BRENDAN RODGERS

The Premier League is getting ready to pause for the World Cup and some unlikely storylines are in place for the second half of the season.

Astros rookie shortstop and AL Championship Series MVP Jeremy Peña won his first Gold Glove Award and Houston right fielder Kyle Tucker joined his teammate on the list announced before Game 3 of the World Series.

Newcastle's rise to becoming a team ready to compete in the Champions League is happening quicker than many would have predicted.

Tottenham saw off Everton 2-0 at home and secured its best start in the English Premier League era after 10 games.

Getting 22 new signings to gel is proving to be a mightily difficult task for Nottingham Forest manager Steve Cooper.

Jack Grealish and Son Heung-min are two of the English Premier League’s most high-profile players and have been facing growing criticism for their failure to score this season.

It wasn't long ago that there was a crisis at Manchester United but that seems like a dim and distant memory now.

Remember that time, not so long ago, when there was a crisis at Manchester United? The latest sign that United is well on the road to recovery came on Sunday with a 3-1 win over Arsenal, whose 100% start to the season came to an end. There were still anti-Glazer chants inside and outside Old Trafford — it feels like those protests against the ownership are here to stay, whether the team wins or loses — but they are now accompanied by frequent and jubilant roars for goals.

Kyle Wright pitched seven scoreless innings to earn his major league-leading 17th victory, Austin Riley and Ronald Acuña Jr. homered, and the Atlanta Braves beat the Colorado Rockies 3-2.

It was a milestone day for Harry Kane in the Premier League.

Chicago White Sox All-Star shortstop Tim Anderson is expected to miss six weeks because of a tear in the middle of his left hand suffered in a game last weekend.

James Outman homered on the first swing of his first big-league at-bat and finished with three hits and three RBIs as the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Colorado Rockies 7-3 and closed out July with 21 victories.

San Diego star third baseman Manny Machado sprained his left ankle while taking a tumble running out a grounder and the Colorado Rockies completed a three-game sweep, beating the Padres 8-3.

Colorado Rockies catcher Brian Serven fouled off the first pitch in his first major league at-bat in the direction of his family sitting behind the plate at Coors Field.

Zack Wheeler tossed one-hit ball over six shutout innings and Alec Bohm homered to help the Philadelphia Phillies complete a four-game sweep of the Colorado Rockies with a 7-1 victory.

Leicester's FA Cup defense has been ended by Nottingham Forest after the second-tier side won 4-1 in the fourth round.

Ralf Rangnick has started his tenure as Manchester United manager with a 1-0 win over Crystal Palace in the Premier League thanks to a rare goal from Fred at Old Trafford.

Shohei Ohtani continued his power display Wednesday, crushing a three-run home run, and Phil Gosselin had a go-ahead RBI single in the eighth inning for the Los Angeles Angels, who rallied for an 8-7 victory over the Colorado Rockies.

Shohei Ohtani pitched seven strong innings and hit an early RBI single as the Los Angeles Angels earned a 6-2 victory over the Colorado Rockies.

Being a back-up was all Kelechi Iheanacho ever knew.

Leicester’s bid for Champions League soccer has suffered a minor setback after having to settle for a 1-1 draw with 10-man Southampton in the English Premier League.

Losing 3-1 at Leicester in the FA Cup quarterfinals on Sunday realistically leaves Ole Gunnar Solskjaer with only the Europa League to produce his first trophy as United manager. The other semifinal will pit Man City against Chelsea, which beat Sheffield United 2-0 in Sunday's other quarterfinal. “But the ambition is there to win titles and be competitive.”The FA Cup semifinals next month take place a week before the League Cup final between City and Tottenham. “But in the second half we played some of the best I have seen us play. Tottenham doubled its lead midway through the second half when Kane clinically scored from the penalty spot, having been fouled by Matty Cash.

The 27-year-old says his power surge through the first two weeks of exhibition games is for real. He's had a good start with seven hits in his first 14 at-bats, including three homers and three doubles. He's shown dominant stuff at different points throughout his career and struck out a career-high 235 batters in 2019. The 24-year-old has been a top prospect for several years and hit .350 with nine homers in 2019 at Triple-A Albuquerque. The durable right-hander pitched an MLB-high 84 innings for the Rangers last season and had a 6-3 record with a 3.32 ERA.

