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[{"x": "everton boss roberto martinez feels the poor condition of the pitch at dynamo kiev's olympic stadium is 'a concern' - but he is sure it will be just as problematic for one side as the other in thursday's europa league last-16 second-leg encounter. rather than training on the pitch at their opponents' stadium as they normally would, martinez' men did a session on the running track surrounding the playing surface - while the turf was covered by a protective sheet - following their arrival in ukraine on wednesday. and when asked about the state of the grass, the spaniard said at his pre-match press conference: 'the pitch is a concern for both teams. everton boss roberto martinez has expressed concerns over the quality of dynamo kiev's pitch . everton players train ahead of their europa league round of 16 second-leg with dynamo kiev . everton currently lead the tie 2-1 on aggregate following their win at goodison park in the first-leg . with the pitch covered up, everton players are made to train on the running track that surrounds it . martinez has warned that the poor quality pitch could be a problem for both everton and dynamo kiev . 'dynamo kiev are a technical team and they need a good pitch, and we are exactly the same. 'i don't think it will play a big part in terms of giving a favour or advantage to either of the two sides. 'i think it is a little bit of a shame for the game of football that the pitch is not going to be in perfect condition. 'but you have to adapt to whatever surface you play on.' an everton coach leads the players in a series of stretches on the running track around the pitch . leighton baines (left) stretches alongside everton team-mate luke garbutt at the olympic stadium .", "y": "everton take on dynamo kiev in the europa league last 16. the toffees currently lead the tie 2-1 on aggregate. martinez says the poor condition of the pitch will cause problems."}, {"x": "harry kane is expected to receive his first senior international call on thursday and england's decision to train at tottenham next week will present roy hodgson the chance to discuss future plans for the young striker with mauricio pochettino. hodgson has promised england under 21 manager gareth southgate the first choice on the players he wants to select for the european championships in the czech republic in june. harry kane is expected to be named in roy hodgson's england squad on thursday . the tottenham striker has made a huge impact in scoring 26 goals in his breakthrough season . after his 26-goal breakthrough season, 21-year-old kane is at the top of southgate's list but spurs boss pochettino would prefer him to rest after the club's post-season tour to australia. 'tottenham, the fa and harry kane all need to share our opinions and take the best decision,' said pochettino. 'all players want to play for their country, but we need to speak because we care about harry and want him to develop in the best way.' both hodgson and pochettino are scheduled to be at the spurs training base, near enfield, next thursday as england prepare for a euro 2016 qualifier against lithuania at wembley and a friendly in italy on monday week. southgate will not be present but discussions are already open about kane's availability for the u21 euros, with an idea forming that he could be given a short break after his return from australia and before reporting late to the england camp to ease tottenham's concerns about burnout. those selected by southgate for the tournament \u2013 england's first game is on june 18 - will be excused games with hodgson's senior team in june against the republic of ireland and slovenia. kane's value to his club and country are illustrated by the remarkable statistics he has generated this term (see graphic). his 26 goals have been vital in spurs' push for champions league football, but among those strikes are five that have been equalisers and seven that have put his side ahead. his conversion rate for headed shots at goal is 27 per cent, a premier league high. and, perhaps most tellingly, spurs have won just won game out of six when kane has not played.", "y": "harry kane is set to be named in england squad for first time. 26-goal spurs star is also wanted for under 21 european championships. but spurs are concerned striker could suffer burnout if he plays. bosses of club and country are set for talks next week."}, {"x": "chelsea duo didier drogba and kurt zouma are getting on so well they have started rapping together in their spare time. the french-speaking duo combined to become \u2018the drogfather ft zoumanaaan\u2019 as they returned from what looking like a chelsea away game and uploaded it to the ivorian striker's instagram. zouma has been dubbed the new marcel desailly by jose mourinho following his impressive start to life in the premier league. chelsea striker didier drogba has a go at rapping alongside team-mate kurt zouma . zouma belts out his lyrics in french as he teams up with team-mate and lyrics partner drogba . it all looks to be going swimmingly for the 20-year-old on the pitch, but if it does for some reason all go wrong then at least zouma will have a rap career to fall back on. lyrics partner drogba is currently enjoying his second spell with the west london outfit having had a spell in turkey. drogba returned in the summer and as his rapping shows, the ivorian hasn't missed a beat\u2026 . zouma has been dubbed the new marcel desailly by jose mourinho following a great start at chelsea . desailly (left) won the world cup with france in 1998 and joined chelsea after stellar a career with ac milan . drogba is currently enjoying his second spell with the west london outfit having had a spell in turkey .", "y": "didier drogba and kurt zouma paired up to show of their rapping talents. the chelsea duo rapped in french and joked on camera in instagram post. zouma has been dubbed the new marcel desailly by jose mourinho. the youngster has enjoyed a great start to life in the premier league."}, {"x": "ajax manager frank de boer wants to emulate the way arsenal play as the dutch club bid to reach the europa league quarter-finals. de boer was impressed by arsenal's performance in the 2-0 champions league win against monaco on tuesday night - though the gunners were knocked out on away goals - and wants ajax to follow suit. de boer said: 'the way they played against monaco is the way we would like to play as well. high pressure, get the ball back very quickly. i really love the way arsenal play. when i look at their goals, it sometimes looks like futsal. passing, moving and always at a high tempo.' ajax manager frank de boer gestures to his players during a training session in amsterdam on wednesday . ajax trio davy klaasen (left), nicolai boilesen (centre) and thulani serero take part in training . de boer (right) and joel veltman speak to the media during a pre-match press conference on wednesday . ajax are hoping to avoid an end to their european run as they take on dnipro at the amsterdam arena on thursday, with the ukrainian club currently holding a 1-0 aggregate lead. de boer said: 'i expect dnipro to sit back and wait for us to attack. you could see that in the first match as well. we have to be patient, we can't afford to make mistakes. 'i hope this is not the \"game of the year\" for us, because i want to go through and play in another \"game of the year\".' boilesen (second right) and nick viergever (right) look to be having fun during ajax training . oliver giroud (right) controls the ball before scoring arsenal's first in wednesday's 2-0 win against monaco . dnipro players train at the amersterdam arena ahead of thursday's europa league clash . a 1-0 victory for ajax after extra time would see the match go to penalties and de boer has had his players practising penalties in training. he said: 'we've practised penalties. from the 19 we took, we only missed about three or four. jasper cillessen saved two and one or two went over the bar. 'you can always train the way you kick the ball, but it's hard to simulate the atmosphere. when you saw bayer leverkusen last night, it looked like they didn't know that they had to take a penalty.'", "y": "ajax manager frank de boer wants to emulate arsenal's playing style. arsenal beat monaco 2-0 in the uefa champions league on tuesday night but were knocked out of the last 16 on away goals. ajax bid to overturn a 1-0 deficit against dnipro in the uefa europa league."}, {"x": "manuel pellegrini has insisted manchester city's owners did not expect them to win the champions league because they know the 'project' is not ready. pellegrini believes he will not be sacked despite his team's exit from the competition on wednesday night at the nou camp and that owner sheikh mansour did not believe city were ready to be crowned european champions yet. they have spent \u00a3327million on new players in the last four years but pellegrini, manager since may 2013, is not worrying about his job after being knocked out by barcelona. manuel pellegrini has insisted manchester city's owners did not expect them to win the champions league . pellegrini pictured during the barcelona match at the nou camp as city chased a european miracle . asked whether he feared he would be sacked, pellegrini told\u00a0sky sports: 'i'm not stupid. when you have so many rumours maybe one of those rumours can be true or not. 