England

Bayern Munich have won the 2013 UEFA Champions League after a thrilling final came to an end with an 89th-minute winning goal, courtesy of Arjen Robben.One of the best finals of recent years was played out in England between two German clubs, with Borussia Dortmund and Bayern providing a fantastic spectacle to close the season with.After a goalless first half, the match sparked into life with goals after the break from Mario Mandzukic and Ilkay Gundogan, the latter from the penalty spot, before Robben scored the deciding goal with less than 60 seconds left of the 90 minutes.Neither side sprung any surprises with their starting XI, with Mario Gotze and Toni Kroos missing out for either side through injury, with Kevin Grosskreutz and Arjen Robben the lucky two who came in to take their places respectively.Both of the German Bundesliga teams went with a familiar 4-2-3-1 system, with Marco Reus moving infield for Dortmund to accommodate Grosskreutz on the flank, and Thomas Muller doing the same for Bayern.With a packed Wembley stadium in London noisy from kick-off, the first chance of the game came within three minutes after Robert Lewandowski saw his shot blocked behind for a corner. It set the tone for what was a fairly frantic opening, but without any consistent execution of attacking moves or crisp midfield passing.Dortmund had the better of the opening stages of the game, but other than Manuel Neuer taking a high corner confidently in his penalty area there was little work for either goalkeeper. Quick distribution from the Bayern goalkeeper looked to give them a threat on the break, but Arjen Robben and Franck Ribery couldn't make the most of the one-on-one chances they had with the Dortmund defence.Robert Lewandowski got into action on the quarter-hour mark with a run down the left and then a fierce shot from range, tipped over by Neuer—and from the ensuing corner Reus crossed low for Jakub Blaszczykowski to strike a low effort, forcing a smart low save from the German No. 1.It was certainly the best chance of the game's opening 20 minutes, and Bayern owed their goalkeeper a debt of thanks.Sven Bender and Marco Reus also both tested Neuer with low efforts before the half-hour mark, with Bayern struggling to make any sort of impression on the match as an attacking force at all—until out of nothing Mario Mandzukic had a header tipped onto the crossbar by Dortmund keeper Roman Weidenfeller and from the resulting corner, Javi Martinez headed over.Ribery might have been lucky to escape without a card for a flailing arm, which left Dortmund fans irate.Arjen Robben then had a great chance to open the scoring, one-on-one with Weidenfeller, but could only hit the goalkeeper with his shot.It looked as though Bayern had weathered the early storm from Dortmund and would finish the half stronger, but Lewandowski almost immediately found himself free on goal—only for Neuer to yet again deny him.Robben wasted another chance to cross or shoot less than a minute after, and Muller glanced a header wide of the far post with Dortmund struggling to match Bayern aerially from set pieces.The final big chance of the first half fell to Robben once more, just 10 yards from goal, but he cracked a shot high and central and straight at the goalkeeper who made another terrific reaction stop, albeit with his face. Whether by luck or good positioning, Weidenfeller had played—along with opposite number Neuer—a big part in the first half remaining goalless.The second half opened in as frantic fashion as most of the first 45 had been played at, but neither stopper was seriously called upon this time until Mandzukic had another unmarked header off a corner just shy of the hour mark.Weidenfeller grasped it quickly, but it was yet further evidence that Dortmund were struggling with Bayern's set piece attacks.And then, on the hour mark, Wembley stadium exploded in a sea of red.Ribery and Robben combined to get the latter in the area,

Jim O’Connor – USA TODAY Sports Much has been made about the New England Patriots connection with former Rutgers University players. The Patriots selected three players from the Rutgers Scarlet Knights program in the 2013 NFL Draft. New England also recently signed two undrafted free agents from Rutgers, totaling eight former Scarlet Knight players on the Patriots’ roster. The linking to Rutgers is obvious for head coach Bill Belichick as his son played college football for the Scarlet Knights. Belichick has also grown close to former Rutgers coach Greg Schiano, who is about to enter his second year as head coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Belichick has a strong belief that these former Rutgers players can produce for the Patriots because of their football background. Belichick trusts the foundation at Rutgers, and thus has no problem giving as many players from that program the chance to make the Patriots roster. What can we expect production wise from the former Scarlet Knights on the Patriots this season? Well, six of the eight players from Rutgers are on the defense side of the ball and have a chance to impact an improving defensive unit. Devin McCourty, a 2010 draftee from Rutgers, has cemented his status as a starting safety on the Patriots. McCourty is a defensive captain and is on pace to have a strong season after moving away from the cornerback position. Defensive end Justin Francis, a 2012 undrafted free agent, was a starter by the end of the regular season with all the injuries to the defense. He is renowned for his work ethic and should make a decent contribution to the Patriots’ defense in 2013. All three Rutgers draftees on the Pats’ roster from the 2013 class could play a major role in the defense, particularly third-round picks Logan Ryan and Duron Harmon. Cornerback Ryan and safety Harmon may see significant playing time in their rookie seasons’, especially if injuries pile up on the secondary. Seventh-round pick Steve Beauharnais is a physical linebacker that has a great chance to make the 53-man roster come September. The remaining former Scarlet Knights players are long shots to make the team. Offensive tackle Kevin Haslam, who played sparingly for the San Diego Chargers last season, is far down on the depth chart for one of the top offensive lines in the league. Cornerback Brandon Jones and wide receiver Mark Harrison also face uphill battles to make the roster. But both players do not have to look far to find a source of motivation as former Scarlet Knight Justin Francis thrived in the Patriots’ system, despite not being drafted. The production of the Rutgers players will be watched closely throughout the season to evaluate another unorthodox experiment from the highly-intelligent football-minded Bill Belichick. Tyler Ash is a New England Patriots Writer for Rant Sports. Follow him on twitter @TyAsh34 Like His Facebook Page, or add him to your network on Google Plus

