Had the rejection of his boyhood club Glasgow Celtic at the age of 15 diverted his career in an alternate direction, the Scotland international would have found himself in the same gear - sans the Liverpool logo and sponsor branding. Jurgen Klopp exclusive Sitting down for his first interview with external media since making a £10 million switch from Hull City, the left-back reveals he could have become “a PE teacher or done something in sports science” if he did not advance from amateur side Queen’s Park having been cut from the Bhoys....

After winning 21 of his first 22 bouts by KO, the Briton suffered his first professional defeat in his American debut, as Ruiz shrugged off the tag of 11-1 underdog to drop Joshua four times. Having hit the canvas in the third round, the Mexican recovered to floor Joshua twice in the same frame, before repeating the feat in the seventh. The latter of those punches forced referee Mike Griffin to stop proceedings with 1:27 on the clock, as Ruiz completed one of the biggest shocks in the recent history of the heavyweight division....

Comedies have a way of sneaking into the pantheon through a side door, so while it’s easy to imagine many people, not just stuffy grown-ups, rolling their eyes at a movie like “Hot Rod,” it’s just as likely that the kid down the aisle is thinking, Best. Movie. Ever. There are moments of inspired silliness in “Hot Rod,” such as the sequence when Rod (Samberg) goes into the woods and takes a nasty spill down what can only be described as the longest hill on earth....

The former Arsenal and Real Madrid striker visited the Reds’ fortress just once aa player in August 1999 and was unable to prevent the Gunners being beaten 2-0. Now president of the Croatian Football Federation, Suker, the top-scorer with six goals at the 1998 World Cup, will be on Merseyside to watch his nation lock horns with the Samba Kings as the countdown to Russia 2018 continues. Liverpool’s Dejan Lovren will be one Croatian player in familiar surroundings on June 3 and Suker reckons Zlatko Dalic’s men are ready to go toe-to-toe with one of the most iconic teams in world football....

And on a bumpy pitch in cold and wet conditions at the PAS Stadium in Tehran, a direct Iraq made life difficult for Australia, with a late Iraqi equaliser making for a nervous final 20 or so minutes for the green and gold. Iraq 1 Australia 1: Socceroos stumble again in qualifying TOUGH GAME “Especially in the second half we really didn’t cope with them being fairly direct,” Postecoglou told Fox Sports....

Mooy was told he would be starting on the bench after the team’s final training session, with Massimo Luongo or Jackson Irvine expected to play instead alongside skipper Mark Milligan in the deeper midfield roles. Australia 1/3 to beat Syria Playmaker Tom Rogic will likely start in an attacking midfield role behind veteran Tim Cahill. with Mathew Leckie returning to a right wing-back role. It’s thought Postecoglou’s tactical reshuffle is designed to help the team move the ball quicker into the final third....

Merkel received a first shot of the AstraZeneca vaccine on April 16, despite concerns at the time about blood clots, and then received the Moderna vaccine for her second dose, spokesman Steffen Seibert told the Associated Press. “And so she can now perhaps take away the fears of people…who were or are worried about this so-called cross-vaccination,” he said. For more reporting from the Associated Press, see below: Meanwhile, more countries around the world are expanding eligibility for a COVID-19 vaccine....

Atop the wish lists of Angels fans sit any one of Justin Upton, Alex Gordon, Chris Davis or Yoenis Cespedes, but Moreno said Wednesday the Halos aren’t seriously pursuing any of them. MORE: Top 14 remaining free agents | Fan Misery Index: Who has suffered the most? “We’re probably going to be out,” Moreno said, via the Los Angeles Times. “We’re talking to them. The numbers are big. Right now, we haven’t been able to ....

An autopsy determined Skaggs had alcohol and drugs in his system when he was found dead in July at the team’s hotel in Texas less than two weeks before his 28th birthday, which has prompted the DEA to investigate where Skaggs obtained the drugs. The Los Angeles Times obtained a copy of the autopsy report from the Tarrant County medical examiner’s office last month. The report said the cause of death was a mixture of “alcohol, fentanyl and oxycodone intoxication with terminal aspiration of gastric contents," meaning Skaggs choked on his own vomit....

Read on to learn more about anger management counseling and why it’s important. What Is Anger Management? People use a number of conscious and unconscious processes to handle their anger. Common approaches include: ExpressingSuppressingCalming While anger may be a normal and healthy emotion, how we respond to it makes a big impact. Anger management involves responding to anger in healthy, constructive ways. People who struggle with anger responses may need professional help to learn how to manage their anger....