'if you are asking me if i feel i will be sacked if i don't win against barcelona,\u00a0i can answer you no. i'm sure i am not going to be sacked. 'i understand that maybe in the media you have an allegation of what the owners of this club are.\u00a0i think they don't think or don't believe we are going to win the champions league now. 'i don't think they think that the project is ready. if you are eliminated, it is because we saw a very good barcelona, better than our team, and not because we've seen a poor manchester city team.' speaking after the game, pellegrini added: \u2018maybe it was not our best year to continue in europe. 'we've had important restrictions about amount of players, amount of money that we can spend, so it was a difficult year for us.'", "y": "manchester city manager manuel pellegrini feels the 'project' is not ready. city have spent \u00a3327million in the last four years on new players. pellegrini does not feel he has to worry about being sacked as manager. barcelona knocked city out of the champions league on wednesday."}, {"x": "radamel falcao\u2019s miserable stint at manchester united hit a new low on tuesday night when he was dumped into the reserves by manager louis van gaal. falcao has not played a minute for united\u2019s first team since being dragged off in the home win over sunderland last month and was left on the bench as van gaal\u2019s team were knocked out of the fa cup by arsenal on monday night. now the \u00a3250,000-a-week loan signing from monaco has suffered the indignity of being made to play in the under 21s against tottenham. he didn\u2019t score and was taken off as it ended 1-1. radamel falcao was humiliated by being dumped in manchester united's under 21s team on tuesday night . louis van gaal could be waving goodbye to falcao in the summer after dropping him to the reserves . the colombia striker\u2019s demotion underlines van gaal\u2019s concern over his fitness. the united manager usually asks senior players to play at this level only if they are on their way back from injury. falcao has been injury-free since recovering from a thigh strain in november and is unlikely to be pleased at being asked to drop down a level when he is desperate to prove he is worth a permanent deal. falcao did not manage to get on the scoresheet against tottenham hotspur's under 21s and was poor . the \u00a3250,000-a-week loanee tries to escape from tottenham's gongani khumalo (left) and grant ward (right) having scored only four times in six months, falcao\u2019s chances of being retained in the summer are almost nil. but he feels he has not always been given a fair crack of the whip by van gaal. sportsmail reported earlier this year that the 29-year-old feels he has to work twice as hard to impress van gaal than other players. van gaal (back, left) did not bring on falcao (middle, second right) in monday night's fa cup defeat to arsenal .", "y": "radamel falcao played in the manchester united under 21 side on tuesday. manager louis van gaal dumped falcao after his recent performances. van gaal rarely does that apart from for players coming back from injury. but falcao has not been injured and is almost certain to leave in summer."}, {"x": "michael schumacher's 15-year-old son has crashed while test driving a formula 4 car at 100mph in east germany. mick schumacher was racing through the lausitzring speedway in brandenburg, eastern germany, when he skidded out of control and onto the gravel, it was reported. the young protege began karting seven years ago, and this year reached the german formula 4 - the racing category used as a stepping stone by junior drivers. michael schumacher's 15-year-old son crashed while testing a formula 4 car on a race track in east germany . mick schumacher finished second in the world, european and german kart championships last season . however, german newspaper die welt reported that the crash was minor and mick walked away from the accident uninjured. his father, who is still recovering from a december 2013 ski accident at his home in switzerland, has won a record seven formula 1 world titles and 91 races. mick signed a contract with van amersfoort racing to drive in the formula 4 earlier this month. at the time, the dutch team's owner frits van amersfoort said: 'we have watched his skills in test driving and are looking forward to a successful season.' mick finished second in the world, european and german kart championships last season. his father emerged from his induced coma in june last year, and left hospital in september. michael schumacher (pictured in 2000) is still recovering from a ski accident that left him with head injuries . he has since started to recognise family members, according to someone claiming to be a family friend. philippe streiff, a former formula 1 driver, told french media schumacher 'has yet to recover the power of speech' but is 'nevertheless starting to recognise those close to him'. however, schumacher's manager has disputed the comments, saying the 46-year-old faces a 'long fight' for recovery and that streiff is not a family friend. 'we need a long time,' sabine kehm said. 'he is making progress appropriate to the severity of the situation.", "y": "mick schumacher crashed while testing a car on a race track in germany. he skidded out of control and onto the gravel at a speed of 100mph. however, the teenager walked away from the formula 4 accident unscathed. his father michael is still recovering from a december 2013 ski accident."}, {"x": "aymen abdennour claimed monaco had beaten  one of the best clubs in the world after eliminating arsena from the champions league on tuesday. the french side lost 2-0 at home but went through on away goals following their 3-1 victory in the first leg at the emirates. monaco defender aymen abdennour challenges\u00a0arsenal midfielder aaron ramsey . olivier giroud's first-half strike gave arsenal hope of a famous victory before substitute aaron ramsey added a second late on but the hosts held on to secure a place in the last eight. abdennour said that monaco more than earned their place in the quarter-finals alongside real madrid, porto, paris saint-germain, bayern munich and atletico madrid. 'with alexis sanchez and players like theo walcott, they had a lot of pace on the flanks,' said the centre-back. abdennour celebrates monaco reaching the quarter finals of the champions league . olivier giroud opened the scoring for the gunners as they looked to fight back from their first-leg defeat . aaron ramsey added a second goal for the gunners but they could not find a third to send them through . 'we conceded two goals because of our lack of concentration but thankfully it didn't rip out our qualification chances. 'for me, arsenal are one of the best teams in the world so i think our qualification is deserved considering the way we played against such a team. 'now we must turn the page and focus on the next game in ligue 1 so that we can try to get a top-three finish to have a chance at champions league football next season.'", "y": "monaco beat arsenal to book place in the last eight of champions league. the french side lost 2-0 on tuesday night but went through on away goals. real madrid, porto, psg, bayern munich and atletico madrid also through."}, {"x": "bournemouth manager eddie howe was left furious after his side were denied what he felt was a legitimate goal against cardiff city on tuesday night. striker callum wilson stood with his back to goal as opposition goalkeeper simon moore attempted to take a goal kick during his side's clash with cardiff city, only for moore's clearance to hit the forward. the ball cannoned off the back of the number 13 before hitting the bar, and wilson, who was signed by howe from league one outfit coventry city, then tapped the ball into the empty net. callum wilson is standing still outside of the box with his back to goal when the goalkeeper kicks the ball . wilson and the fans celebrated, but referee lee mason was quick to disallow the goal and booked the 23-year-old bournemouth top scorer, much to howe's frustration. 'i've got to be very careful with what i say, we've been in a bit of trouble recently with officials,' howe told bbc radio solent. howe continued: 'callum (wilson) did that all night. he didn't move, didn't follow the keeper, he held his ground and by the laws of the game that is perfectly acceptable. it's a goal that should have stood.' bournemouth striker wilson just cannot believe his goal has been disallowed by referee lee mason . 'you'll have to ask the referee why the goal was not allowed, i don't think he had a particularly good game and that's an understatement. 'callum was looking the other way, he stood his ground which is allowed and the goalkeeper has kicked it at his back. 'that's a real strange decision and ultimately it's cost us two points.'", "y": "callum wilson was denied a goal against cardiff city by referee lee mason. mason instead booked the striker who slotted home an opportunistic effort. wilson was hit by the goalkeeper's kick and the ball cannoned onto the bar. striker tapped the ball home, but referee mason was having none of it."