When draft season comes around people always talk about positional value, with the consensus being that the premium positions are LT, QB, CB, and pass rushers. So it stands to reason that these positions are more valuable because they teams that are great here should be the top teams in the league right? Well these are some interesting things I found after looking at the site that provides the closest you can get to hard data for football on the internet: Pro Football Focus. The table is at the bottom, and here are three things first before they get asked: 1) If a team had an injury at one of these positions or a new starter took over the job mid-season the player with the most snaps was used. 2) This is a reflection of last year's teams that means players that scored exceptionally low or high may no longer be with the teams. 3) The list is sorted from worst final scores to the best with San Diego having the worst players at key spots and Denver leading the league, and the numbers besides their names are indicators of where they ranked based on wins. For example Baltimore won the SB so they are 1, and KC drafted first so they are 32. Interesting fact #1: 13 teams managed to play the year without a bad starter at any of the key positions and they are: St. Louis, Dallas, Oakland, Carolina, Washington, Tennessee, NYG, San Francisco, Atlanta, New England, Seattle, Houston, and Denver. Interesting fact #2: J.J. Watt personally is rated higher than any other individual, and he is ranked higher than 30 of the teams final scores, with his team and Denver being the exceptions. Interesting fact #3: Baltimore made won the Super Bowl and only managed to scrape together a final score of 10.2, the fourth worst on this list. This is possible because the Ravens utilize an efficient ground game, and their best pass rusher was hurt for most of the year. Interesting fact #4: San Diego managed to be the only team to get a negative in EVERY category. The Chargers were bad at all the key positions and still managed to escape drafting in the top ten thanks to a weak division and a few above average performances at home. Interesting fact #5: In these rankings Indianapolis is the lowest rated AFCS team thanks to very good play by the Jaguars LT and Austin Lane their best pass rusher. So what does it all mean? All piece says to me is that the Titans have a very good roster where it counts and they just underperformed. Giving Jake Locker better protection will boost his score, and life should only get easier for the Titans best DE (Derrick Morgan) and their best CB (Jason McCourty) since the Titans have upgraded talent at DT and S. If the Titans manage to play up to their rosters capability then the playoffs aren't out of reach considering the bottom 10 teams on this list play the Titans a combined seven times next year (SD-once, ARZ-once, NYJ-once, IND-twice, JAX-twice) and the Titans will have home field advantage against all five of those teams at some point. table { }td { padding-top: 1px; padding-right: 1px; padding-left: 1px; color: black; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; vertical-align: bottom; border: medium none; white-space: nowrap; }.xl63 { font-size: 10pt; font-family: Calibri; } TEAM LT QB CB Pass Rush Final Score SD (22) -43.4 -4.5 -5.2 -3.5 -56.6 ARZ (26) -38.7 4.7 9.3 -2.6 -27.3 BUF (25) 6.6 -18.6 3.8 10 1.8 BLT (1) -5.9 4.7 3.5 7.9 10.2 NYJ (24) 23.5 -22.1 10 0.3 11.7 CLV (27) 25.6 -30 8.3 8.3 12.2 DET (28) -2.4 9.8 7.4 -1.9 12.9 IND (9) 7.3 8.1 5.5 -0.5 20.4 JAX (31) 21 -4.3 -2.5 7.8 22 PHI (29) 6.6 -11.4 1.5 31.6 28.3 STL (17) 8.6 3.1 6.9 12 30.6 TB (20) 14.9 -3.9 3.8 18.8 33.6 PIT (16) -12.4 34.8 9.8 2.9 35.1 KC (32) 13.8 -4.9 13.7 16 38.6 MIN (10) 15.8

England batsman Joe Root hopes his maiden Test century can help secure a victory against New Zealand at Headingley.

