Behind the scenes: Ancelotti meets Brazil stars for the first time
Rúben Dias: 'The last two games mean everything for us'
Rúben Dias, Manchester City defender, spoke about City's upcoming two Premier League games following their defeat in the FA Cup final.
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Hamilton Spectator
21 minutes ago
- Hamilton Spectator
Youngsters explore city vehicles at annual event
Over 2,000 Brantford-Brant residents attended the fifth annual Wheels on the Pavement event at the Brantford and District Civic Centre on Sunday, May 25, 2025. Hosted in partnership between the Downtown Central, East Ward Echo Place, Holmedale and Eagle Place Neighbourhood Associations, as well as the City of Brantford, the event was held in celebration of National Public Works Week. The event featured an assortment of around 50 city vehicles, big rigs, emergency response vehicles and jeeps from the Brantford Area Jeep and Off Road Club (BAJC) for parents and children alike to explore. 'We have a lot of Public Works employees and their vehicles here today, as well as several other vehicles from the City and local businesses too,' said Sylvia Collins, Chair of the Neighbourhood Alliance for the City of Brantford. 'It's just a great chance for everyone who sees these vehicles on a daily basis and who may be curious about what they look like inside, to see how they work.' Collins explained that the event was originally the brainchild of Jayme Wilson-Belore, and has been evolving ever since. 'Back then, she gathered the fellow neighbourhood hub chairs and said, 'what do you think of this idea?' and so at the time, they came together to get the first one off the ground and then we eventually partnered with the City,' she said. 'That's been a great partnership, because we've been able to be here at the Civic Centre, and we were able to get Public Works involved with all their vehicles so it's been really nice.' As the event got underway, it didn't take long for the youngsters and their parents to start lining up for a chance to explore the various vehicles, honk a few horns and pose for photos. Carolyn Dares, an arborist with the City's forestry department, said the event was a fantastic chance for children to interact with Public Works employees. 'This is a great, interactive opportunity for the kids to check out the vehicles but to also get introduced to different types of careers too,' she said. 'Of course, big trucks attract little children, so it's an amazing event for them; a lot of them just want to climb in and honk the horns, but a lot of them have come up and asked questions about the chainsaws and such too so that's been fun.' Throughout the event, families connected with the many different community partner booths to play games, pick up some goodies or acquire temporary tattoos. Many were sure to also get a balloon animal from Marco the Clown, and stop to watch the Just Dance Line Dancing Community entertain the crowd. A fan-favourite of the day was watching the Alpha Power Lifters pull a Ken's Towing 72,000-pound rotator truck. Organizers were also collecting non-perishables and school-safe snacks on behalf of Gifts of the Heart, a local not-for-profit organization dedicated to addressing the issues of food and clothing insecurity that faces young school-age children. Joe Doolittle and Kat Hill said it was their first time visiting the event. 'There's a lot of stuff going on here for sure, so that's nice,' said Doolittle. 'It's kind of cool too, because it gives them a safe way to come up and approach these vehicles and check them out. The kids particularly liked checking out the fire truck, so that was really fun to see.' Kimberly De Jong's reporting is funded by the Canadian government through its Local Journalism Initiative. The funding allows her to report rural and agricultural stories from Blandford-Blenheim and Brant County. Reach her at . Error! Sorry, there was an error processing your request. There was a problem with the recaptcha. Please try again. You may unsubscribe at any time. By signing up, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy . This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google privacy policy and terms of service apply. Want more of the latest from us? Sign up for more at our newsletter page .
New York Times
33 minutes ago
- New York Times
Can Jeremie Frimpong boost Liverpool's 2025/26 Champions League winner odds?
