Detroit and Green Bay both are playoff bound regardless, but it’s a momentous opportunity for the Lions, who can shake off a lot of bad history in the 23 years since. The 1991 season also marked the last playoff victory for the Lions. Including the loss to the Redskins in that year’s NFC championship game, they’ve dropped seven straight in the postseason. The Packers beat the Lions away and home in the teams’ only two playoff meetings....
The 23-year-old spent part of the 2016-17 campaign on loan at the German club and became a regular in the side, making 21 appearances until his season was cut short by a cruciate ligament tear while on Africa Cup of Nations duty with Ghana. Baba has not played since that upset in the first game of the competition in January 2017, but Chelsea and Schalke have confirmed he will make his return to senior football with another stint in the Bundesliga....
Pep Guardiola’s City have dropped just two points in their 12 league matches this season and have been almost unstoppable in attack, scoring 40 times. That run of form has seen them open an eight-point gap to Manchester United at the top of the table, with defending champions Chelsea trailing Jose Mourinho’s side by a further point. Chelsea have managed to progress through their Champions League group, however, with the 3-0 defeat at Roma the only major blemish and they are still on track to finish top after Wednesday’s 4-0 win over Qarabag....
The Blues announced both the new deal and the loan agreement for the 19-year-old, where he will join Swans boss and former Chelsea assistant Paul Clement. Alexis to Bayern ‘unfeasible’ “Happy to sign a five-year deal with Chelsea FC and also happy to announce I’ve joined Swansea AFC on a season loan,” Abraham announced on Twitter. Abraham spent last season on loan with Bristol City in the Championship and excelled, scoring 26 goals in 48 appearances for the club....
The Crosthwaites family took out a court injunction last May arguing that the planned expansion to 60,000 seats would block light to their home. However, the Blues have now reached a compromise, with a spokesperson saying: “Chelsea FC have reached an agreement to settle the ongoing legal proceedings in relation to rights to light. “The details of the agreement are confidential.” The cost of the redevelopment is reported to be £1billion, and could lead to Chelsea playing away from their home stadium for up to four years....
The latest summer transfer rumours Antonio Conte is in the market for a centre-forward as Diego Costa’s return to Atletico Madrid nears completion, while Manchester United secured a deal for top target Romelu Lukaku. The striker looked set to make a sensational Stamford Bridge return before Jose Mourinho hijacked the move, agreeing a five-year deal with the Belgium international at Old Trafford. Conte’s attention has since turned to Morata, a player he had a part in signing for Juventus shortly before resigning to take the Italy job in 2014....
Thiago Silva: Worst captain ever? The Italy midfielder has been linked with a move to the likes of Barca, Chelsea, Juventus and Real Madrid, but possesses a contract in France until 2021. Kluivert was asked whether Verratti’s situation had changed given the dramatic collapse at Camp Nou, which saw Luis Enrique’s side record the biggest comeback in Champions League history to reach the quarter-finals. But the former Barca striker insists the 24-year-old, who was visibly upset after the match, will be staying in Paris....
A crunch clash at the Etihad Stadium will see two of the English top-flights most colourful managers go head-to-head. There promises to be as much action on the touchline as there is on the field with Antonio Conte and Pep Guardiola on show, with both desperate to get their hands on all three points. City are continuing to sweep their way towards title glory, and can edge a step closer to the crown with victory on home soil....
The details of the 36-year-old’s contract weren’t released after he became Chelsea’s first signing of last season on a free transfer from Manchester City, but the agreement included an option for an extra year, which will be taken up by the Blues. Caballero has quickly struck a positive relationship with Chelsea’s other goalkeepers, including Courtois, while his good performances in his sporadic displays have earned him a call-up to the Argentina squad....
Hundreds braved the cold to line up in front of the Turkey Chop Gourmet Grill in the West Humboldt Park neighborhood on Wednesday from 8 a.m, four hours before the birds were handed out. The restaurant’s owner, Quentin Love, is known in the area for his social conscience, transforming his premises every Monday into a soup kitchen. Love told ABC7 Chicago: “Food is a powerful tool. Food actually lowers violence....
