These are the guys you think don’t need any time to mature and develop as basketball players? These are the guys you want intersecting with LeBron James and Dwight Howard and Derrick Rose after about 10 days of training camp? MORE: Champions Classic photos | Just try and guard Julius Randle | Box score Yes, these Kentucky players who were down two handfuls before even four minutes of their first serious college basketball game had passed, who missed 16 free throws and committed 17 turnovers and allowed Michigan State to run like it was October at Keeneland—they don’t need all this?...

Madrid crashed out of Spain’s domestic cup competition in the quarter-finals on away goals on Wednesday, as they went down 2-1 to Leganes at the Santiago Bernabeu, prompting an angry response from the supporters. Despite having won the Supercopa de Espana, UEFA Super Cup and FIFA Club World Cup this season, the pressure on head coach Zinedine Zidane was already mounting, with Los Blancos sitting 19 points adrift of Barcelona in La Liga....

Meanwhile, two-time defending champions Real Madrid have been tasked with a clash against Juventus - a repeat of last season’s final - while Barcelona will tackle Roma and Sevilla’s reward for ousting Manchester United is a meeting with Bayern Munich. It is, however, the clash between the two Premier League clubs that is the tie of the round. The Reds swept past Porto 5-0 over two legs to reach the last eight of the competition while Pep Guardiola’s men defeated Basel with almost equal ease, seeing the Swiss off 5-2....

“Take that, Skip Bayless,” Barkley said. “I hope y’all heard me America, Skip Bayless, take that with your punk ass,” Barkley said. “You know I can’t stand him.” NBA PLAYOFFS: Bracket | Schedule | Explaining the bubble Bayless said he heard the comment and would be responding later. Barkley made the comment while Damian Lillard highlights were playing. Lillard and Bayless got into it earlier this month when Lillard called the Fox Sports analyst a clown....

Barkley’s remarks about Smollett, checks, MAGA hats and, eventually, Liam Neeson flustered Ernie Johnson and reduced Shaquille O’Neal to a coughing mess. “I can’t believe you, Chuck,” Johnson said, shaking his head, during the early portion of the two-minute segment at halftime of the network’s broadcast of Thursday’s Rockets-Lakers game. The off-camera production staff also sounded shocked by Barkley’s comments. MORE: Barkley explains why he interviewed white supremacist Smollett’s case, which has received national attention, took a major turn Thursday....

Booker ran to be the Democratic candidate against Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) in 2020. However, Amy McGrath narrowly defeated Booker to win that primary. McConnell defeated McGrath in the election, retaining his place in the Senate for another six years. Republican Kentucky Senator Rand Paul will be up for re-election in 2022 and Booker said on Sunday he is weighing up a run for a place in the upper chamber....

In Toronto for his bobblehead night, Oakley criticized the play of today’s superstars. MORE: 2015 NBA Mock Draft | Clippers’ Jordan drains a 3-pointer | Westbrook notches another triple-double “I don’t know what it is. They just roll you out there like a basketball,” the 51-year-old said, per FOX Sports. “Just the players, they don’t think it, they don’t know how to play together…the guys don’t love the game. They play the game, but they don’t play with their heart....

The Prince of Wales simply confirmed what everyone had already known for two years or more. That’s when an Australian magazine printed an alleged 1989 phone conversation between Charles and his old flame, Camilla Parker Bowles, in which the prince, during a rare transcendent moment, professed a longing to be reincarnated as her tampon. So, was she the one? Last week’s interview didn’t let on. “Mrs. Parker Bowles is a great friend of mine-I have a large number of friends I’m very lucky to have and she has been a friend for a very long time, along with a lot of other friends, and will continue to be a friend for a very long time,” said Charles....

The CMA Awards were hosted in front of a live, socially distanced audience at the Music City Center in Nashville on November 11, unlike other music awards shows that have chosen to forgo a live audience because of the pandemic. Although the CMA required rapid testing for all those in attendance and tables were spaced to follow the city’s coronavirus guidelines, mask wearing was reportedly not enforced for audience members....

The last thing Strong needs to worry about is his players’ smartphone use. But in the wake of that loss, Strong found himself answering a question about that issue. MORE: Best team in CFB is? | Fournette makes history with another big game | Bama-Georgia: What we learned In case you missed it, one of the most unexpected, bizarre stories in college football Saturday involved not touchdowns or tackles, but Twitter....