}, {"x": "fernando alonso hailed a \u2018great day\u2019 as he returned to work at mclaren\u2019s headquarters in woking. the spaniard missed the opening race of the season in australia after he suffered concussion following an unexplained 134mph crash while testing at the circuit de catalunya in barcelona last month. alonso, who was hospitalised for three days following the incident, spent time in the mclaren simulator on wednesday as he bids to prove he is ready to return for the next race in malaysia a week on sunday. fernando alonso was pictured with eric boullier at mclaren's headquarters in woking on tuesday . \u2018great day today at mtc (mclaren technology centre),\u2019 said alonso on his twitter account. \u2018lots of meetings and simulator work.\u2019 kevin magnussen deputised for alonso in melbourne, but after he qualified last, the dane then failed to start the race as his honda engine blew-up en route to the grid. jenson button managed to get his mclaren to the end of the grand prix, but finished last and two laps behind race winner lewis hamilton. alonso is pictured with his girlfriend lara alvarez after he left a barcelona hospital on february 25 . the spanish driver took a 'selfie' during a gym session... he hopes to return at the next race in malaysia . jenson button finished the curtain raiser in melbourne in 11th and two laps down on lewis hamilton . it marked a miserable start to the renewed  partnership between mclaren and honda, and many observers in the albert park paddock joked that alonso may not have been too unhappy to have been absent. alonso, the double world champion, must be cleared by the fia\u2019s doctors before he can get in the car again. a date for those tests has yet to be set, though they could take place in the sepang paddock next thursday. meanwhile, williams driver valtteri bottas is working with a leading physiotherapist in indonesia as he bids to recover from a back injury which saw him miss sunday\u2019s race in melbourne. a william spokesperson said: 'we are doing everything we can to help the process of getting him back to full fitness.'", "y": "fernando alonso returned to work after he was ruled out of australian gp. the spaniard sustained concussion in an unexplained testing crash. kevin magnussen deuptised for alonso at opening race in melbourne. but mclaren were well off the pace and face uphill\u00a0challenge\u00a0in 2015."}, {"x": "you can take the man out of barcelona, but you can never take the barcelona out of the man. that phrase is certainly true for bayern munich boss pep guardiola who celebrated with the home fans as ivan rakitic opened the scoring for barcelona against manchester city. guardiola quickly stemmed his excitement by covering his face with his scalf as he realised he was celebrating in front of the world's media. former barcelona manager pep guardiola celebrates as ivan rakitic opens the scoring for the hosts . bayern munich manager guardiola rises to his feet to celebrate the goal at the nou camp . guardiola covers his face with his scalf after being overcome with emotion following the goal . guardiola tries to hide his face after he celebrated barcelona's goal against manchester city on wednesday . bayern munich coach guardiola watches  the champions league round of 16 match at the nou camp . the catalan side went on to beat manuel pellegrini's side 1-0 as they progressed to the last eight of the champions league. guardiola knows all about life at the club having managed there between 2008 and 2012, and their progression now means he could end up facing his former employers in the next round of the champions league. bayern munich themselves cantered through with ease as they thumped shakhtar donetsk 7-0 at the allianz arena following a goalless first leg against the ukranian side. rakitic scores the opening goal past joe hart during the uefa champions league round of 16 . rakitic lofts the ball over england no 1 hart at the nou camp as barcelona progressed on the night . rakitic is congratulated by teammate dani alves following his goal against manchester city in the last 16 .", "y": "bayern munich manager pep guardiola was in the crowd at the nou camp. guardiola celebrated as ivan rakitic opened the scoring on the night. barcelona beat manchester city to progress in the champions league. guardiola could come up against his former club in the next round."}, {"x": "these amazing images show the annual nesting session for a giant colony of seabirds in patagonia, argentina. drone footage shows thousands of birds making a home for themselves across a 2,000 square metre (21,528 sq.ft.) beach on the argentinian coastline. a team of researchers captured more than 5,300 pairs of nesting imperial cormorants, as part of a project to record the reproduction habits of the seabirds. scroll down for video . amazing scenes: thousands of birds in a colony of patagonian seabirds have settled on this argentinian beach to nest . bird is the word: a research team used drones to capture the extent of the nesting colony, thought to be more than 5,300 'bird couples' making babies: in the footage, the patagonian seabirds can be seen nesting on a 21,528 square foot beach in argentina . 'we used friendly, funny, cheap and safe drones who made the previous laborious job made by pilots and photographers in the past,' dr. flavio quintana, a leading marine conservation biologist said. 'the results were glorious, several high qualities images from different angles and altitudes allow us to determine, with accurate data, the real number of breeding pairs in different colonies which helps us to understand trends of the patagonian population.' 'the drone footage shows a huge mixed colony of seabirds, several species nesting at the same site in the coast of patagonia, argentina. 'the imperial cormorant is a diving seabird that nest along the patagonian coast of argentina and chile and is one of our research target species. sneaking: a team of researchers photographed the nesting imperial cormorants as part of a project to record their reproduction habits . chick this out: thousands of birds are getting ready for nightfall as the sun sets over the beach in patagonia, argentina . dr. flavio quintana said flying the drones allowed the team to 'determine, with accurate data, the real number of breeding pairs in the colonies' the drone footage shows a huge mixed colony of seabirds, several species nesting at the same site in the coast of patagonia, argentina .", "y": "drone captures thousands of bird couples nesting on the coast of patagonia, argentina. more than 5,300 pairs of imperial cormorants can be seen nesting on a 21,528 square foot beach."}, {"x": "marc-andre ter stegen played a crucial part in barcelona's victory against manchester city as he thwarted sergio aguero's 78th-minute penalty effort, but it looks like the barca goalkeeper has one of his team-mates to thank for his spot-kick heroics. trailing 1-0 on the night, and 3-1 on aggregate, city were handed a lifeline when aguero was tripped by\u00a0gerard pique in the penalty area. referee gianluca rocchi pointed to the spot with city's top scorer stepping up to take the penalty. as aguero got ready for his spot-kick, barca midfielder\u00a0javier mascherano pointed in the direction he thought his fellow argentine would shoot. javier mascherano (top centre) points in the direction he thinks sergio aguero\u00a0will shoot . aguero gets ready to take his spot-kick as\u00a0mascherano gestures to his keeper\u00a0marc-andre ter stegen . ter stegen guesses correctly to save aguero's effort and deny city a lifeline in the 78th minute . mascherano rushes to congratulate\u00a0ter stegen following his penalty save late on at the nou camp . ter stegen admitted that\u00a0mascherano advised him but he decided to make up his own mind in the end . lo and behold, aguero fired his penalty effort in the same direction with ter stegen taking mascherano's advice and diving the same way. mascherano admitted trying to advise his keeper on which way to dive for aguero's penalty. 'i know from international duty how he takes spot-kicks,' said the midfielder after the game. ter stegen admitted being advised by both mascherano and rafinha but in the end made his own mind up. manchester city were eliminated at the last 16 stage after failing to overturn their first-leg deficit . video\u00a0enrique hails 'special night' for barca .", "y": "ivan rakitic scored the only goal of the night at the nou camp. sergio aguero missed a late penalty which would have given manchester city a lifeline. barca goalkeeper\u00a0marc-andre ter stegen saved aguero's spot-kick in the 78th minute. javier mascherano appeared to advise ter stegen which direction aguero would shoot prior to his penalty effort. read martin samuel's match report from the nou camp."