FIS Alpine Skiing World Cup - Men's Super G
Marco Odermatt looks to continue rolling after clinching his fourth consecutive men's overall World Cup title in the super-G event from the FIS Alpine Skiing World Cup stop in Sun Valley, Idaho.
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Winnipeg Free Press
2 hours ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Can South Africa finally break its ICC curse in the WTC final? Conrad confident
LONDON (AP) — South Africa is at the business end of another world cricket championship and is haunted by the ghosts of losses past. An infamous failure to win any cricket World Cup, often in heart-breaking fashion, weighs on the Proteas who are preparing for the World Test Championship final against titleholder Australia on Wednesday at Lord's. South Africa's only global title was the Champions Trophy 27 years ago. It has never reached the ODI World Cup final, falling in the semifinals five times. When it got to the climax of the 2024 T20 World Cup in Bridgetown — its first world final since 1998 — it needed 30 runs off 30 balls with six wickets in hand against India. And lost by seven runs. Five of that 11 are in the WTC squad. 'It doesn't weigh heavy on us,' South Africa coach Shukri Conrad said on Monday before practice. 'It's unfair to burden this group with anything that's gone before. But you can't wish things away. We want to and we need to win another ICC event. But whatever tags come along, we don't wear that. 'It's another occasion to set the record straight, to get that first title. And you can only win it if you play in finals, and the more finals you play in you obviously improve your chances of winning. So we've got another chance. We had a chance not so long ago in the West Indies, in the T20 World Cup. Hopefully, this time, we break that duck.' Conrad brought up the choker tag to the team last December in the dressing room at Centurion, where South Africa could clinch a spot in the WTC final with a win against Pakistan. In a chase of 148 to win, South Africa was 27-3 at stumps on day three. 'I thought it was the opportune time to lay down the challenge,' Conrad said. 'If it didn't go our way, we had another chance in Cape Town. It didn't go down … kindly, but at some stage that conversation needs to be had. It's all about choosing when to have that. So we had it the evening before, and the result worked out okay. 'We touched on it briefly the other day. Around, what were the learnings from that? What sort of response we can expect, and we're looking for.' Proteas batters look overmatched South Africa starts against Australia as the underdog. A lot is riding on seamers Kagiso Rabada and Marco Jansen restricting the Australian batters. On the batting side, the entire Proteas squad has totaled 22 centuries. Australia star Steve Smith has 36. Conrad was unfazed. 'There's a quiet confidence amongst the batting group,' he said. 'It comes with having gotten hundreds from different players at different stages. Whilst they might not have the superstar names amongst them, as a collective we are pretty confident. 'Guys really go out there and fight for every run, every little contribution. You look at a guy like Tristan Stubbs. He doesn't bowl but you look at his celebrations when wickets get taken. That, for me, is the essence of what this team is about. But hopefully we'll see a few more names on those honors boards around the world. And those batting averages start nudging toward 40 and above, where you know you're on to something really good.' Half of the Proteas squad has never played at Lord's, but Conrad was enlightened and encouraged by advice from Stuart Broad, the England bowling great who retired less than two years ago. Broad was a former Nottinghamshire teammate of South Africa batting coach Ashwell Prince. The Proteas staff dined with him on Sunday night and he joined them for practice on Monday. 'If I didn't call time at 10:50 (p.m.), I think he'd probably still be sitting there chatting to us,' Conrad said. 'Everybody walked away, like, 'Yeah, that was great.' Broady included.' Broad advised about the Lord's slope, the Dukes ball, how to bowl to the Australians, and embracing the occasion. 'We get a chance to walk away as the world test champions. Playing Australia, doesn't get any bigger than that,' Conrad said. 'What's gone before counts for absolutely nothing at the minute. We are quietly confident going into this game that we can pull one over them. We're a confident bunch. We play well as a unit. If there's any vulnerabilities amongst them, I'm sure we'd be able to exploit that.' ___ AP cricket:
Winnipeg Free Press
5 hours ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Spain tries to stay upbeat after shootout loss to Portugal in Nations League final
MADRID (AP) — As Cristiano Ronaldo lifted the Nations League trophy and his Portugal teammates celebrated behind him, Spain's players watched in clear disappointment. There was no major letdown after the penalty shootout defeat in Sunday's final in Munich, though. There were no calls for a coaching change. There was no blaming of players who underperformed. The feeling was that Spain is still on the right track. Before leaving the field, coach Luis de la Fuente gathered his players and made sure they remained upbeat and ready to start focusing on next year's World Cup. 'It was time to remind them that we have to be proud of this team, of what we have been doing,' De la Fuente said. 'I reminded the players that I'm proud to have them in the team. Now we have to start focusing on the World Cup. I'm still counting on every one of them, on those who were here and those who couldn't come this time.' Spain is the European champion and as a nation has been enjoying one of its best runs in international soccer. The women's team is the World Cup and Nations League champion. La Roja also won the men's Olympic tournament in France last year, as well as the 2023 Nations League. 