Charlotte will hold a press conference to present its new name, which is a throwback to city's first franchise from 1988-2002. MORE: When is the NBA Draft Lottery? | Bobcats send Rufus out in style The team also will have a representative present at the Draft Lottery as they attend an official event as the Hornets, taking a similar path as the New Orleans Pelicans, the team from which Charlotte procured the Hornets name....

Every once in a while, the Ohio State legend will send the picture to his friend and Notre Dame alum Jerome Bettis as a not-so-gentle-reminder of the past. This is one of those weeks. You’ve seen the picture. It’s George – in a scarlet “27” jersey – angling toward the open field at Ohio Stadium with a white towel flapping to the side – an almost Heisman pose that foreshadowed what was to come later in that 1995 season....

We will learn that after Sunday’s race at Phoenix. Six drivers are vying for two places in the Homestead-Miami field. One might be the Phoenix race winner. MORE: How Chase drivers are faring | Standings are tight Entering the Can-Am 500 (as in, 500 kilometers; it’s a 302-lap race), Joey Logano and Kyle Busch are in on points. Although they have the same number of points, Logano holds the third seed for now because of his second-place finish at Texas....

It comes as no surprise there might be a bit of, shall we say, gamesmanship involved in the process of getting cars back to racing speed when coming off caution. Driver complaints are being answered, starting with Sunday’s race at Chicagoland. MORE: Chase field | Picking a winner | Chicagoland victory key to Chase | Drivers’ chances As is its wont, NASCAR came down hard with its response. A race marshal will monitor camera images from the zone to make sure no one takes off before the races leader hits the gas....

Odds on Morata to win the Golden Boot Reports suggest the Premier League champions will pay £70 million for the Spain international, who is yet to agree personal terms or undergo a medical. Manchester United had previously held an interest in the forward, but instead opted for Romelu Lukaku. Morata will arrive at Stamford Bridge and will be tasked with replacing Diego Costa, who is set to join Atletico Madrid after being told he is surplus to requirements by Antonio Conte....

Barca release Messi footage The 22-year-old midfielder has long been linked with a switch to the Premier League, with the aforementioned duo said to be seriously considering a move, after his impressive form for the French side. Bakayoko, in his third season with Monaco, has made 16 Ligue 1 appearances this term and a further five in the Champions League, and is in no rush to take up a position elsewhere, though has hinted a Premier League move may be on the cards later in his career....

Laurence, the former CEO of Rogers Communications and Vodafone UK, will take over the role from the start of February. He was also a director of Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment, which includes NBA team the Toronto Raptors, the Toronto Maple Leafs NHL franchise and MLS side Toronto FC in its portfolio. Chelsea chairman Bruce Buck said: “We look forward to Guy joining the club during an exciting period for Chelsea on and off the field....

The teenage striker has been one of the most prolific in Ajax’s youth set up since he joined at the age of eight and will join Chelsea’s academy at Cobham Training Centre on July 1. Oscar banned for mammoth eight games According to Goal ’s sister brand Voetballzone , Redan decided he would move from Ajax in March but he has only made his mind up to join Chelsea this week and he joins Billy Gilmour from Rangers as the club’s second big academy signing of the summer....

Young defender Joris Gnagnon, however, has offered a rare reason for positivity at Roazhon Park, where his contribution from the centre of the defence has played a key role in Christian Gourcuff’s side winning three matches in succession. In these fixtures, they have kept clean sheets in Ligue 1 against Lille and last weekend against Montpellier — a side that had caused quite a stir by enjoying an unbeaten run that included fixtures against the top three from last term....

As reported by Goal, Juventus had made a €20 million (£18m/$23m) offer for the CKSA Moscow man and appeared to be in pole position for his signature but the Blues have since stolen a march on the Serie A champions. The Blues, who are owned by Russian billionare Roman Abramovich, have assured CSKA that they will get closer to their €30m (£27m/$35m) asking price for their star man. Golovin, 22, has been one of the relevations of the 2018 World Cup, impressing in Russia’s opening two fixtures in the group stages to help the host nation through to a last-16 meeting with Spain....