For more stories like this, click here to follow The Athletic's sports betting section and have them added to your feed. In the 2011 movie 'Moneyball,' Brad Pitt, portraying Oakland Athletics general manager Billy Beane, sits in the middle of a conference room table surrounded by scouts during an off-season meeting. As the discussion of the team's direction unfolds, Beane is abruptly cut-off by a scout concerned about their ability to replace a crucial player: Jason Giambi. Advertisement 'Billy,' the scout says, 'we got 38 home runs and 120 RBIs to make up.' 'Guys listen,' Beane interrupts, 'We're still trying to replace Giambi. I told you we can't do it. Now what we might be able to do is recreate him — recreate him in the aggregate.' Losing a generational player like Trent Alexander-Arnold is not something even a club like Liverpool can shrug off. Despite his departure, the Reds still have the best odds to win both the Premier League (11/5) and Champions League (11/2). But should they? With Jeremie Frimpong already in the fold and the potential acquisitions of Florian Wirtz and Milos Kerkez on the horizon, Liverpool's plan to replace their homegrown star is coming into view. Let's explore if it'll be enough to find value in their current odds. It sounds silly, but Alexander-Arnold is truly a footballing unicorn. A right-back who could hold his own defensively but also doubled as one of the world's best ball-progressors and chance-creators is a rarity. To come in with expectations that Frimpong is Alexander-Arnold's successor would be quite unfair — they're not remotely the same player. Alexander-Arnold ranked 17th in Europe's big five leagues with 65 passes into the penalty area this season. Despite playing as a wing-back in the Bundesliga, Frimpong had just 29 this year. To put that into context, the player in 16th was in the running for the Ballon d'Or — Raphinha — most of this past season. Alexander-Arnold was essentially an attacking midfielder hiding as a right-back whereas Frimpong is, well, not. When it comes to progressive passes (passes that move the ball at least 10 yards closer to the opponent's goal), Alexander-Arnold ranked 19th and was once again surrounded by a bevy of talented midfielders like Nicolò Barella and Youri Tielemans. Frimpong ranked 10th…on his team. Even Leverkusen's defensive midfielder Robert Andrich had more progressive passes than Frimpong this season. Advertisement It's at about this point where you're probably asking, 'So what does Frimpong do exactly?' The answer to this is simple: He runs, quite often and quite fast. According to PFF FC's physical metrics provided to The Athletic, Frimpong sprinted more than any other player in Germany last season. In total, the new Liverpool signee had 800 sprints (classified as runs that exceed 25 KM/hr), 15 more than the next closest player. That willingness to run is far more reminiscent of Andy Robertson than Alexander-Arnold, except that Frimpong is an absolute speed merchant. The 24-year-old was clocked with the second-highest max speed in the Bundesliga last year — 35.33 km/h — only bested by FC Heidenheim's Sirlord Conteh. Alexander-Arnold's on-ball orchestrating is gone, but Liverpool still need someone to play right-back. If you can't replace Alexander-Arnold, you might as well find a player with an elite trait at a cheap price. That's what Liverpool have done. But it's clear with the interest in Wirtz and Kerkez, the Reds know they will need more help to fill the Alexander-Arnold-sized hole. Heading into the 2025-26 campaign without Alexander-Arnold puts a lot more on Mohamed Salah's shoulders. Salah's scoring streaks get plenty of acclaim, but his shot-creation for teammates is underappreciated. The Egyptian led Europe's big five leagues in expected assists while also leading Liverpool in passes played into the penalty area. A large part of Liverpool's success stemmed from Salah's ability to work in concert with Alexander-Arnold. Salah's 488 progressive passes received topped Europe's big five leagues and were fueled by his former right-back's ball-progressing prowess. For anyone who watched the team, the formula was obvious: Alexander-Arnold moved the ball up the pitch to Salah, and then the two of them combined to terrorize opponents in the final third. In order to find value in their title-winning odds, Liverpool need to recreate this dynamic. With Alexander-Arnold headed off to Spain and Frimpong not the creative type, Salah needs a new partner-in-crime. Enter, stage-right: Wirtz. While the odds suggest this transfer is far from sealed, the reason for Liverpool's aggressive pursuit of the 21-year-old is obvious. The Reds' recruitment team likely put far more thought into this, but if Alexander-Arnold was the 17th-best player in the world at playing the ball into the opponent's box, it makes sense to go after the player who finished one spot behind him — Wirtz. Advertisement The problem for Liverpool is that Wirtz alone can't replicate all of Alexander-Arnold. The German midfielder is more of a threat in the attacking third — he led Leverkusen in shot-creating actions with 5.66 — than he is a contributor to a team's build-up play. Wirtz just ranked eighth for Leverkusen when it came to passing the ball into the opponent's final third, miles behind Granit Xhaka, who led the team in progressive passes. To fill that final hole in the build-up play, Liverpool are turning to Kerkez. At first glance, it's hard to see how Kerkez could come close to matching Alexander-Arnold's ability. The 20-year-old did lead Bournemouth in progressive passes with 159, but that number falls well short of Alexander-Arnold's 232 from last season. However, passing isn't the only way to move the ball forward — players can dribble, too. If you combine progressive passes and carries, Kerkez is much closer to Alexander-Arnold's tier of ball progression. Alexander-Arnold authored 283 progressive movements last season. Thanks to 106 progressive carries