Joe Root hit his maiden Test century on his home ground as England ended day two of the second Test against New Zealand on 337-7 at Headingley.

Joe Root hits a maiden Test century as England reach 337-7 against New Zealand on day two of the second Test.

By Jeremy Hritz What can we expect from Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders in the 2013 season? After being courted by the New England Patriots, Sanders signed an offer sheet that many believed the Steelers would not match. However, by the end of the matching deadline, Sanders had been retained, and the Steelers did not acquire an additional third round draft pick, to the chagrin of many in Steelers Nation. The detrimental effects of Mike Wallace and his egocentrism are still fresh in the minds of his former teammates, coaches, and fans, and a repeat experience with Sanders has Read more [...]

Last night, Baroness played their first show as a full band since a bus accident in England last August that injured every member of the group. It was also the band’s first show with a new line-up: Nick Jost on bass and Sebastian Thomson on drums. Below, watch fan footage of the first song the band performed last night at Union Transfer in Philly, “Take My Bones Away”. Frontman John Dyer Baizley recently spoke to Stereogum about his long recovery process. “This accident worked its way out on everyone on a different way,” said Baizley. “We were all affected in different ways. Getting back to rehearsals and even the concept of touring has been, at times, challenging. The most immediate challenge I faced was physical. But my anticipation and excitement is building. It’s been fun playing music and practicing again. We started doing this because we enjoyed the outlet. There was something rehabilitative just in the pure rehearsals. We’re excited to pay again. Our lives and livelihood were nearly taken away from us.” Read More...

With three teams being promoted to the Premier League, there will be several new players catching the eyes of supporters.Cardiff and Hull have already booked their places in the Premier League, and next Monday sees Crystal Palace and Watford do battle in the world’s most lucrative football match for the final spot in the Championship playoff final.With that in mind, there will be some fresh, exciting and hungry new talent entering the Premier League fray for the next season. Here are some of those names who could make an impact and help their teams to achieve the greatest of successes next campaign—maintaining Premier League status. CARDIFF Keep an eye out— Ben Turner Young Ben Turner really came of age at the heart of Cardiff’s defence last season. The champions of the Championship won the league at a canter, in truth, and Turner was one of the unsung heroes of that tremendous run.Standing at 6’4”, the 24-year-old is a domineering figure for strikers to try and get past or around, and his positional sense makes it very difficult to catch him off guard. He played 31 games in the league last season and will be an integral part of Malky Mackay’s squad in the Premier League.There are a few players in this Cardiff side who will have points to prove next season; Peter Whittingham, Craig Bellamy, Frazier Campbell and Mark Hudson to name but a few, so there were plenty of worthwhile candidates to choose from. But in Turner, Cardiff have a leader.A young man who is still developing, still learning the game and, should he get a chance to further that in the Premier League, could turn into one of the country’s finest centre-backs. One to watch—Craig Noone As I said, there are some established names in this Cardiff side that can offer a lot of experience to some of the younger heads in their debut Premier League season.One of those young heads is Craig Noone, whose form last season was one of the reasons why Cardiff were so imperious in their rise to the top of the league.The diminutive midfielder scored seven goals in 32 appearances, a fairly decent return, and he made an immediate impact on his debut and continued to do so right the way through the season.Noone is blessed with blistering pace which makes it incredibly hard to defend, especially when he marauds right through the middle of the park. His pace is augmented by some fancy tricks which he has the confidence to use in order to beat a man.His displays have made him a favourite with the fans, and he could pick up a few more admirers if he can replicate the form shown last season in the Premier League. HULL CITY Keep an eye out—Jack Hobbs Hull City’s counter-attacking style of football is predicated upon a solid base at the back from which to build. One of the main reasons for having this solid base is Jack Hobbs. The former Liverpool youth player and England U-21 international has excelled in the past season.Playing in his manager's former position, Hobbs has been the bedrock that has served the Tigers so well in the Championship.His calm under pressure and assured performances stood out in the Championship and, at 24 years of age, he is only going to improve.Hull will know it is the conceding of goals, rather than the scoring of them, that is the most difficult part of assimilation into the Premier League but with Hobbs they have a young, tenacious, physical specimen that won’t be bullied into defensive submission.Schooled at Liverpool, he has experience in playing with big players, so I expect he shouldn’t be too daunted. In fact, quite the opposite: He will probably relish the Premier League challenge. One to watch—Sone Aluko Brought in from Rangers in 2012, Sone Aluko has continued to impress with his all-action, box-to-box style. With his boundless energy mixed with his considerable ability, he has been the midfield general at the heart of Hull’s promotion push to the Premier Leag

England moved through to 178-4 at tea on day two of the second test at Headingley, with Ian Bell and Joe Root steadying the innings.