data-mm-id=”_64smjpblz”>After rabid anticipation by football fans, the revived XFL kicked off this Saturday, and it…wasn't all that bad. Compared to its 2001 incarnation, at least, the 2020 XFL is off to a rolling start.That's good news for football fans if the league can continue to deliver on its promise of providing an alternative to the established NFL through innovation rather than controversy. But it has to be even better for the league's guiding hand, Vince MacMahon, who could use some good news after a string of setbacks to his main business enterprise, WWE.Ask any fan of wrestling – sorry, "sports entertainment" – and they'll tell you that WWE went through a rough 2019 both inside and outside of the ring. Smackdown's debut on FOX Sports did not bring a ratings increase as expected. In fact, ratings for both Raw and Smackdown tumbled year-over-year for much of 2019, as unpopular booking decisions, unpopular storylines, and "same-y" presentation chipped away at an already-declining fanbase.The nadir arguably came at the Hell in a Cell pay-per-view, which ended in a disqualification after Seth Rollins struck "The Fiend" Bray Wyatt with a foreign object. Fans at the event in Sacramento responded to the finish with raucous boos, and the match "won" Wrestlecrap's "Gooker Award" for the worst event in pro wrestling in 2019.It doesn't help that WWE has legitimate competition for the first time since the Monday Night Wars, in the form of AEW – All Elite Wrestling, funded by Jacksonville Jaguars co-owner Tony Khan and airing weekly on TNT. While there have been other organizations that have tried to compete with WWE since the fall of World Championship Wrestling, such as Total Nonstop Action and Ring of Honor, neither of those felt like a true challenger.The rough year has had effects on WWE's bottom line. Over the past year, the company's stock has plunged from $100 per share to $40, and subscribers to the organization's premium service, the WWE Network, dropped by 10% during Q4 of 2019. Earlier this week, two WWE co-presidents, George Barrios and Michelle Wilson, stepped down amid the chaos.Let's clear up one thing: the XFL is not directly tied to the WWE. The new league is part of a separate company, Alpha Entertainment, which was established to keep McMahon's other sports and entertainment enterprises separate from WWE. However, McMahon is the face of both organizations, and has gone to great lengths to make himself such – for crying out loud, he made himself a world heavyweight champion on two occasions. If the XFL fails again, it will come at the worst possible time for McMahon.
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Adams brought an end to his second spell in charge of Vale on Thursday after a dismal start to the season that has seen them slump to 23rd following five consecutive league losses.
The former Sheffield United boss helped guide the club back to the third tier in 2012-13 but called time on his tenure after discussions with chairman Norman Smurthwaite.
Assistant Page will now be tasked with stopping the rot, starting with the visit of Danny Wilson s Barnsley to Vale Park.
The former Wales international assumed control of Vale temporarily in September last year when Adams needed time off for surgery and the 40-year-old is ho…
Galatasaray have announced on their official website that they have completed the signing of striker Umut Bulut from Toulouse.
The Turkish giants have paid €2.7 million to make the player s loan move permanent, with the Turkey international signing a three-year contract with an option for another year.
Umut Bulut will be earning €1.8 million per campaign after impressing while on loan at the club last season.
The 30-year-old went on to score 12 league goals after joining from Toulouse, while adding another one in 10 Champions League appearances.
Bulut had joined le Tefece from Trabzonspor in the summer of 2011, but has found it hard to adapt to French Ligue 1.
After bagging just 5 goals in 31 appearances during his first season at the club, h…
Liverpool goalkeeper Brad Jones has signed a new long-term deal with Brendan Rodgers side.
The 30-year-old was brought to the Reds in 2010 by former boss Roy Hodgson from Middlesbrough for a free transfer.
Since then he has served as back-up to Pepe Reina and has played 14 games in total for the Merseysiders including 10 this season in all competitions after the Spaniard went down with an injury.
In those games he has kept three clean sheets including in the Europa League home game against Anzhi Makhachkala.
The Australian keeper, who has made three appearances for his national side since 2007, has committed his long-term future to the club after proving his worth to the team this campaign.
Jones joins a number of players including Luis Suarez…
Mohamed Salah believes Liverpool can win the Premier League after his inspirational display fired the Reds to a crucial yet hard-fought win over Newcastle.
Salah recovered from a first-half penalty miss to score twice and set up another as Jurgen Klopp’s side won a New Year’s Day thriller 4-2 at Anfield to move three points clear at the top.
It was his final game before joining up with Egypt ahead of the upcoming African Cup of Nations.
Outstanding.
— Liverpool FC (@LFC)
Salah told Sky Sports: “It’s a great result for us. The game was very intense and we managed to pick up three points and now we are top of the table. We need to stay calm and win every game.”
Asked about his side’s title chances, he added: “We believe a l…
Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson laughed off reports that he is interested in Crystal Palace star Wilfried Zaha.
Zaha has become one of the hottest commodities in world football since bursting onto the season with Palace during the 2010/11 season.
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Nothing to report, I can tell you that, said Ferguson.
We re in this world and its January and I know you are all getting desperate for a story but there is no story absolutely no story to tell you.
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He is not exactly my ideal coach. If I were in charge of a club, I would never entrust him with my team, Materazzi was quoted as saying by France Football.
What I did not like about him was the way he presented himself to the team. Great coaches like (Marcello) Lippi and (Jose) Mourinho use unwritten rules, but Benitez wanted to write 10 to 12 things down.
It was like we were back to school or had to follow traff…
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This was everything Vladimir Putin could have dreamed of.
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The revamped bowl on the banks of the River Moskva rocked, initially to the songs of a British pop star, and then to the cheers of the Russian public as their heroes swept aside the limp challenge of Saudi Arabia, cruising to a 5-0 win in the tournament opener.
Putin s decision to spend such vast amounts on the World Cup was dismissed by some as a vanity project but, for him, it represented a chance to showcase the new …
Thiago Silva has warned things could get worse before they get better for Chelsea unless the club stop and put a strategy in place .
Chelsea lost 2-0 to Real Madrid at Stamford Bridge on Tuesday to exit the Champions League 4-0 on aggregate at the quarter-final stage.
The Blues also fell short in both domestic cup competitions and are 11th in the Premier League, despite spending more than £600million on new players over the past year.
That has coincided with the Todd Boehly-led consortium taking over from Roman Abramovich, with the new backers having nothing to show for their investment so far.
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Desperate to make an immediate return to winning ways this weekend, Tottenham will make the trip to the South Coast when they face off against Brighton on Sunday night.
Tottenham
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