Kristaps PorziņģisMaddie Meyer/Getty Images Porziņģis was arguably the Celtics’ second-best player during the regular season (behind Tatum, of course). And his absence through most of the first three rounds was probably an under-appreciated factor in their run. There was plenty of talk during his absence about Boston underwhelming against the Jimmy Butler-less Miami Heat, mostly Donovan Mitchell-less Cleveland Cavaliers and partially Tyrese Haliburton-less Indiana Pacers, but it may have been misguided. The more important point was probably that the Celtics went 12-2 prior to the Final ..read more

For the second year running, we’ve been digging into the data to see what football stories engaged our audience the most last season across the BBC Sport website and app. Engagement time of a story was determined by the average time it took to actively read the piece along with a quality ratio – a calculation that allowed us to weight the results so the list did not become one featuring only our longest pieces. We’ve removed all the quizzes and the live match pages which would have dominated the list, and we omitted pieces that have since become dated by news events that followed. So in no p ..read more

FIFA World Cup Qualifiers Group Stage Thursday, June 6, 2024 Updated 15 hours ago FULL TIME Get real-time updates on Congo vs Niger live coverage minute by minute of the match, score and result online, stream information, how to watch, TV channel, lineups, latest updates and time of the 2026 FIFA World Cup Qualifiers with VAVEL. Game will start at 12:00 ET on June 6th, 2024. Image: capitalfm.co ADVERTISEMENT Niger 1 – 2 Togo 22 Mar., 2024 International Friendlies Senegal 1 – 0 Niger 8 Jan., 2024 International Friendlies Niger 2 – 1 Zambia 21 Nov., 2023 African Quali ..read more

Caudery won Commonwealth silver in 2022 but it was at last year’s World Championships in Budapest, where she produced a lifetime best to finish fifth at her first global event, that her rapid rise to prominence truly took off. That captivating final culminated in shared gold between American Katie Moon and Australian Nina Kennedy. Fast forward six months, and it was reigning Olympic champion Moon congratulating newly-crowned world indoor champion Caudery in Glasgow. It was a breakthrough success which followed a superb start to 2024, with three personal bests in just four weeks elevating her ..read more

Lewis Morgan gives Scotland “different options”, says head coach Steve Clarke after recalling the forward to the squad eight days before they open Euro 2024 against hosts Germany. The New York Red Bulls player Morgan, 27, follows Scotland Under-21 and Bristol City striker Tommy Conway in being added to Clarke’s provisional squad after striker Lyndon Dykes and winger Ben Doak withdrew injured. With Morgan’s inclusion, Clarke has 28 players to consider for the final selection of 26 that will go to Germany. The Scots face Finland at Hampden on Friday in a final warm-up match for the Euros. Forme ..read more

Newcastle United’s heavy spending under the Saudi PIF could be set to continue in the summer, with the Magpies needing to dramatically improve their squad depth. The club have looked depleted in multiple areas this campaign and undoubtedly will be looking to strengthen the defensive department after the long-term injuries suffered by Sven Botman and Jamaal Lascelles, with the two centre-backs ruled out for up to nine months after respective ACL surgeries. However, the Magpies will target another midfielder this window, with Eddie Howe’s side suffering with numerous issues in that department ..read more

After sealing promotion to the Premier League, Southampton have reportedly set their sights on a new forward for Russell Martin, with a La Liga ace now added to the list. Southampton transfer news Having defeated Leeds United at Wembley to seal play-off promotion, the Saints can set their transfer ambitions higher than they may have been prior to that Wembley trip, which has already seen a number of names linked. Among those names, for example, has been Jack Clarke, who took the Championship by storm once again at Sunderland last season. Now reportedly ready to leave, it could be Southampton ..read more

By Peter Weis@PeterVicey Italian transfer experts Fabrizio Romano and Matteo Moretto report that former FC Bayern München prospect Joshua Zirkzee is most likely to sign with AC Milan.  The prospect of reuniting Dutch striker Joshua Zirkzee with newly appointed FC Bayern München head-coach Vincent Kompany now appears to be less likely, according to Italian transfer experts Fabrizio Romano and Matteo Moretto. The Italian duo report that Serie A giants AC Milan have contacted Zirkzee’s current club of FC Bologna, announcing their intent to pull a €40 million release clause in the 23-yea ..read more

Celtics’ game plan for Luka yields historic results in Game 1 win originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston BOSTON — Conventional wisdom would suggest the key to beating the Dallas Mavericks is to stop superstar Luka Doncic from scoring. In Game 1 of the NBA Finals, the Boston Celtics employed a different strategy: stop everyone else. Doncic tallied a game-high 30 points on 12 of 26 shooting Thursday night at TD Garden, adding 10 rebounds while hitting four 3-pointers on 12 attempts. The number the Celtics cared about, however, was one. Doncic’s one assist Thursday was his lowest in a game (wi ..read more

BBC Scotland will continue to broadcast live matches and highlights from the Scottish Cup for another five years. The new deal extends the BBC’s arrangement of showing a game from each round – up to and including the final – on a free-to-air platform. The contract also allows the broadcaster to produce “near live digital highlights”. The Scottish Youth Cup final will also be shown live for the next five years. The 2024 Scottish Cup final between Celtic and Rangers had a peak live audience of 735,000, with Adam Idah’s late goal giving holders Celtic a 1-0 win. “Our live and highlights coverage ..read more