The Catalans share top spot in the league with Real Madrid, but could find themselves three points adrift by kick off, as Los Blancos play Alaves early on Saturday morning. Barcelona booked its place in the round of 16 of the Champions League on Wednesday with a convincing 3-1 win at home over Borussia Dortmund, courtesy of goals from Luis Suarez, Lionel Messi and Antoine Griezmann. The win gave coach Ernesto Valverde some breathing room after a rocky spell during which his selection policy had come under severe scrutiny and was a much-needed injection of confidence for Griezmann, who is still finding his feet at Barcelona since arriving from Atletico Madrid in a $133-million deal in the summer....

Next up, Man United face Atleti in Europe for the first time in over three decades. It could be a good time to renew acquaintances. Diego Simeone’s men have not been in the best of form, losing three out of their last four matches. However, the Colchoneros did pick up a win in their most recent encounter, and it was a convincing one, too — a 3-0 away victory over Osasuna....

The Ghana Football Association confirmed Atsu’s arrival in camp on Tuesday via their official Twitter account. It remains to be seen if the speedster will be passed fit for Sunday’s fixture at the Cape Coast Sports Stadium. While playing against Bournemouth in the English Premier League on Saturday, the winger tweaked a muscle after attempting a shot, leading to his withdrawal moments later. Newcastle boss Rafael Benitez confirmed the set-back during his post-match presser, prompting speculations that the 25-year-old will likely withdraw from the upcoming World Cup qualifier....

Procter & Gamble (P&G) announced it would remove the symbol from its packaging after a number of campaigners said that the image was not inclusive of transgender individuals who were assigned female at birth and use the sanitary products. A number of feminists voiced their displeasure with the decision and said they would boycott the brand from now on, with some stating the move was part of a concerted effort towards the “elimination of women’s biology....

‘RAW’ thoughts Am I the only one who … … thinks Alexa Bliss was right about Nia Jax all along? Judging by Jax’s actions on “RAW” this week, I think she really is the bully Bliss accused her of being. Jax was in full heel mode as she tossed around a much smaller woman in an “exhibition.” If in fact she has turned heel it’s probably for the best. It’s unlikely that the “RAW” Women’s Champion would’ve been cheered when she faces Ronda Rousey at the “Money in the Bank” pay-per-view June 17 anyway....

The NFL typically has tight control over the use of team logos and uniforms, and considering the explicit nature of the book, the league probably took issue with the use of the logo without permission. According to the Globe, Gronkowski is aware of the book’s existence, but has not read it. 

The 14-country survey found surging negative opinions of Beijing in most included nations, plus growing skepticism that President Xi Jinping can be relied on to do the right thing on the world stage. Most also believed that China had poorly handled the COVID-19 pandemic. But the poll—involving nationally representative groups of 14,276 adults between June 10 and August 3—makes for grim reading for the U.S. too. Most respondents believe that China has handled the coronavirus pandemic better than its American adversaries, and now see China as the world’s leading economy—even those in countries that remain staunch American allies....

IN THEIR MIXED FEELINGS about business, Americans are much like Linus of the “Peanuts” cartoon strip, who declared, “I love mankind; it’s people I can’t stand.” Americans often castigate individual companies but rarely question the competitive, free-market culture that gives companies huge, sometimes dangerous, power. Two new books, both by Wall Street Journal reporters and both about the dark side of a corporate behemoth, continue in this pattern. Paul Carroll’s “Big Blues: The Unmaking of IBM” details the “lethal…hubris” of the computer maker whose declining fortunes have decimated thousands of careers and even more retirement accounts....

NEWSWEEK: Why are Americans so interested in Italian culture? Why not Belgian or Czech? Batali: Not to insult those countries, but aside from a couple of things from Belgium or Czechoslovakia, their culture is not exported here. We don’t even know what they do. Italians have made it their business to export Italian culture, from spaghetti, to design, to poster art, to wine and soft drinks. If you open a bar in the U....