}, {"x": "the dallas cowboys have taken a punt on greg hardy, who has agreed on a one-year deal which could be worth up to $13.1million. at 26, the aggressive pass rusher is in his prime but missed all but one game last season after being placed on the commissioner's exempt list following a conviction for assaulting his then partner. he remains on the exempt list  until the nfl has finished it own investigation, with reports saying he could miss the first six games of the 2015 season. nicknamed the kraken, greg hardy is a fearsome pass rusher but is tainted by off-field issues . hardy leaves mecklenburg county jail after being released on bond in charlotte in may last year . the tampa bay buccaneers and the seattle seahawks were said to be interested in hardy, but both dropped out of a move. 'at the end of the day, we didn't feel good about it,' bucs general manager jason licht told the tampa bay times. the deal with dallas is heavily incentive-driven and was first revealed by nfl insider ian rapoport. the carolina panthers put the franchise tag on hardy in february 2014, guaranteeing him $13.1. he was arrested and charged on may 13 with assaulting and threatening to kill his ex-girlfriend nicole holder. hardy was found guilty on july 15 by a mecklenburg county judge, but on appeal to a jury trial (a quirk of north carolina law), charges were dropped when holder refused to co-operate with the prosecutor. in purely football terms, the cowboys have strengthened a position of need. last season, the cowboys defense mustered 28 sacks last season. during his 2013 season, defensive end hardy made the pro bowl and recorded 15 sacks; in 2012 he had 11 and adds an extra dimension to rod marinelli's 4-3 scheme.", "y": "the 26-year-old defensive end joins on an incentive-laden one-year deal. the tampa bay buccaneers dropped out of the chase for hardy, who was released by the carolina panthers after he was placed on the exempt list. he was arrested and charged in may last year with assaulting and threatening to kill his ex-girlfriend. the case was dismissed in court in february after a lack of co-operation from the accuser."}, {"x": "world middleweight champion gennady golovkin paid manny pacquiao a visit at his training camp as he prepares for his showdown with floyd mayweather. the 32-year-old kazakh was pictured with the filipino at the wild card gym in california. golovkin is widely regarded as one of the best pound-for-pound fighters in the world alongside pacquiao and has won all 32 of his professional bouts, 29 by knockout. gennady golovkin paid a visit to manny pacquiao at the wild card gym in california . the filipino shared a picture of his run in the mountains in preparation for his fight with floyd mayweather . golovkin is also preparing for an upcoming contest when he defends his wba and wbc interim middleweight belts against willie monroe jnr in inglewood, california on may 16. the world middleweight champion stopped englishman martin murray in his previous contest in monte carlo in february. pacquiao, meanwhile, has stepped up his preparations for his mega fight with mayweather on may 2 at the mgm grand in las vegas. pacquiao will take on mayweather at the mgm grand in las vegas on may 2 in one of the biggest fights ever . golovkin, unbeaten in 32 bouts, is preparing for a may 16 fight against willie monroe jnr in california . after weeks of conditioning work, the filipino had his first day of sparring on tuesday in hollywood. pacquiao told espn: 'after 13 days of strength and conditioning and boxing drills at wild card plus weeks more of working out in the philippines in february, it was great to finally put on the headgear and spar. 'my sparring partners gave me good work today. they were perfect for testing the strategy freddie and i have developed to beat floyd mayweather. i was very happy with my stamina and speed today.'", "y": "gennady golovkin pictured with manny pacquiao in california. the 32-year-old kazakh paid pacquiao a visit at the wild card gym. golovkin is also preparing for an upcoming bout on may 16. pacquiao began sparring ahead of may 2 clash with floyd mayweather. click here for all the latest mayweather vs pacquiao news."}, {"x": "a snake made its way into a texas golf hole last week. maybe it just wanted to practice its backswing. on friday, march 13, the groundskeeper at the deerwood club in kingwood, texas tweeted a photo of a snake he spotted hiding in a golf hole. ed martinez tweeted the photo of the snake found in the 12th hole at the club with its head sticking through the bottom of the cup,\u00a0al\u00a0reports. scroll down for video . #hatesnakes: on friday, march 13, the groundskeeper at the deerwood club in kingwood, texas tweeted a photo of a snake he spotted hiding in a golf hole (photographed) martinez wrote: 'yep not changing this cup today!!' and included the hashtag #hatesnakes. it's not clear what kind of snake was in the cup - but  a\u00a0tweet\u00a0on martinez indicates that club officials pulled it out of the hole safely. the snake is not the first reptile to make its way onto a golf course, scaring people in the process. safe: the species of the snake has not been made public, but a tweet on martinez's twitter account indicates that club (photographed) officials pulled the reptile out of the hole safely . last week a giant alligator was spotted on the green at a florida golf club. a photo of the gator circulated and many thought the image was photo-shopped,\u00a0abc\u00a0reports. the myakka pines golf club has taken advantage of the attention its received since the gator wandered onto its golf course. myakka officials have named the mystery gator 'goliath' and have even created 3-d models of the animal. giant gator: last week a giant alligator was spotted on the green at a florida golf club. a photo of the gator circulated and many thought the image was photo-shopped .", "y": "a snake was spotted in a golf hole last week at the deerwood club in kingwood, texas. groundskeeper posted: 'yep not changing this cup today!!' recently, a giant alligator was spotted on a florida golf course."}, {"x": "the moment the names came out of the hat, aston villa had to play west bromwich albion in an fa cup quarter-final. the same when west ham united met millwall in the carling cup in 2009. no escape. administrators must have winced, but that was the hand they had been dealt. no doubt there were similar misgivings at uefa when serbia were paired with albania in the 2016 european championship qualifiers. whoever arranged for england to meet the republic of ireland in dublin on june 7, however, is a numpty. fans invaded the pitch at villa park after aston villa beat west brom in the fa cup . the last time england played ireland in dublin in 1995 the game was abandoned due to crowd trouble . the game in 1995 was marred by crowd violence and was called off after 22 minutes . the two sides met at wembley for a friendly in 2013 when they played out a 1-1 draw . after intense negotiations with police, the kick-off time has now been brought forward to 1pm. why is it being played at all? there are 209 member associations of fifa, which means there are 207 countries that england could play without fear of significant disturbance, and one where england\u2019s last visit was abandoned due to a riot. if a free draw sends england back to dublin, both sides will have to handle it \u2014 but this is an unnecessary risk, and not worth taking. if it ends in tears, and tear gas, again, those who came up with this incendiary fixture should not look far for the blame.", "y": "england are due to play a friendly against ireland in dublin on june 7. the last time england played in dublin the game was abandoned due to crowed violence. england and ireland played a friendly in 2013 at wembley."}, {"x": "jimmy greaves did not attend wembley on sunday. a lot of people tend to get upset when this happens. the one who doesn\u2019t is jimmy greaves. if he wanted to go, as a guest of either chelsea or tottenham hotspur, his former clubs, he could have secured a ticket, no problem. the football league would probably love to have him, too. the issue isn\u2019t that greaves is short of invitations. he\u2019s just not that into it. jimmy greaves was a great player, and doesn't need a fuss around him when he decides not to attend games . this can happen when you\u2019re 75. jimmy thinks of wembley and, as much as the match \u2014 which he would enjoy \u2014 he imagines the queues of traffic on the north circular, the hassles of parking and of spending the hour before kick-off having a big fuss made about his presence when he would rather be sat with a pot of tea in front of liverpool and manchester city and then the rugby. jim loves the rugby. truth be told, if ireland versus england captured his attention, he might even have delayed changing channels until it was over. he finds it strange that people are still interested in getting him to wembley. we want our heroes to behave like besotted fans, but jim\u2019s interests were always broader. greaves' interests were always broader than just football, and he should be left to enjoy his retirement . he liked playing, and was quite brilliant at it, but since retiring he\u2019s as likely to be engrossed in a test match as a cup final, and he hasn\u2019t the ego to wish to be feted wherever he goes. he doesn\u2019t claim to be an expert on the modern game, having not been a part of it for so long, but feels no animosity towards the premier league or its high-earning players. for a man whose problems with alcohol led him to a psychiatric unit shortly after retirement, the second act of jim\u2019s life has been a triumph. we should perhaps acknowledge this, rather than wonder why he isn\u2019t constantly seeking attention or another lap of honour. we should wish every former athlete the quiet contentment of jimmy greaves. greaves doesn't claim to be an expert about the modern game, and didn't want to attend the league cup fianl .", "y": "spurs and chelsea legend jimmy greaves chose not to go to wembley. greaves said he would rather watch the rugby than his former clubs. the ex-england striker should not have his decision challenged. as a former great greaves has the right to a quiet retirement."