By now you've probably heard about the "apology balls" story, in which Pete Rose is supposed to have signed 300 baseballs with the words "I'm sorry I bet on baseball — Pete Rose", and is set to sell them at $1,000 a pop. That's what the New York Daily News said on Monday, anyway, in a rather glaring cover story that cast Rose as at most the devil, and at the least, a greedy schmuck. And here's a surprise: Rose says he's innocent. And to clear his name, he of course went to the one news source we can all trust: ESPN's Quite Frankly with Stephen A. Smith. We watched the video of Rose's Monday night appearance — twice — and still have no freakin' idea what happened; no one in the studio made a lick of sense. So we remain kind of hoping that this story is true, because it could open up an exciting untapped collectibles market. Imagine Terrell Owens footballs signed: "Sorry I'm such a dick — T.O." Other possibilities: • "Sorry about the hatchet — Maurice Clarett"
• "Sorry for the last two minutes of the Oregon game — Pac-10 officials"
• "Sorry about the Lusitania — Kaiser Wilhelm II"
• "Sorry for the popped collar — J.J. Redick" Pete's Signs Of His Sorry Times [New York Daily News]
Rose-Signed Balls: "I'm Sorry I Bet On Baseball" [ESPN]
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The French Ministry of Justice confirmed that anti-corruption officers took the 63-year-old in for questioning in the Parisian suburb of Nanterre on Tuesday morning.
Platini is currently serving a four-year ban from football after FIFA s Ethics Committee found that he received a disloyal payment from former FIFA president Sepp Blatter.
A statement from the Ministry of Justice, given to Omnisport, read: Platini was taken in for questioning on Tuesday by officers of the Anti-Corruption Office of the Judicial Police.
Following questioning, he was detained.
Qatar was awarded the 2022 World…
Barcelona great Xavi believes Neymar will win the Ballon d Or after Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo s dominance ends.
The past 10 Ballons d Or have been won by Barcelona star Messi and Real Madrid forward Ronaldo, with Kaka in 2007 the last player outside that duo to claim the coveted individual honour.
Xavi, who finished third for the prize from 2009-11, feels Paris Saint-Germain star Neymar will claim the Ballon d Or immediately after the two modern-day greats slow down.
I have tremendous respect for Neymar, he s an amazing footballer, he told RMC on Wednesday.
When Messi or Ronaldo will be in a bad shape, and we ll see more at Cristiano because of his age [33], Neymar will be the next Ballon d Or winner. I m sure of that.
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As the game looked to be heading for a penalty shootout, Bowen emerged as West Ham s hero, deflecting in the winner with just two minutes left on the clock, though the ball appeared to strike his arm.
Julen Lopetegui s Hammers were on the backfoot for most of the first half, which ended with Bournemouth winger Dango Ouattara testing goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski with an acrobatic effort.
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Manchester City showed few signs of slowing as they recorded another win at Arsenal on Sunday.
The runaway Premier League leaders remain 10 points clear of both Manchester United and Leicester City, who each enjoyed victories of their own.
West Ham complete the top four, meanwhile, after a long-awaited triumph for manager David Moyes.
We start at the London Stadium in recapping the best of Sunday s action with the help of Opta data.
West Ham 2-1 Tottenham: Moyes ends miserable run against Mourinho
Moyes finally got the measure of Jose Mourinho as West Ham climbed into the top four with a 2-1 home win against Tottenham.
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Laurent Blanc and Jose Mourinho were linked to the role, but a recruitment panel headed up by sporting director Juninho Pernambucano and including Gerard Houllier unanimously agreed on Garcia.
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We can announce that Rudi Garcia has been appointed the new coach of .
— OL English (@OL_English)
His appointment comes as something of a surprise given his chequered …
Verdict: Sevilla to score over 2,5 goals yes
Best Odds:
Bookmaker:
Sevilla are 90 minutes away from reaching the third qualifying stage in the UEFA Europa League and barring an epic collapse, they should advance rather easily. They will travel to Budapest to take on Ujpest, but already won the first leg by a comfortable 4-0 score so we shouldn t expect the Liga side to suffer in this one. The match will be played at 20.00 hrs (BST) at Ferenc Szusza Stadion. Kirill Levnikov (RUS) will be the referee.
Újpest
Let s be honest here. Újpest do not have a realistic chance of turning things around against Sevilla. We could say that anything can happen, and that Újpest will get a massive boost with the support of their fans. But we must keep this realis…
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