data-mm-id=”_8w3s8b6mr”>The Brookly Nets dropped their second straight game on Wednesday. Coincidentally, it was Kyrie Irving's third game back after missing a quarter of the season. After the game, Kyrie Irving did what he does best — complained about the situation he had chosen to be in. Worse yet, he did it after his team lost a game on the second night of a back-to-back when they were playing their third game in four nights.BRK with Kyrie this season: 5-9 (.357)BRK w/o Kyrie this season: 13-13 (.500)BOS with Kyrie last season: 37-30 (.552)BOS w/o Kyrie last season: 12-3 (.800)Kyrie's teammates seem to be faring OK without a certain piece https://t.co/rnEA8RlgTh— Tom Haberstroh (@tomhaberstroh) January 16, 2020As Tom Haberstroh points out in the above tweet, the Nets and Celtics both did better without Kyrie. He's still an incredibly talented player and an All-Star, but why would he answer that question like that? Kyrie is in his THIRD game back. And Kevin Durant is not playing this season. The Nets were not supposed to contend this season. And despite their struggles, they are sitting in the 8th spot in the Eastern Conference. So, things are about where they should be right now. You add a healthy Kevin Durant next season and, baby, you've got a stew going. But that's not Kyrie. That's not the guy who was unhappy after winning a title. That's not the guy who wanted out of Boston when he was surrounded by "more pieces." If Kyrie wanted to play on a team with two or three more All-Stars, he should have stayed in Boston.Instead, he went to Brooklyn, a team that finished in sixth place in the East last season. And after a fairly inconsequential loss to another playoff team – with Durant not playing – Kyrie chose to say he and Durant – who is not playing – need help. Worse yet, he shouts out some teammates, which has to leave the unnamed guys thinking, "Screw this guy. We were better off without him." Most notably three of the four guys who have played in all 40 Nets games this season – Joe Harris, Taurean Prince, and Jarrett Allen, who respectively lead the team in 3pt%, steals, and blocks.What must Durant be thinking? How many mercurial stars can one team have at once? Not to mention the fact that Kyrie saw fit to include DeAndre Jordan and Garrett Temple as the core that needs to be built around. The last time Temple was on a team that won a playoff series, it was the '13-'14 Washington Wizards. Jordan was on the '14-'15 Los Angeles Clippers. There is no reason to split up the roster into Keep and Discard lists. The Nets have an opportunity to make the playoffs as a low seed, get some experience playing together against the best teams in the Eastern Conference and perhaps the eventual NBA Champions. Then they can build on that by adding Durant. Kyrie has a free pass this season and he's throwing it away. Which shouldn't be a surprise at this point.
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A 2-1 aggregate defeat to Villarreal in the Europa League semi-finals means the Gunners season looks set to end in hugely disappointing fashion.
They are ninth in the Premier League with three games to go and could well fail to qualify for European competition for the first time since they were absent in 1995-96, with their domestic cup challenges having ended in December and January.
Pressure has been mounting on the manager given their apparent lack of progress, and Arteta accepts they must now build on the institutional changes at Emirates Stadium by creating a team capable of competing with the best again.
We have already had …
Stephanie Labbe was the penalty shoot-out hero as Canada took gold in their maiden Olympic final appearance following a 1-1 draw with Sweden.
Stina Blackstenius first-half opener had the Scandinavians ahead but Jessie Fleming restored parity with a spot-kick after half-time when VAR intervened for a foul on Christine Sinclair.
Kadeisha Buchanan proved Canada s last-ditch hero with a clearance off the line to take the game to extra-time before Labbe s two saves secured a 3-2 triumph in the shoot-out.
Kosovare Asllani did the initial work for Sweden s opener, dispossessing Canada midfielder Quinn before rolling to Blackstenius, whose first-time attempt benefited from a slight deflection to find the back of the net.
Sinclair, whose 187 goals for Canada make…
Following the end of the FIFA international break, now it s time for the European leagues to resume its action. And with that in mind, this Saturday we will witness a thrilling La Liga encounter between two of the biggest title candidates: FC Barcelona and Valencia. Neither side has started the campaign on top form, and this could be a great chance to earn a statement win considering both will play in the UEFA Champions League next week. Kick-off for this match is slated for Saturday at 20:oo UK time.
FC Barcelona
It s safe to say Los Blaugranas have not started the season as brightly as they would have liked. Following a 2-2 away draw at Osasuna the last time out, Ernesto Valverde s men only have four points following their first three league matches (W1, D1, L1). They should …
Group F of the European Championship, branded at the start as the group of death , provided plenty of excitement on its final evening. Those supporting Portugal, Germany and Hungary experienced a proper roller coaster ride over the 90+ minutes as Germany hosted Hungary in Munich and Portugal faced France in Budapest. Throughout the course of the game the group table changed many times, with each team except France hanging off the cliff at least once. In the end, both contests ended winnerless and Hungary, who entered the round from the bottom, returned there and have been eliminated.
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Monaco have completed the signing of Kevin Volland from Bayer Leverkusen.
Germany forward Volland, 28, has signed a four-year contract in a move reported to be worth €15million.
He is expected to be followed out of the BayArena by Kai Havertz, who is said to be closing in on a €100m transfer to Premier League side Chelsea.
Volland said: I thank the leaders of Monaco for the trust shown. I am delighted to join this club with a great history and strong ambitions.
I followed the first results of the team [in the Ligue 1 season]. I cannot wait to join the group and get to work to bring my qualities.
Deutsche Qualität in Monaco
— AS Monaco (@AS_Monaco)
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Arjen Robben belatedly returned from a calf injury for Bayern Munich on Saturday and consequently made his 700th professional appearance.
The veteran winger is set to leave Bayern at the end of the season and had not featured since scoring twice against Benfica in the Champions League in November due to a number of fitness issues.
But after being left on the bench at Nurnberg last week, Robben appeared for a late cameo in Bayern s 3-1 win over Hannover as they edged towards another Bundesliga title.
The Dutch star arrived in place of Kingsley Coman four minutes from the end to play for the 700th time in his career, with 306 of those outings coming for Bayern.
700 ( ) makes his 700th for club and country. Legend.
— OptaFranz (@OptaFranz)
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Dani Olmo departed Barcelona s youth setup in 2014, moving to Croatian giants in Dinamo Zagreb.
Now playing for RB Leipzig, the 23-year-old continues to catch the eye.
Olmo is reportedly eyeing another chance at Barca.
TOP STORY – OLMO WANTS BARCA COMEBACK
RB Leipzig star Dani Olmo is hoping to return to Barcelona, according to Mundo Deportivo.
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Luis Suarez scored a set-piece double as Atletico Madrid saw off Cadiz 4-2 to move 10 points clear at the LaLiga summit.
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Diego Simeone s men had trailed in their last two outings, though Suarez opened the scoring with a sublime free-kick in Sunday s clash before Alvaro Negredo equalised.
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2 Goals in 1 game
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With everyone in Wembley Stadium as tense as you could get, Kepa Arrizabalaga addressed the ball.
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