}, {"x": "a barcelona director had sensationally claimed that manchester united midfielder angel di maria was sold by real madrid last summer because he is 'too ugly'. di maria, who has been struggling for form in recent united games, left the bernabeu for \u00a359.7m having guided carlo ancelotti\u2019s side to the champions league last season. carles rexach says di maria was only allowed to leave as his image doesn\u2019t fit the galacticos brand that current club president florentino perez is trying to assemble at the la liga giants. former real madrid midfielder angel di maria is on a poor run of form for manchester united . di maria was substituted at half-time during manchester united's win over sunderland on saturday . rexach says recent real madrid signings toni kroos and james rodriguez prove his point and fit the image perez is busy creating. barcelona's assistant director of football also brought up former los blancos boss vicente del bosque, who was sacked in 2003, despite winning two champions league titles and domestic trophies. rexach told spanish media outlet regio7: \u2018(vicente) del bosque and di maria are too ugly for real madrid. they are different from toni kroos and james rodriguez. \u2018florentino perez looks at the world market and wants a team of galacticos for everyone to admire. \u2018(cristiano) ronaldo is the flagship of the club. perez is selling an international brand.\u2019 manchester united captain wayne rooney (right)and di maria's before the weekend win over sunderland . barcelona's carles rexach says cristiano ronaldo (left) and toni kroos (right) fit the club's desired image . james rodriguez (right) greets real madrid president florentino perez during a training session .", "y": "angel di maria joined manchester united from real madrid last summer. barcelona director claims di maria was sold because he is too ugly. the \u00a359.7m club record signing started well but has lost form. di maria was substituted at half-time in the 2-0 win against sunderland. read: wayne rooney backs di maria to succeed at manchester united. read: di maria had to come off, admits man utd boss louis van gaal."}, {"x": "marcos rojo surrendered his manchester united allegiances for the evening as he watched local boyhood club estudiantes in action against gimnasia in the fierce platense derby on sunday. sporting a barcelona  vest, the argentine certainly didn't lack any passion whilst cheering on the side known as 'the rat stabbers', a club he joined at the age of ten. much to the clear delight of the argentina international, estudiantes went on to win the primera division clash 3-1 after ezequiel cerutti scored from the spot in the 89th minute. manchester united defender marcos rojo screams down the camera lens when estudiantes score their third . the argentina international, wearing a barcelona vest, punches the air in celebration after the derby win . the united centre back has begun to find form for louis van gaal's side since his \u00a316million move from sporting lisbon in the summer. rojo has formed a tight bond with fellow defensive partner phil jones, who last week expressed his joy at how quickly the 24-year-old had settled in. jones told\u00a0manutd.com: 'since marcos has come he's played the right way and in the way we've wanted to play. it's difficult to come over to a different country and a different league and go straight into the team and hit your form, but he's done well.' the red devils will be looking to expand on saturday's win against sunderland with a victory at newcastle on wednesday. rojo (right) celebrates united's opening goal against sunderland with team-mate wayne rooney (centre)", "y": "marcos rojo was filmed watching estudiantes' derby clash with gimnasia. the man united defender screamed following his boyhood side's third goal. estudiantes went on to win the\u00a0fierce\u00a0argentinian primera division derby."}, {"x": "west brom are working with police to identify supporters seen in a video appearing to let off fire extinguishers and throwing objects inside villa park during saturday's fa cup quarter-final against aston villa. the match, which tim sherwood's side won 2-0 to secure a place in the semi-final of the competition, was marred by supporter disturbances before, during and after the encounter. 'we are aware of the video footage and are working with police and the club's own security personnel to identify the culprits, who will face appropriate action,' a west brom spokesman said on monday. west brom are working with police after footage emerged of supporters appearing to let off fire extinguishers . a supporter is covered in the foam from a fire extinguisher at villa park on saturday . objects appear to be thrown about by the supporters who are in the video . the ground appears to be covered in foam from the spraying of fire extinguishers . trouble flared before, during and after the villa park showdown, including the pitch invasion . aston villa fans celebrated by racing on to the pitch following their 2-0 victory over west brom at villa park . aston villa have not commented on the footage. the two-and-a-half minute long video shows supporters appearing to spray foam from fire extinguishers over each other and throwing what seems to be an empty bin around in the food and drink area inside the stand. the fa announced earlier on monday it has contacted both clubs for their observations in relation to the crowd incidents and is also liasing with west midlands police. the fa announced on monday it has contacted both clubs, asking for their observations . supporters managed to get on to the pitch to celebrate scott sinclair scoring villa's second goal . fabian delph celebrates scoring villa's opening goal in the fa cup victory over west brom . fans ran onto the pitch before full time and seats were thrown from the north stand, where the away fans were situated. west brom manager tony pulis has already been quick to condemn the scenes, calling for any supporters who are found guilty of throwing seats to receive lifetime bans.", "y": "aston villa's fa cup victory over west brom was marred by crowd trouble. new footage has emerged of west brom fans in a disturbance at villa park. fire extinguishers are let off and bins are thrown around inside the stand."}, {"x": "paris saint-germain defender david luiz has stoked the fire ahead of this week's champions league showdown with his former side chelsea, insisting jose mourinho 'is not special' to him. luiz, who moved to the french champions for \u00a350million in june, has quashed talk of the portuguese coach - commonly labelled the 'special one' - being anything spectacular in managerial terms. ahead of the decisive second leg at stamford bridge on wednesday night luiz told l'equipe: 'he (mourinho) is special for you, but not for me. david luiz (middle), celebrates after scoring for psg against lens, faces former side chelsea on wednesday . luiz (centre), tries the spectacular during the game at the parc des princes on saturday afternoon . the 27-year-old celebrates champions league (left) and europa league success (right) at chelsea . 'i had some great moments at chelsea and won a lot of titles. i was very happy. 'they are having a great season, defend well and have great players but above all i know my team. we will try to score there and play like we know how we can. 'we will have a good game plan and implement it the best way possible to achieve a great performance. both can still qualify.' luiz and co face a tough task at the home of the premier league leaders this week, with mourinho's men currently in the ascendancy after scoring a crucial away goal in the 1-1 draw at the parc des princes a fortnight ago.", "y": "former chelsea defender david luiz has had his say on jose mourinho. the brazilian says the blues boss is 'not special' to him. the 27-year-old spent three years at the blues, enjoying plenty of success. psg and chelsea go into the decisive leg of their last-16 champions league clash at stamford bridge on level terms."