While it was an honor for the U.K. to host this month’s G7 meeting (invitations were also extended to other significant world leaders) the atmosphere in Cornwall bore a closer resemblance to a New Age gathering. Everyone agreed that global warming and continuing caution over the pandemic were the priorities. The language that was used was astonishing. The worst culprit was the host, Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who said at one point that he wanted to build a “more gender-neutral” and “feminine” world....

Hyndman’s debut with the Scottish club, after joining from Premier League side AFC Bournemouth on loan in January, saw him pitch in as a substitute with an assist on the game-winning goal against Motherwell in the Scottish Cup. The midfielder’s league debut saw him top that, scoring a goal and picking up the Man of the Match award in Rangers’ 2-0 win, once again against Motherwell. The goal saw Hyndman take a pass at the top of the area and fire a rocket past Motherwell keeper Craig Samson in the 87th minute to seal the victory for the Glasgow side....

According to Gallup, U.S. adults said they read an average of 12.6 books over the past year. That’s roughly three fewer books than what the same survey reported in 2016, and the smallest number Gallup has measured in more than three decades. The number of Americans reading more than 10 books per year dropped 8 percentage points between 2016 and last year. The number of Americans either reading no books or between six and ten books stayed relatively steady over the same period....

Bundy is perhaps best known for leading the 2016 occupation of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in Harney County, Oregon to protest federal control of public lands. He was arrested and faced federal charges but was later acquitted. Bundy was banned from visiting the Idaho State Capitol in Boise for a year on August 26, 2020, after being arrested there twice in two days on charges of trespassing and resisting and obstructing officers as part of a protest while the state legislatures considered measures relating to the COVID-19 pandemic....

But there’s another lawsuit filed against Google that has already been litigated all the way to the Supreme Court—Google v. Oracle—and it gets to the core of how the company unfairly became what it is today. When Google launched Android, it wanted to attract more developers, so it used Oracle’s Java software platform. The Java application programming interface includes “declaring code,” which enables developers to call up pre-written programs to perform an array of functions....

After three years of what seemed like Prohibition in the IPO market, the corks are finally popping again. Seventeen companies filed to go public in August, the highest since May 2002, and 40 are now in the pipeline, the most all year, according to Thomson Financial. But these are different from the rockets that shot up and quickly crashed during the boom. Today’s new issues are more of a slow burn–Netgear is up about $4 since its debut at $14–and they are typically proven, profitable companies that managed to survive a wretched stretch in the economy....

Wake Forest SN’s POSITION RANKINGS: PG | SG | SF | PF Simply put, no program would benefit more from the addition of Giles. The Demon Deacons are back on the rise under new coach Danny Manning, who has had great success working with big men in the past. Throw in the fact that they are the hometown program, and it’s easy to see why many consider them the dark horse in his recruitment....

Kimmich not getting carried away The coach was an extremely popular figure among the players at Real Madrid, guiding them to Decima glory during his tenure. Last year, Ronaldo said Ancelotti “is like a big bear, he’s a cute guy, such a sensitive person,” and the Bayern Munich boss says he would be living a lie if he tried to be any different. “This is my character,” Ancelotti told Goal when it was put to him how Ronaldo described him....

The Bundesliga champions surrendered a 2-1 lead to lose 3-2 to Borussia Dortmund in the DFB-Pokal semi-final on Wednesday, just eight days after suffering a Champions League exit at the hands of Real Madrid. A run of one win in seven in all competitions has prompted speculation the squad have become disillusioned with some of Ancelotti’s methods. Klopp reveals dream signings Chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge stressed this week Ancelotti’s future is not under discussion and the Italian has now denied claims that support for his position is dwindling....

Sanches is reportedly the latest target for the big-spending Italians, who have signed a raft of players including Italy centre-back Leonardo Bonucci from Juventus and Sanches’ international team-mate Andre Silva in a busy transfer window. Bayern Munich CEO Karl-Heinz Rummenigge has claimed Sanches could be out of Milan’s price range, although a loan to San Siro has also been suggested. Get Bayern Munich’s title odds Speaking ahead of Bayern’s International Champions Cup clash with Milan in Shenzhen on Saturday, Ancelotti hinted Sanches could yet move to the the Italian’s former club....