Nordin Amrabat was denied a brilliant opener for Watford inside two minutes by an excellent save from Jordan Pickford, while Daryl Janmaat and Odion Ighalo were also thwarted by the goalkeeper as they failed to cancel out Patrick van Aanholt’s opener. Ibra’s start up there with Man Utd’s best The result left an embittered Mazzarri furious with his players for failing to secure a result, stating they only had themselves to blame for defeat....

Ankle fusion is done to decrease pain, but it’s important to know that this intervention also permanently limits ankle mobility. What Is Ankle Fusion Surgery? Ankle fusion surgery clears away swollen and degenerating cartilage in the ankle joint that’s causing pain. Once the inflamed structures are removed, the ankle bones are positioned so they can fuse together to form an immobile unit that doesn’t depend on cartilage for stability....

Although the signs of AS usually aren’t visible on conventional X-rays during the disease’s early stages, X-rays are the gold standard for monitoring bone changes and joint fusion if the disease progresses. This article explains why X-rays are used for diagnosing and monitoring AS, their pros and cons, what to expect during a procedure, and more. Why X-Rays for Ankylosing Spondylitis? X-rays, also known as conventional radiography, are a fast and reliable way to make two-dimensional images of a person’s bones and joints....

There’s the “Greek Freak,” 20-year-old Giannis, who averaged 12.7 points and 6.7 rebounds per game in his second season in the NBA. There’s older brother Thanasis, a 6-6 small forward who’s known as a slasher but hasn’t quite caught on with an NBA team yet and spent much of the 2014-15 season in the D-League. MORE: SN’s 2016 NCAA champion is… | Shaq’s son is crazy good too | Other famous siblings in sports...

How wonderful, then, that the authors of “The Preacher and the Presidents: Billy Graham in the White House” approach their task with such passionate inventiveness. Nancy Gibbs and Michael Duffy, both veterans at Time magazine, have that peculiar gift among newsmagazine writers for being able to shape masses of complex and contradictory information into a compelling narrative. Even better, they have sifted through all the source material—including never-before-published memos by Time correspondents—and packed their story full of details so delicious that even if you’ve read them before you’re happy to read them again....

So it may be premature to mention this, but hidden in the details of the league’s day-to-day business in recent months has been this fact: The groundwork is already being laid for another lockout. That is the consensus among league executives and prominent agents. But it is articulated particularly well by Charles Grantham, who worked for the union from 1978-95, serving as its executive director for the last seven of those years (he left a year before Billy Hunter, who was deposed last year amid scandal, took over)....

Yet, Carlo Ancelotti knew it was already time to start playing to the gallery. Asked what would be expected of fans at the next week’s return leg at the Santiago Bernabeu, Madrid head coach Ancelotti replied: “They need to be ready because we’re going to fight for another magical night.” The seeds were already planted for Madridistas and Ancelotti happily turned the sprinklers on. His message was clear: it’s time for another Remontada - Real Madrid’s self-fulfilling mythology of the magical European comeback....

The president of Sonoma Raceway, a road course located in Sonoma, Calif., that has hosted NASCAR Cup Series races since 1989, claims that on Saturday a “staff member discovered a piece of twine tied in what appeared to be a noose hanging from a tree on raceway property.” Added Steve Page, the track’s president who also serves as its general manager (via NBC Sports): “Our staff, on-site business tenants and local law enforcement have been contacted and asked to share any information they may have....

The breakup scene is not one you’re likely to forget, for Peter is buck naked when Sarah breaks the bad news, and remains that way throughout the entire scene. It’s a new, and startling, use of full-frontal male nudity—one that makes his emotional vulnerability hilariously, uncomfortably literal. His humiliations, however, are just beginning. Peter’s efforts to drown his sorrows in random sex don’t work out as planned—he tends to sob uncontrollably—nor does his escape to Oahu, where he hopes to distract himself with mai tais and Margaritas....

The Tigers are coming off an 8-5 season, and are 23-16 since winning the SEC championship and advancing to the final BCS championship game in 2013. But Auburn is certainly one of the “it” teams heading into 2017, checking in at No. 10 in Sporting News’ Post-Spring Preseason Top 25, which is in line with several publications. MORE: Three questions for Auburn in 2017 “Outside we can’t control but I will tell you this,” Auburn coach Gus Malzahn said on Monday’s SEC teleconference....