}, {"x": "dick\u00a0advocaat has been plotting sunderland\u2019s survival mission for the past fortnight from him home in holland. the new boss has revealed that he was waiting for the black cats to sack gus poyet and was surprised it did not happen sooner. indeed, in the wake of sunderland\u2019s 4-0 defeat to aston villa on saturday there were reports that advocaat was set to take over, despite this being some 48 hours before poyet was dismissed. reports in holland suggest dick advocaat was surprised his predecessor gus poyet was not sacked sooner . poyet was sacked after sunderland were beaten 4-0 at the stadium of light by rivals aston villa . advocaat said john o'shea (left) will have to play despite not training in the week as the squad is small . the dutchman said: \u2018i expected they would do it (sack poyet) earlier, but they didn't. \u2018poyet was a coach who is very self-focussed. they were looking for someone with experience, a guy who knows what it's about. for this short time they didn't want to take the risk to get an inexperienced coach.\u2019 advocaat will take charge of the team for the first time at west ham tomorrow and, with his new club just one point above the premier league drop zone, he has revealed his stark message to the players. \u2018as i said to the players, it\u2019s quite simple. this is a big, big club \u2013 do you want to play in the other league?\u2019 he said. \u2018with this club, this stadium, you cannot play in the lower league. i think they realise how important it is. midfield player sebastian larsson has also missed training but will be called upon by advocaat . advocaat believes sunderland have a competitive squad when all of their players are fully fit . \u2018we have nine games to go and are still a point ahead, so we have everything in our own hands. \u2018keeping this team in the league is the most important thing. \u2018there is enough quality in this squad to stay up. we have a difficult programme, as do the other teams, but it\u2019s all up to us and i have a good feeling about it.\u2019 meanwhile, it has been reported that advocaat is open to the idea of staying at the club beyond the end of the season. however, it appears some of that was lost in translation from an interview in his homeland and sportsmail understands he will return to holland in may.", "y": "dick advocaat  named sunderland manager until the end of the season. gus poyet was sacked after sunderland were beaten 4-0 by aston villa. advocaat thought sunderland would dismiss poyet sooner than they did. click here for all the latest sunderland news."}, {"x": "a war veteran who became a high-profile fundraiser and public speaker today appeared in court charged with lying about having ptsd and cancer. former royal signalman simon buckden is accused of pretending to suffer from the illnesses in order to obtain money and other perks such as therapy. he is also alleged to have falsely claimed to be a member of the sas, leeds magistrates' court was told. charges: simon buckden has been accused of lying about having ptsd and cancer . buckden, 42, was chosen to carry the olympic torch in 2012 after becoming a leading campaigner for victims of ptsd. he also planned to run 100 marathons in 100 weeks in order to raise money for charity help for heroes. but in april 2012, he said he had put the challenge on hold after being diagnosed with rectal cancer. buckden, from leeds, was arrested in august last year on suspicion of fraud. he has now been charged with seven counts of fraud by false representation. campaigner: buckden was picked to carry the olympic torch and planned to run 100 marathons in 100 weeks . the court heard that the charges date between october 2009 and december 2013. buckden, who served in iraq, bosnia, rwanda and northern ireland, spoke only to give his name, address and date of birth. he will next appear at leeds crown court in two weeks' time. the former soldier was medically discharged from the army in 2001, after 12 years of service. sorry we are not currently accepting comments on this article.", "y": "simon buckden, 42, became a high-profile campaigner for victims of ptsd. he is accused of lying about having cancer and being a member of the sas. buckden will appear at leeds crown court next month."}, {"x": "rafael da silva's time at manchester united appears to be at an end with the club willing to listen to offers for the right-back. the brazilian, 24, is a cult hero at old trafford but has not impressed manager louis van gaal. he has made just nine appearances this term and despite overcoming injury was left out of the squad for the last two matches against sunderland and newcastle. rafael has not featured for manchester united since the fa cup match against yeovil in january . rafael has failed to impress manager louis van gaal since he arrived at manchester united . rafael's tendency to take risks coupled with a fiery temperament have made him a firm fans' favourite. but it is those traits which are thought to have sealed his fate under the methodical dutch manager. the writing for rafael has been on the wall throughout the season. van gaal has been willing to play others out of position at right back and has been quick to praise youngster paddy mcnair, who recently signed a new contract. rafael can do nothing to stop saido berahino from scoring during the premier league clash with west brom . united are interested in bringing southampton right back nathaniel clyne to old trafford . united also retain a keen interest in southampton's nathaniel clyne, while reports in spain claim they are locked in a two-way battle with real madrid for porto's brazilian right back danilo. rafael, last seen in the 2-0 fa cup win at yeovil on january 4, will have 12 months remaining on his contract at the end of the summer. a number of clubs in his homeland are interested, with cruzeiro thought to be leading the charge.", "y": "rafael has made just nine appearances for\u00a0manchester\u00a0united this season. brazilian has\u00a0failed\u00a0to impress manager louis van gaal since he arrived. manchester united are now ready to sell the 24-year-old in the summer. there is interest from a number of clubs in rafael's homeland. click here for all the latest manchester united news."}, {"x": "a mysterious silent flash which lit up the russian night sky has baffled people and sparked theories of extraterrestrial activity. experts have said the blue and white burst of light, which illuminated stavropol in southern russia, is not natural. the strange glow was not accompanied by any sound, according to witnesses, and made the city's street lights briefly go out. a mysterious silent flash lit up the night sky in stavropol, southern russia, in the early hours of the morning . it was also said to have caused bulbs inside homes to flicker, according to rt.com. 'i was very frightened by what i saw, i was already in bed,' said one woman, according to the website. 'it looked as if something very bright lit up my ceiling.' the flash was captured on a vehicle dashboard camera at around 12.39am on monday morning. according to local reports weather experts and scientists have been unable to explain the strange phenomenon. but they have agreed the source of the mysterious light was most likely at ground level. this shows the view from the vehicles dashboard camera moments before the strange glow illuminated the night sky . one local woman said that she was 'very frightened by what i saw,' from the bedroom of her home . the phenomenon was said to have knocked out the city's street lights and caused bulbs to flicker . theories include that the glow could have been caused by a military exercise, faults in the electricity network, the northern lights, an asteroid and even a ufo. this is not the first time that strange lights have been recorded in russia. in november last year, an unexplained 11 second flash took place in yekaterinburg.", "y": "mystery silent flash illuminates the sky in stavropol in southern russia. the driver was in almost pitch-black conditions when the event happened. eyewitnesses say the strange glow caused street lights to go out. experts cannot explain the\u00a0phenomenon\u00a0but agree that it is not natural. the light has sparked theories of extraterrestrial activity in the area."}, {"x": "tottenham hotspur winger erik lamela is clearly enjoying his mini-break from football as he enjoyed dinner with his family in spain. he posted a picture of the lamela clan to his instagram account along with the caption: 'visiting family in spain, enjoying my day off. hello to everybody. #espa\u00f1a #galicia #villalba' the tottenham players are currently enjoying a few days off and are not back in action until sunday's clash against manchester united. erik lamela took to instagram to show fans his family as they enjoyed a meal while away in galicia, spain . lamela, who joined the north london club from roma in 2013, helped spurs go sixth in the premier league on saturday as they beat relegation candidates qpr. the argentinean only managed 11 minutes of the london derby, but it didn't stop him from jetting out to galicia for a relaxing break. pochettino's side can go level on points with louis van gaal's manchester united if they can beat the red devils at old trafford when they return to action on sunday. lamela in action against chelsea during tottenham hotspur's capital one cup final clash at wembley . tottenham can go level on points with louis van gaal's manchester united with a win on sunday .", "y": "tottenham's erik lamela enjoyed a spanish lunch with his family in galicia. argentinean ace posted the picture to his instagram account on monday. players are currently enjoying a mini-break ahead of manchester united. tottenham can go level on points with the red devils with a win."