'You can't question what this team has been achieving,' De la Fuente said. 'It has been defining an era, a style, and it will continue to do so, not because of me, but because of the players that we have.' After beating France 5-4 in the Nations League semifinals last week, Spain lost the final 5-3 on penalties after a 2-2 draw following extra time. Striker Álvaro Morata was the only player to miss his spot kick. 'Morata is a champion and a reference for us,' De la Fuente said. 'I'm responsible for his missed kick because I'm the one who asked him to take the shot.' Martín Zubimendi (21 minutes) and Mikel Oyazarbal (45) twice gave Spain the lead but Portugal rallied with goals by Nuno Mendes in the 26th and Ronaldo in the 61st. 'We have to overcome this defeat as best we can and value the positive momentum we have had in recent years,' Zubimendi said. 'This time we let the title slip away because of details. We have to keep our feet on the ground. We have been used to winning. Since I joined the national team I've only experienced positive things.' Winnipeg Jets Game Days On Winnipeg Jets game days, hockey writers Mike McIntyre and Ken Wiebe send news, notes and quotes from the morning skate, as well as injury updates and lineup decisions. Arrives a few hours prior to puck drop. De la Fuente took over from Luis Enrique following defeat to Morocco in the round of 16 at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. He recently had his contract renewed by the Spanish soccer federation until 2028 and the next Euros. He is leading a team with a bright future thanks to young stars such as 17-year-old Lamine Yamal, Nico Williams, Pedri, Gavi, Dean Huijsen and Pau Cubarsí. Spain's next match is in Bulgaria on Sept. 4 in the World Cup qualifiers. ___ AP soccer:
Winnipeg Free Press
6 hours ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Germany reassesses World Cup prospects after being taught lessons by France and Portugal
BERLIN (AP) — Two defeats and last place in a mini-tournament it expected to win have dealt Germany a cold dose of reality ahead of the 2026 World Cup. The Nations League final four in Germany was supposed to show Julian Nagelsmann's team can count itself among Europe's best, but a 2-1 loss to Portugal in Munich followed by a 2-0 defeat to France in Stuttgart instead revealed a gulf in class. It showed that tournament-winner Portugal, beaten finalist Spain – the European champion – and a talent-packed France team are among the favorites with defending champion Argentina to win soccer's biggest prize next year. Nagelsmann was keen to highlight the positives, noting that Germany dominated and created a host of chances in the first half against France on Sunday – but counterpart Didier Deschamps had already said what little importance he gave the third-place decider, and it was clear which side was more motivated in front of the Stuttgart fans. Kylian Mbappé scored before the break and set up Michael Olise for the second goal as Les Bleus shook off their apathy in the second half and might have scored more. 'If you look at the first half, honestly, they were not bothered about winning. But they still won,' Germany captain Joshua Kimmich said. Germany's forwards were simply not as clinical as France's. It was a similar tale against Portugal, which rallied to beat Germany on Wednesday. Portugal coach Roberto Martínez changed the game when he introduced substitutes Vitinha, Francisco Conceição and Nelson Semedo in the second half, and Germany needed goalkeeper Marc-André ter Stegen at his best to stop the visitors scoring any more. Coach Nagelsmann pointed to the injury-enforced absences from his team – Jamal Musiala, Angelo Stiller, Kai Havertz, Antonio Rüdiger, Nico Schlotterbeck, Tim Kleindienst, Jonathan Burkardt and Yann Aurel Bisseck. But France was also without key players like Ousmane Dembélé and Eduardo Camavinga while Deschamps had to do without three of his preferred four-man backline – William Saliba, Dayot Upamecano and Jules Koundé. Even with a full-strength squad, it's debatable whether Germany can match its rivals' strength in depth when it comes to player development and the quality of youngsters coming through. Nine players in Spain coach Luis de la Fuente's Nations League squad are young enough to play at the Under-21 European Championship starting Wednesday in Slovakia. Star player Lamine Yamal is just 17 while Real Madrid's new signing Dean Huijsen looked like he'd been playing for Spain for years. The final was just his fourth appearance. 'It's quite clear, when it comes to the depth of the squad, that we have to abandon the illusion of getting it sorted out in a year,' Nagelsmann said. 'We have a few positions in German soccer that are given too little attention.' Nagelsmann pointed to Spain's use of wide players in attack – like Yamal or Nico Williams – and said Germany's dearth of wing backs had been a problem for years. Kimmich has been deployed at right back when his favored position is in midfield. 'Right now we're looking at what's important to see where we are in the world, what we need for the future, and to learn the right lessons from that,' Nagelsmann said. 'It would be nice if we could get one or two of the players up to speed by next year, but of course that's a limited window of opportunity.' Winnipeg Jets Game Days On Winnipeg Jets game days, hockey writers Mike McIntyre and Ken Wiebe send news, notes and quotes from the morning skate, as well as injury updates and lineup decisions. Arrives a few hours prior to puck drop. The 37-year-old Nagelsmann appealed for patience from journalists, saying he was sure with the players he has that they 'will play a very, very good (World Cup) qualifying campaign and a very, very good tournament' in the United States, Mexico and Canada next summer. Nagelsmann then attempted to push some of the responsibility onto the media. 'You have to have a bit of trust and pull the handbrake a bit,' he said. 'You're in the same boat.' ___ AP soccer:
