‘The Premier League is known as the top league in the world so it’s definitely going to be a lot tougher,” Michael Olise said in his first interview as a Crystal Palace player. “But nothing I’m not ready for, so …”

Seven months on, the versatile forward whose dazzling array of skills briefly graced the academies of Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester City has shown he is back where he belongs. Olise’s return of two goals and three assists from the 314 Premier League minutes he had played for Palace by the start of January meant that with a goal contribution every 63 minutes, the 20-year-old was the division’s most productive player.

Premier League: 10 things to look out for this weekendRead more

His ins…

European clubs are seeking guarantees that they will be paid the huge transfer fees agreed with Saudi Arabian clubs in full after a summer of unprecedented spending that has reshaped the transfer market.

Before this year the amount spent by Saudi clubs on players in Europe’s top divisions had never eclipsed 2% of total yearly sales. After a transfer window that has seen players such as Neymar, Rúben Neves, Fabinho, Aleksandar Mitrovic and Riyad Mahrez move for eye-watering amounts, that proportion has risen dramatically to 11%, totalling €878m (£753m). As recently as 2020 the outlay was only €63m.

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The Buffalo Bills and Miami Dolphins will square off in an AFC East clash to kick off Amazon Prime Video's Thursday night slate of games. The Amazon schedule opens in Week 2 on Sept. 12. The full NFL 2024 schedule will be released Wednesday night. The Bills-Dolphins game will be played in Miami, with the two meeting on a later date in Orchard Park, N.Y. The teams have met in 35 primetime matchups, most recently in the 2023 season finale when the Bills won 21-14 to capture the division title. The Bills have won the past three regular-season games against the Dolphins and 12 of the past 15. –Field Level Media …

The NFL’s MVP Award has been around since 1957. In that time, fullbacks have won the award four times. Two defensive players have been given the honor, and even a kicker has taken home the hardware. Zero pass catchers have won the award though, and for the most part, none have gotten particularly close. Cooper Kupp put up one of the greatest receiving seasons of all-time in 2021 and only mustered one vote. Jerry Rice finished second in voting in 1995, but still fell 59 votes short of Brett Favre. He received 15 votes in 1993, and finished third in voting, behind his quarterback Steve Young as well as Emmitt Smith. The closest Rice got though was in 1987 when he recorded 22 touchdowns in just 12 games. Still, Rice finished six votes shy of John Elway. The disrespect to pass-catche…

The NCAA awarded the men's Final Four in 2031 to Atlanta on Thursday. It will mark the city's first Final Four since 2013, which was hosted at the now-demolished Georgia Dome. Atlanta was scheduled to hold the Final Four in 2020 at the Atlanta Falcons' new venue, Mercedez-Benz Stadium, but the NCAA Tournament was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Atlanta had to wait another decade-plus to get back into the rotation. It will join Kansas City, Indianapolis, New York, New Orleans, San Antonio, Seattle and Louisville, Ky., as cities to host at least five Final Fours. "The cancellation of the 2020 tournament, including the Men's Final Four in Atlanta, was a necessary yet devastating decision for student-athletes, coaches and fans. It significantly impacted the …

A few years ago, when my children were very small, I lamented the fact that I had to cut a great deal of sports out of my life. This happens when you have a baby. There’s no time to watch a tetrafinal playoff game because the kid needs to be fed or taken for a stroll or put to bed or have its butt wiped. But now my children are older, and more self-reliant, and I am slowly coming out of the great parenting fog and reclaiming my sports fandom. I have watched most of these NBA playoffs and I have discovered, to my great delight, that there is a LOT to hate about the two teams you will watch do battle tonight. That’s right, people. It’s time to put on the grumpy pants and say horrible, spiteful things about the Cavs and the Warriors. And for this hater’s guide preview, I’m ranking…

Peru's football fortunes have rarely mirrored those of South American counterpart countries. They haven't qualified for the World Cup since 1982, and their U-20 youth squad has never gotten the nod for inclusion in that division's world championship. That could change with a strong performance in the CONMEBOL Youth Championship just underway in Argentina, though, and if they qualify they'll have goalkeeper Ángelo Campos to thank. For sure, Campos got himself into a sticky situation late in last night's match against Uruguay. His attempt to play a long pass by coming out of the box ended up giving Uruguayan striker Gonzalo Bueno an open shot on the goal; Campos busted ass to keep it from crossing the goal line, then laid out to stop the rebound strike and pres…

The Golden State Warriors are down 2-1 to the Oklahoma City Thunder and it looked for a while like they would have to try to claw their way back to even without their second-most important player after Draymond Green kneed Steven Adams in his dick and balls again. According to Woj, nah, he’ll play in Game 4. The foul was, however, upgraded to a flagrant 2 and Green picked up a big fine. Green has maintained that his knee only wedged itself into Adams’ crotch because he was flailing about looking for a foul and, despite the repeated dick mashings, the NBA says they believe him. Of course, a Green-free Game 4 wouldn’t have had nearly the entertainment value as it will now and that most likely played a part in the decision. The hefty fine seems like they were trying to punish hi…

data-mm-id=”_vwlcigon8″>Kyle Kuzma appears to be on the trade block as the Los Angeles Lakers are reportedly listening to offers for the 24-year-old forward. So far, the Lakers are asking for a ton in return for the third-year pro and it needs to stay that way. Any deal the Lakers make needs to net them a haul in return, or it's not worth doing. Kuzma has struggled this season coming off a foot injury and trying to find his place on a Lakers' team where he's a bench guy, and the third option behind LeBron James and Anthony Davis. So far this season, Kuzma is scoring 11.8 points and grabbing 3.5 rebounds in 23.5 minutes per game and he has started just once in 27 games. But those numbers aren't indicative of the kind of player he is. Last season, Kuzma shined. He fin…

data-mm-id=”_kzvuecnds”>The last four months of no live sports has left lots of room to think about the future. Thinking about the immediate future is usually depressing, so I tend to think about the far future. I was doing just that the other afternoon while playing NBA 2K. I was the GM of the Dallas Mavericks, and we were damn good. That got me thinking about the real-life viability of the Luka Doncic-Kristaps Porzingis pairing. Honestly? The sky is the limit. Porzingis played for the first time in a while this year. He tore his ACL in February 2018 and was traded to the Mavs a year later, but didn't suit up until the fall of 2019. He played in 51 of 67 possible games this season and was still getting back into the swing of things, but averaged 19 points per game with two blocks…