}, {"x": "jonny evans starts a six-match ban for spitting on monday night even though the manchester united defender continues to protest his innocence. evans would have played in monday evening\u2019s fa cup quarter-final against arsenal but he will also miss the semi-final in april should united win. a disciplinary panel ruled that evans and newcastle rival papiss cisse had spat at each other in an incident missed by referee anthony taylor. jonny evans appears to launch spit in the direction of the newcastle united striker, who then retaliates . evans and papiss cisse clash near the half-way line at st james' park following the unpleasant exchange . manchester united defender evans received a six-match ban from the fa after the ugly incident . tempers threatened to boil over as team-mates from newcastle and united gathered following the incident . arsenal (h)\u00a0monday night, fa cup*; . tottenham (h) march 15 . liverpool (a) march 22 . aston villa (h) april 4 . man city (h) april 12 . chelsea (a) april 18 \u00a0(*possible replay or fa cup semi-final could mean he is available for the chelsea game) cisse admitted the offence and apologised but evans insisted he had not done anything wrong. the fa disagreed and, in a statement, said: \u2018mr evans denied the charge but it was found proven.\u2019 the incident, during united\u2019s 1-0 win at st james\u2019 park on wednesday, was not seen by referee taylor or his assistants, but was caught on tv. a three-man panel of former referees reviewed the footage last thursday and agreed the players should have been sent off, prompting the fa to bring a charge. an independent regulatory commission heard the charge and decided both players should be banned. cisse, 29, pleaded guilty and issued an apology for his part in the incident. he was suspended for an extra game as he was banned in december for elbowing everton\u2019s seamus coleman. by contrast, evans, 27, had denied the charge on thursday, saying: \u2018i would like to make it clear that i did not spit at papiss cisse.\u2019 there is no right of appeal so evans will not be able to contest the decision by the three-man panel .", "y": "jonny evans starts a six-match ban for spitting on monday night. evans would have played in the fa cup quarter-final against arsenal. but he will also miss the semi-final in april should united win. a disciplinary panel ruled that evans and newcastle rival papiss cisse had spat at each other in an incident missed by referee anthony taylor."}, {"x": "when frank lampard came on as a late substitute for manchester city on wednesday night he broke the record for most appearances in the knockout stages of the champions league. the former chelsea midfielder was thrown on in the 87th minute by manager manuel pellegrini, in what is likely to be his last ever champions league game, as city were dumped out by barcelona after a 3-1 aggregate defeat in the last 16. it was lampard's 52nd match in the latter stages of europe's top club competition moving him one clear of a group of four players. frank lampard came on as a late sub on wednesday to make 52nd champions league knockout appearance . lampard is unlikely to add to his tally as he prepares to join new york city in the summer . cristiano ronald ronaldo will overtake lampard if he plays in both legs of real madrid's quarter-final . iker casillas could also overtake the former england international following completion of the last-eight tie . real madrid pair cristiano ronaldo and iker casillas, barcelona midfiedler xavi and manchester united goalkeeper victor valdes are all tied on 51 appearances in the knockout stage. lampard, who won the competition with chelsea in 2012, is only likely to hold the record for less than one month with ronaldo, casillas and xavi, to a lesser extent, set to feature for their sides in next month's quarter-finals. former england international lampard will join new york city in the summer and, barring an unlikely return to europe, will not get the chance to add to his tally of champions league knockout games. john terry and andres iniesta are the only other two players in the top 10 that are still playing, while lionel messi just misses out on the list. the barcelona forward is on 45 appearances, however, and is almost certain to make his way towards the top in the coming seasons. lionel messi is currently on 45 knockout appearances and should make the top 10 after the quarter-finals . xavi was an unused sub against man city but could still add to his tally this season .", "y": "frank lampard came on as late sub for manchester city on wednesday. it was his 52nd appearance in latter stages of uefa champions league. midfielder is now one ahead of cristiano ronaldo, iker casillas and xavi. record likely to last less than one month when quarter-finals are played. click here for all the latest manchester city news."}, {"x": "tim sherwood has told carles gil to prove on the training pitches he is worth a starting place for aston villa. the spanish winger, bought for \u00a33.25m by paul lambert in the january transfer window, has played one minute in the last three games. sherwood has preferred scott sinclair and charles n\u2019zogbia but told the 22-year-old he could still feature in the season climax. carles gil has only played one minute in aston villa's last three games under tim sherwood . the villa boss says the spanish midfielder, signed for \u00a33.25m in january, must prove his worth in training . \u2018i preferred someone else, it\u2019s up to carles to prove on the training field he warrants a place,\u2019 said sherwood. \u2018everyone up for selection and has a chance to play until the end of the season. it\u2019s my choice who plays and doesn\u2019t. everyone has to remember i am picking team to win a game but it\u2019s nothing personal. \u2018i think aston villa are more capable of challenging towards the top half but we\u2019re not in that situation. who is best equipped to get out of a relegation battle? that is something i am still trying to decide.\u2019 gil watches on with west brom striker brown ideye as a fan invades the pitch at villa park on saturday .", "y": "carles gil has only layed one minute in aston villa's last three games. spanish midfielder was bought for \u00a33.25m by paul lambert in january. villa boss tim sherwood says gil must show he warrants a place in team. sherwood also adds that he believes club can finish in top half this season."}, {"x": "hartlepool defender scott harrison wasted no time in taking advantage of a stricken referee as he used the official\u2019s vanishing spray during the clash with oxford united. referee patrick miller tumbled to the deck during the game at the kassam stadium before players from both sides surrounded him to check he was alright. however, 21-year-old harrison saw the incident as his chance to have a go with the spray himself. team-mate neil austin picked up the canister after it had fallen out of the pocket of the official as he fell to the floor. referee patrick miller tumbles to the deck during the game at the kassam stadium on wednesday night . worried players crowd the official to check his wellbeing following his fall to the turf . but hartlepool defender scott harrison saw the funny side as he had a go with the vanishing spray . harrison drew a line round the referee as if to show where the fall had occurred at the kassam stadium . harrison's hartlepool team-mates share a chuckle as the 21-year-old draws the line round the official . harrison may have seen the funny side, but referee  miller was carried off on a stretcher following the incident . but it was harrison who took advantage, drawing an outline around the referee as if to show where the foul was committed. hartlepool are rooted to the bottom of league two, but team spirit is certainly not an issue as he amused his fellow team-mates. a 2-0 victory was enough to earn the away side all three points on the night as well as give them a slight glimmer of hope of staying in the division. however, it was not such a happy ending for the poor official who left the pitch on a stretcher.", "y": "referee patrick miller tumbled to the deck during a league two clash. hartlepool defender scott harrison took advantage of the incident. he borrowed the vanishing spray to draw a line round the stricken official. miller was carried off on a stretcher\u00a0as hartlepool beat oxford 2-0."