Denver running back Melvin Gordon took a handoff at Kansas City’s 13-yard line but was met immediately in the backfield by Ingram, who knocked the ball out. Chiefs linebacker Nick Bolton recovered the fumble and took it 86 yards for a scoop-and-score to give Kansas City the lead with 7:42 left in the game. A subsequent 2-point conversion made the score 28-21 in favor of the Chiefs. MORE: Chiefs vs....
Kansas City still has Patrick Mahomes as its quarterback and has upgraded its defense during the 2022 offseason. The team spent seven of its 10 draft picks on defensive players and seems poised to have better depth this season, especially across from Frank Clark. However, the Chiefs are also a bit less top-heavy, especially on offense. Tyreek Hill was traded to the Dolphins while Byron Pringle and Demarcus Robinson left during free agency....
Spiller was with Kansas City during training camp and the preseason, but was cut earlier this week when the team trimmed down its roster. He was brought back when cornerback Steven Nelson was placed on injured reserve, but was then cut again hours before Thursday’s kickoff. MORE: Week 1 NFL Picks | Power Rankings Now, a day after K.C.’s big win, he’s apparently back on the team. So why do the Chiefs keep doing this to CJ Spiller?...
Maurizio Sarri’s men were outclassed by the same scoreline in Madrid on Wednesday, though it was they who cruised in Verona, making light work of their hosts to move back to within nine points of Juventus at the summit. Chievo kept Napoli at bay for 31 minutes before Lorenzo Insigne curled a sumptuous 20-yard effort beyond the helpless Stefano Sorrentino. And captain Hamsik added a second shortly after – stabbing home from close range after Allan seized on a defensive mix-up and squared to his midfield colleague....
China’s arrogant and insecure leader is now going on a nationalist bender. Members of the country’s elite take their cue from Xi Jinping and believe that they, the inheritors of “more than 5,000 years of history,” are destined to rule the world. The entire world? Xi, using the language of two millennia of emperors, suggests he has the Mandate of Heaven to rule tianxia, meaning “All Under Heaven.” When speaking of “a community of shared future for mankind,” as he often does, he is surely thinking that everyone else has the common obligation to submit to him....
A spokesperson from the country’s National Health Commission and the deputy director of the Department of Publicity held a press conference Thursday to say that the peak of the epidemic has now passed and that the number of new cases is declining, the state-backed Xinhua news agency reported. Mi Feng, the NHC spokesperson, told reporters, “Broadly speaking, the peak of the epidemic has passed for China… The increase of new cases is falling,” according to Reuters....
The envoy, Fan Xianrong, told officials in Lviv that China and Ukraine were “strategic partners” celebrating three decades of formal diplomatic relations. “China is a friendly country for the Ukrainian people. As an ambassador, I can responsibly say that China will forever be a good force for Ukraine, both economically and politically,” he said, according to state news agency Ukrinform. “We will always respect your state, we will develop relations on the basis of equality and mutual benefit....
Hu Xijin, an ultranationalistic firebrand who writes for Beijing’s hawkish Global Times, erroneously implied that Rushdie had been killed during the attempt on his life in New York state a fortnight ago. The famed author remains hospitalized. “Western media should join the condemnation of the assassination of Alexander Dugin’s daughter (Dugin apparently was the original target), just as they condemned the assassination of Rushdie. The nature of the two assassinations was too similar,” Hu said in a tweet late on Monday....
“Want to Buy a House in a Big Chinese City?” asked the Sixth Tone website late last month. “Try Winning the Lottery First.” Real estate prices in China are out of whack, so the market is “frozen,” with buyers and sellers far apart. As a result, the number of transactions in recent months has fallen. Prices month-to-month are starting to come down, as well. Total sales of the country’s top 100 developers plunged 39....
