of Alberta. I’m going to savour it now.”

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TFC settle for draw against Fire after surrendering late goal

Winter Olympics 2018 — Sun, 29 Apr 2018 03:43:29 +0000

Greg Vanney wasn’t worried about his team’s fitness on Saturday following a gruelling run in CONCACAF Champions League play, he was more concerned with Major League Soccer’s implementation of it’s video assistant referee.

Toronto FC played the Chicago Fire to a 2-2 draw at BMO Field, but felt they were robbed of a win.

Alan Gordon`s goal in injury time salvaged a 2-2 draw for the Chicago Fire 0:57

Trailing 2-0, Fire midfielder Bastian Schweinsteiger got the visitors on the board in the 69th minute as his header off Diego Campos’s corner kick got past Alex Bono. However, prior to Schweinsteiger’s header, replay showed Nemanja Nikolic attempt to head the ball from an offside position.

The play in question was not reviewed by referee Alan Kelly after it appeared he was relayed a message in his ear by the VAR that he might want to take a second look.

“There’s a percentage of the run of play that maybe comes down to [fatigue], but I don’t think the game was decided by that,” said Vanney. “I think the game was decided by a player who is offside, not necessarily Schweinsteiger, but the other player right in front of, or next to, Schweinsteiger who tries to head the ball, who was in an offside position, and makes a play for the ball who is two feet from Schweinsteiger, is offside.”

Alan Gordon scored the tying goal in second-half injury time for Chicago (2-3-2). ‘Keeper Richard Sanchez made two saves.

Vanney questions pivotal decision

Jonathan Osorio and Victor Vazquez scored for Toronto while Alex Bono made six saves. With the draw, Toronto (1-4-1) avoided a third consecutive loss in MLS play.

In the first half, the Reds appeared to take a 2-0 lead in the 11th minute when Sebastian Giovinco one-timed a Nicolas Hasler feed past Sanchez, but Hasler was ruled offside after video review.

“He certainly took his time to review our [goal], I think that would be respectful to do the same for us and didn’t,” said Vanney. “I think, as I look at it back, he’s offside. Everybody that I know of understands the interpretation of the rule, player who is offside, in front of the goal and attempts to make a play on the goal, and effects the potential decision making of anybody around it, is offside. That is [their] first goal, that leads to momentum shift a touch because now they’re back at 2-1 instead of 2-0.

“To me, today’s game was about decisive moments and we didn’t get the right end of the deciding moment.”

Depleted Reds

The Reds were playing with a depleted back end as defenders Chris Mavinga (hamstring), Nick Hagglund (hamstring), Drew Moor (quad), Eriq Zavaleta (quad) and Justin Morrow (calf) were all unavailable for selection. Forward Jozy Altidore, who was injured in Wednesday’s CONCACAF Champions League final, was also out.

In the game’s dying seconds, Gordon put home the rebound off Schweinsteiger’s shot to pull the Fire even.

Osorio put Toronto on the board in the eighth minute by tapping in a Giovinco cross for his first goal of the season.

Vazquez doubled Toronto’s lead in the 22nd minute as his chip shot landed just inside the far post.

Vanney wasn’t the only one furious at Saturday’s implementation of VAR in Saturday’s match, Reds captain Michael Bradley admitted there is confusion over the league’s new video review procedures.

“Nobody has any idea what VAR is, when it can be used, when it can’t be used,” said Bradley. “Some times it has to be clean and obvious, other times it doesn’t. Some things are checked, some things aren’t. Check takes five minutes. It’s a joke.”

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Draymond Green	4
Tom Gola	3
Stephen Curry	1
Guy Rodgers	1
>> Elias Sports Bureau

Celtics Starter Adjustment	#7 Bucks	#3 76ers
PG	Eric Bledsoe	Ben Simmons
SG	Malcolm Brogdon	JJ Redick
SF	Khris Middleton	Robert Covington
PF	Giannis Antetokounmpo	Dario Saric
C	Thon Maker	Joel Embiid

76ers Starter Adjustment	#6 Heat	#2 Celtics
PG	Goran Dragic	Terry Rozier
SG	Tyler Johnson	Jaylen Brown
SF	Josh Richardson	Jayson Tatum
PF	James Johnson	Al Horford
C	Hassan Whiteside	Aron Baynes

Winter Olympics 2018

Golden State Warriors bring New Orleans Pelicans back reality with crushing Game 1 victory

IPC hopes won’t be tough for Trump to see future Paralympics

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IPC hopes won’t be tough for Trump to see future Paralympics

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Jack Butland and Badou Ndiaye to lead Stoke exodus this summer

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De Grasse returns to track with 4th-place finish at Drake Relays

Al Horford shines against Bucks, Celtics now look towards 76ers

1 on 1 with Wes The Sports Guy – Episode 7

Roglic extends lead on toughest Tour of Romandie stage

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Mohamed Salah’s edges out Kevin De Bruyne in my Player of the Year vote

Canada captures bronze at world mixed doubles curling championship

New partners haven’t looked back

Swiss domination continues

Golden day for Canada in senior championships

TFC settle for draw against Fire after surrendering late goal

Vanney questions pivotal decision

Depleted Reds