Argentina's president sends Messi message as he pleads for Newell's reunion

The Barcelona star's situation has drawn the attention of his country's leader

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Star kicked out of US Open after COVID-19 positive

By AP -- French tennis player Benoit Paire tested positive for the coronavirus and was removed from the US Open field, a person familiar with the situation told The Associated Press on Sunday.

Paire is the first player to test positive ahead of the Grand Slam tournament, which begins Monday without spectators amid the pandemic.

The person spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because Paire's status had not been announced by the US Tennis Association. The USTA later issued a statement saying a player — whom it did not identify by name — "has been withdrawn" from the US Open after testing positive for COVID-19. The statement said the player is asymptomatic.

The 31-year-old Paire was seeded 17th and was supposed to face Kamil Majchrzak of Poland in the first round on Tuesday. Paire's spot in the draw was filled by 149th-ranked Marcel Granollers, who now plays Majchrzak.

Contact tracing will try to determine who might have been exposed to Paire and needs to be quarantined.

His positive test was first reported by French newspaper L'Equipe.

The person who spoke to the AP said Paire's result was the second that came back positive out of more than 7,000 tests for COVID-19 administered by the USTA so far as part of its "controlled environment" for the US Open and the Western & Southern Open.

"There's so many people involved in this tournament. The possibility that somebody is going to be positive is pretty high. I just wish all the best to Benoit. Hopefully nobody else is positive, as well. That's the most important thing," said Dominic Thiem, a three-time Grand Slam runner-up who is seeded No.2 at the US Open.

"I think there is no safer place in the world right now than here. Maybe you can lock yourself somewhere in a cave or something — I don't know, in the middle of the sea," Thiem said. "Otherwise, it's super safe here. We are in a bubble."

The Western & Southern Open, which ended Saturday, is normally held in Ohio but was moved to the US Open's site in Flushing Meadows this year. Players and their guests were all subject to tests upon arrival and again over the course of their stay for the two events.

On August 20, the USTA announced one positive test but did not identify whose it was, saying only it was not from a player. Eventually, two players — Argentina's Guido Pella and Bolivia's Hugo Dellien — said it was their fitness trainer who had tested positive for COVID-19 and that is why they were dropped from the Western & Southern Open.

Paire stopped playing his opening match in the Western & Southern Open on August 22 while trailing 6-1, 1-0 against Borna Coric.

Paire is ranked 22nd, owns three ATP titles and reached the fourth round of the US Open in 2015, equalling his best showing at any Grand Slam tournament.

He lost in the second round in New York last year.

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Broncos make surprise call on Pangai Jr sacking

Tevita Pangai Jr reportedly won't be sacked by the Brisbane Broncos, in a backflip from the struggling NRL club.

Pangai Jr was issued a breach notice after flaunting NRL biosecurity rules by attending the opening if a bikie-owned barber shop.

It was not his only biosecurity breach and the damaging forward also has a poor judiciary record that has resulted in a raft of suspensions.

Brisbane were initially intent on sacking Pangai Jr, yet he will avoid having his $650,000 per season contract torn up, multiple reports said on Sunday night.

News Corp reported that Pangai Jr met with the Broncos board on Friday. He had an ally in director and club legend Darren Lockyer, and faced the board armed with legal representation to argue his case.

Pangai is already sidelined until September 8 and looks unlikely to play again this season. He could cop a lengthy playing ban or a big fine in lieu of being sacked; losing up to one quarter of his salary, News Corp reported.

Pangai Jr, 24, felt that he was being harshly dealt with, given that his breach came amid a raft of biosecurity offences from other NRL identities; none of whom were at risk of being sacked.

The Tonga Test prop is contracted with the Broncos until the end of 2022. He sparked a fresh furore amid his potential sacking by going to the NRL with details of dishonoured third-party deals while playing at Brisbane.

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Lionel Messi's transfer stance after La Liga statement over get-out clause

Messi was dealt a blow in his bid to force through a transfer when La Liga backed Barcelona's stance, but the six-time Ballon d'Or winner is reportedly still determined to move

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Vidal: Bravo and I will never be friends again

The Barcelona midfielder is happy to play with his countryman but concedes any relationship beyond that is off the table

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Lemina: Fulham sign Southampton midfielder on season-long loan

The Gabonese midfielder has completed his second temporary move away from St Mary's Stadium

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THROWBACK: Kobe Bryant Gives His Former Lakers Teammate Shaquille O’Neal A Comical Death Stare Mid Game

Basketball is no stranger to feuds and banters. It’s as if being a player for the NBA franchise comes with all this packaged. Although there is one rivalry that always comes to mind without fail when you think about it. Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal‘s infamous beef during their team together in Los Angeles Lakers is one of the most iconic feuds in the NBA that made headlines constantly.

Along side this, there is one such hilarious throwback moment on the court between Kobe and Shaq that is worth remembering.

Kobe Bryant stares down at Shaq after foul

As dynamic the duo was considered to be on the court, their beef was even more embarrassing than that. The two players joined the Los Angeles Lakers in 1996. The two were able to bag three NBA Championship consecutively and O’Neal even won the NBA Finals MVP following each of their victories. However, there is a downside of having two alphas on one team. There is bound to be differences in opinion and struggles regarding their respective roles in the Lakers.

Nevertheless, the feud finally came to an end when Shaq was traded off to Miami Heat and Kobe was re-signed as a free agent by Lakers. A little ways down the road when Shaq had moved to play for the Boston Celtics, the two came face to face with one another in a game in 2011.

During this, a moment of sheer comedy was caught on camera when Kobe was driving into the paint but was fouled by Shaq when he took a jump shot. Kobe scored the jump shot and even got a free-throw. After the whistle blew, Kobe was seen looking down at Shaq as if mocking him. However, it all looked very friendly in nature.

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(2011) Kobe staring down Shaq after his and-1 will never get old. ♾

A post shared by Throwback Sports Content (@timelesssports) on Aug 23, 2020 at 7:07pm PDT

 

The hatchet has been buried

The speculations of their beef continuing till the end of time were put to rest by Kobe last year. In a tweet, he tagged Shaq and posted that, “There is no beef with Shaq. I know most media want to see it but it ain’t gonna happen. Ain’t nothin but love there and we too old to beef anyway”.

Shaq even replied, “It’s all good bro.” The two may have had a bitter history but when Kobe passed away earlier this year, Shaq did shed tears and was apologetic for everything that happened between them in the past.

It’s all good bro, when I saw the interview, I thought you were talking about Dwite, is that how u spell his name lol

— SHAQ (@SHAQ) August 28, 2019

The post THROWBACK: Kobe Bryant Gives His Former Lakers Teammate Shaquille O’Neal A Comical Death Stare Mid Game appeared first on EssentiallySports.

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