Arsenal's manager Mikel Arteta reacts during the English Premier League soccer match between Burnley and Arsenal at Turf Moor stadium in Burnley, England, Saturday, March 6, 2021. Arsenal midfielder Granit Xhaka received a short pass from goalkeeper Bernd Leno, took a slightly heavy touch onto his weaker right foot, then attempted a dangerous pass across the face of goal around Burnley striker Chris Wood. “It’s the way we play and the way we want to play,” said Arteta, whose side had gone ahead through Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang. He was sent off in the teams’ meeting at Emirates Stadium in December and also in their game in January 2017. The team hasn't played in the Champions League since the 2016-17 campaign, missing out last season after a late collapse.

(Matthew Childs/Pool via AP)LONDON – Gareth Bale turned back time for Tottenham, while Chelsea and Manchester United seemed happy just to play out time. Chelsea kept its unbeaten record under manager Thomas Tuchel in a 0-0 draw with Man United as both teams appeared reluctant to risk losing one point in the hope of getting three. However, Mourinho warned that Bale would still have to rest for some upcoming games to manage his form and fitness. He had scored six goals and assisted three more in his team's previous 10 league games. The draw left Scott Parker's team unbeaten in five league games, with only one goal conceded during that time, but still 18th and three points adrift of safety.

Neil Lennon, Celtic’s increasingly embattled coach, couldn’t fail to hear the commotion as he walked into his post-match media conference. Celtic’s players headed to Italy on Wednesday for a Europa League match against AC Milan looking for just a third win in their last 11 games in all competitions. Even more so this season as Celtic chases an unprecedented 10th straight league title, which would close the gap to Rangers in terms of overall championship triumphs to two. Rangers, meanwhile, is taking advantage of its rival's slump, even outdoing Celtic by rising atop its Europa League group that contains Benfica. Stopping Celtic achieving “The 10” — as it is often referred to Scotland — is the biggest task this season, though.

“I didn’t like my team," the Tottenham manager said after Dominic Calvert-Lewin’s second-half header gave Everton a 1-0 win in the Premier League on Sunday. For all that Everton was dynamic — with James Rodriguez and Allan controlling the midfield on their debuts — Tottenham was ineffective going forward. “The struggle started in the way we pressed — or the way we didn’t press," Mourinho said. But it was the perfect start for Everton manager Carlo Ancelotti, who took charge midseason last year like Mourinho. “He defended well, attacked and ... he will run all day and looks to get in the box," Leicester manager Brendan Rodgers said.

It was a test of resolve for new Premier League chief executive Richard Masters, but Project Restart was accomplished. No team suffered more after the restart in June than the 2016 champion, blowing an eight-point cushion in the Champions League places. The capitulation was completed by Sundays 2-0 loss to Manchester United, which took the last Champions League place off Brendan Rodgers' lineup. Like Chelsea, Arsenal turned to a former midfielder this season to take charge. But there wont be a fifth consecutive season in the Champions League for the 2019 beaten finalist.

(Andy Rain, Pool via AP)LONDON At least David De Gea was spared having a crowd inside Wembley to witness his latest mistakes in the Manchester United goal. Gifted goals to beat United 3-1 on Sunday, Chelsea will be returning to the national stadium on Aug. 1 to face Arsenal in an all-London FA Cup final. Olivier Giroud's close-range deft touch from Cesar Azpilicueta's cross was pushed into his own goal by De Gea. De Gea hadnt played in the competition since the 2018 final when Chelsea beat United. It means Frank Lampard's first season as Chelsea manager will end with a cup final.

A 4-1 capitulation at relegation-threatened Bournemouth on Sunday summed up Leicester's form since the Premier League returned from its three-month coronavirus-enforced shutdown. I would say a big apology to the supporters because that was unacceptable for a Leicester team," Leicester manager Brendan Rodgers said. Fifth could, however, clinch England's fourth and final Champions League place if second-place Manchester City's Champions League ban for next season is confirmed by the Court of Arbitration for Sport on Monday. Arsenal and Tottenham, though, are realistically in a scrap for a Europa League place. Palaces run of five straight Premier League defeats is now manager Roy Hodgsons equal worst sequence in the competition.