to go along with those 159 progressive passes, Kerkez was responsible for 265. If Frimpong fills his actual position and Wirtz takes over some of the playmaking in the final third, it's Kerkez's distribution from deep that replicates the last part of Alexander-Arnold's production. On the surface, fading Liverpool and looking for value in clubs like Arsenal (5/2) or Manchester City (13/5) to win the title next season would seem to be the right move. In this transfer window, other title-contending clubs have been acquiring exciting talent, rather than watching helplessly as a prime-age, generational superstar leaves town. But like Beane did with the A's two decades ago, Michael Edwards and Liverpool's front office were tasked with replacing an irreplaceable player. The transfer window isn't close to finished yet, but if Wirtz and Kerkez join Frimpong, there's a chance Liverpool will have accomplished that seemingly impossible feat. They just needed to do it in the aggregate. Betting/odds links in this article are provided by partners of The Athletic. Restrictions may apply. The Athletic maintains full editorial independence. Partners have no control over or input into the reporting or editing process and do not review stories before publication. (Photo of Jeremy Frimpong: Daniel Kopatsch / Getty Images)
Yahoo
39 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Epsom aims to put showpiece Classic back at level of Kentucky Derby
Having staged the draw for last year's Derby with hand-scrawled ping-pong balls outside the local Wetherspoons, the only way was up before the 246th running of the Epsom Classic and there was a welcome sense of occasion and sporting heritage as 19 runners – the biggest field since 2003 – were handed their spots in the starting stalls for the race on Saturday. For that, thanks were due in no small measure to the Football Association, which agreed to lend its famous balls, velvet bag and Perspex bowl, familiar from FA Cup draws gone by, for the ceremony. As Willie Carson, four times a winner of the Classic and on hand to draw the stall numbers, pointed out during the rehearsal, the FA's crest was still obvious on the bag. Advertisement Related: FA Cup balls are ready for a wide-open Derby with no obvious winner But if a little borrowing from elsewhere can help to rebuild the Derby's popularity and status, both locally and further afield, then Jim Allen, Epsom's new general manager, will ask away. 'I came here [to the local Picturehouse] to watch a movie a few months ago, and I thought it would be an ideal venue for the draw,' Allen said on Wednesday. 'I called a friend of mine at the FA to ask if there was any chance we could use their equipment, and within 45 minutes, they said: 'Yes.' 'We tried to get a set of starting stalls into town as well, which everybody was on board for, but it was the size of them, we just really couldn't quite fit them in, so we're looking at that for next year.' Allen never missed a Derby when he was growing up in nearby Croydon – 'it was the one day all year when I missed school' – but nearly a quarter of a century working in a variety of roles, including director of racing at Arena Racing Company from 2006 to 2015 and a spell training horses in the US and France, has kept him away from Epsom on the big day since the turn of the century. Advertisement He has thought of little else since his appointment last October, however, and this year the Classic meeting, which opens with the Oaks and Coronation Cup card on Friday, will be his first chance to put a stamp on the event, and tempt racegoers back to an occasion that has seen attendances decline steadily. The 2004 Derby drew 48,000 spectators, but 10 years later the figure had dropped to 34,000 and last year it was just under 27,000. 'It's my job to try to bring some of those crowds back,' Allen says. 'It will take a while to learn about Epsom, it's quite a complicated racecourse with its temporary-structure build, but basically we'll review everything, including the marketing, the promotion, and the temporary structures, and at the heart of it will be the race. I'd like to build everything around the race.' One of Allen's models for the Derby's future will be Louisville, Kentucky, where he has seen first-hand how the buildup to the Kentucky Derby takes over the city in the days before. 'We'd love to get it to that level,' he says. 'It'll take a bit of time but there's no reason why we can't. Epsom is a fantastic town and there are venues here to do all sorts of different things. And as we develop the strategy now, going forwards in the next six months and the next five years, the town will be a big part of that.' Advertisement Uttoxeter: 2.00 Miss Goldfire 2.30 Ernest Gray 3.00 Lost Connections 3.30 Baltray 4.00 Hecouldbetheone 4.33 Auntie Maggie 5.05 Crystal Mer. Hamilton: 2.12 Blue Nguru 2.42 Betweenthesticks 3.12 Sea Legend 3.42 Korker 4.12 Yermanthere 4.43 Sir Garfield (nap) 5.17 Arch Legend. Lingfield: 2.20 Dubai Harbour 2.50 Blewburton 3.20 Keybaar 3.50 Gallant 4.25 Touchwood 4.55 Maid In Chelsea. Chelmsford City: 5.00 Eclipser 5.35 Nifty 6.05 Smokey Malone 6.35 Hot Dancer 7.07 Danza Parigina 7.42 Maxident 8.17 Ornately (nb) 8.47 City Captain. Ffos Las: 6.15 Reina Del Mar 6.45 Unspeakable 7.20 Gavin 7.55 Ferret Jeeter 8.30 You Say Nothing 9.00 Twist Of Fatecatch. Advertisement The most significant news after the draw on Wednesday was the confirmation that Ryan Moore, Aidan O'Brien's stable jockey, will ride Delacroix, the winner of Leopardstown's Derby trial, from stall 14, while Colin Keane and Wayne Lordan will take the reins on his stable companions, The Lion In Winter and Lambourn, drawn in 19 and 10 respectively. Delacroix remains favourite at a top price of 3-1, with Ruling Court, the 2,000 Guineas winner, on 7-2 and Pride Of Arras, who took the Dante Stakes at York last month, at 5-1. The Lion In Winter is 6-1 to bounce back from his defeat when odds-on for the Dante, and it is 12-1 bar.