}, {"x": "two of the biggest matches of the season will take place simultaneously next month when the barclays premier league clash between manchester united and chelsea kicks off 10 minutes after arsenal's fa cup semi-final against reading. the football association announced on thursday that the first semi-final at wembley between the gunners and steve clarke's men will take place at 5.20pm on saturday april 18 and be broadcast live on bbc one. that sees it go head-to-head with sky sports' evening kick-off between chelsea and united which is due to start at 5.30pm. marouane fellaini (right) looks to take the ball past gary cahill during manchester united's premier league match against chelsea at old trafford last october . arsenal players celebrate after beating hull in the fa cup final at wembley last year . the second semi-final between aston villa and either blackburn or liverpool will be screened by bt sport 1 on sunday april 19 with a 3pm kick-off. the afternoon kick-off will be welcomed by fans having to travel back to the north west and midlands on sunday evening. arsenal, reading and villa have all been allocated 31,500 tickets for the semi-finals with further details to be released following the quarter-final replay on april 8. jose mourinho (centre) looks on during chelsea's premier league match against southampton . aston villa fans celebrate victory on the pitch after beating west brom in the fa cup sixth round .", "y": "arsenal's fa cup semi-final against reading takes place on april 18. the match at wembley kicks off at 5.20pm and is live on bbc one. chelsea vs manchester united starts at 5.30pm on sky sports."}, {"x": "unbeaten ufc champion ronda rousey's foray from the octagon into action films has received rave reviews from hollywood co-stars including vin diesel and michelle rodriguez. the ufc women's bantamweight champion has followed up her appearance in sylvester stallone's the expendables 3 with a butt-kicking role in the latest fast and furious installment. a behind-the-scenes preview shows the 28-year-old american trading some serious blows with actress rodriguez in what producer neal h moritz described as 'one of the best fights we've ever had in the franchise'. ronda rousey (right) stars in a girl  fight scene with michelle rodriguez in fast and furious 7 . the ufc superstar has taken another hollywood role after appearing in the expendables 3 . rousey admits she 'can't\u00a0wait to see the shock factor' following what's been described as one of the franchise's best ever fight scenes . the former olympic judo champion has be hailed by the producer and her co-stars . rousey referred to the clash between the two women wearing expensive gowns in a penthouse suite as 'like a super oestrogen-pumped fight scene and i i can't wait to see the shock factor.' her celebrity co-stars were equally impressed by the first us woman to win an olympic gold medal in judo, at the 2008 beijing games. 'i think the ronda rousey aspect is the game changer,' said rodriguez - who finished filming the scene with a high-five congratulations following rousey's knockout blow. hollywood actress rodriguez claims rousey's appearance in the film is 'a game changer' rodriguez and rousey roll around on the floor during the celebrated fight scene . leading man vin diesel claims he always knew rousey would have 'a very special moment' 'i just love ronda rousey and i knew she was going to have a very special moment,' added leading man diesel. rousey currently boasts an 11-0 record in the sport having defeated cat zingano in just 14 seconds in her most recent contest on february 28. however, she recently quashed talk of the prospect of her ever fighting a male opponent in ufc. 'there should never (be) a venue where we're celebrating a man hitting a woman,' she said. the 28-year-old celebrates after defeating cat zingano in her last appearance in the octagon .", "y": "ufc champion ronda rousey is unbeaten in 11 octagon fights. she has followed her film appearance in the expendables 3 with a role in fast and furious 7. the 28-year-old's fight scene with michelle rodriguez has been described as\u00a0'one of the best fights we've ever had in the franchise'"}, {"x": "france's preparations for their rbs 6 nations showdown with england on saturday have been disrupted by confusion over the fitness of fly-half camille lopez. lopez suffered a badly bruised knee in last weekend's 29-0 victory over italy and has been replaced in the starting xv for the climax to the championship at twickenham by jules plisson of stade francais. fly-half camille lopez (left) talks to with france coach philippe saint-andre on tuesday . however, head coach philippe saint-andre insisted during thursday's team announcement press conference that lopez was only overlooked once it became clear he was uncertain over playing england after speaking to his club doctor at clermont. 'lopez trained normally on wednesday morning. he even kicked,' saint-andre said. 'in the afternoon his club clermont decided that he must rest for four to six weeks. clermont's medic decided that without seeing him and using only the mri we sent them. lopez suffered a badly bruised knee in last weekend's 29-0 victory over italy . 'we had a chat with camille then and he was disrupted. i need players who don't doubt. 'camille didn't have any doubt on wednesday morning. the doubt came in the evening. camille goes back to lyon to meet the specialist he had surgery with in 2013.' plisson , who impressed off the bench against italy, added to the mystery surrounding lopez's condition by admitting it was clear that his rival was destined to start against england. 'we could see at training sessions that camille was supposed to start the game, but we switched positions a lot at training so that doesn't change anything for me. i have to prove to the coaches they were not wrong picking me,' plisson said.", "y": "camille lopez\u00a0suffered a badly bruised knee against italy. fly-half trained normally with france squad on wednesday morning. a few hours later\u00a0clermont ruled him out of action for up to six weeks."}, {"x": "paul pogba is set for an extended spell on the sidelines after suffering a hamstring injury in the 27th minute against borussia dortmund. juventus confirmed the midfielder is expected to be out for 50 days after injuring his right hamstring. pogba's injury could mean he misses the quarter-finals and, if the team qualify, the semi-finals too. paul pogba is set for an extended spell on the sidelines after suffering a hamstring injury . pogba is taken off the pitch midway through the first-half as side dumped borussia dortmund out . the former manchester united star has been in fine form for juventus this season . massimiliano allegri may decide to switch to a three-man defence in pogba's absence with claudio marchisio, arturo vidal and andrea pirlo patrolling the midfield. juventus secured a comfortable victory in their last-16 tie with borussia dortmund despite pogba being forced to leave the pitch in the second leg. carlos tevez scored two and set up another as juventus beat borussia dortmund 3-0 away to reach the champions league quarter-finals with a 5-1 aggregate victory. it was dortmund's fourth loss in four european games against juventus. carlos tevez celebrates with alvaro morata during juventus' win against borussia dortmund .", "y": "paul pogba was taken off in the 27th minute against borussia dortmund. pogba won't feature in the champions league quarter-finals for juventus. juventus beat dortmund 3-0 in their champions league last-16 tie."}, {"x": "a home video from 1988 has revealed that a couple had actually crossed paths 16 years before they were set up on a blind date. jourdan barovick was 10 when she was being filmed by her parents coming down a waterslide in langhorne, pennsylvania. a boy in glasses aged 13 walks across the video- it is her future husband, ryan spencer, reports nj.com. scroll down for video . jourdan barovick was 10 (ringed left) when she was being filmed by her parents coming down a waterslide in langhorne, pennsylvania. a boy in glasses (ringed right) aged 13 walks across the video- it is ryan spencer . jourdan barovick (far left) when she was 10 and the video was shot . in a strange coincidence ryan and\u00a0jourdan were introduced by 16 years later on a blind date and are now married with three children. the couple, who grew up 45 minutes away from each other, only realized when they were watching old family videos a few years ago. 'we did a complete double-take,' jourdan spencer said. 'we paused, we rewound, we paused, we rewound, over and over again. 'we told everyone we knew \u2014 and then the tape went missing. we had no proof this whole time.' the video sees the pair at sesame place amusement park - jourdan's mother is standing with her younger siblings, when ryan strolls past, directly in front of the camera. they met years later (pictured) after being set up on a blind date and they married in 2007 . the pair re-found the video at christmas last year when it was transferred on to dvd and showed their family who compared the boy in the video to photos of younger ryan. 'i got a chill at first,' ryan spencer said. 'i couldn't believe it was me, and then it became kind of a romantic thing.' after being set up on a blind date they married in 2007 - they have three children - sophie, six; max, three and mabel, five months. they took their children back to the summer spot where they first met - and plan to give them the video as a keepsake when they are older. the couple now have three children - sophie, six; max, three and mabel, five months .", "y": "jourdan barovick, then 10, was filmed with ryan spencer as children. 16 years later they were set up on a blind date and later married. pair were watching old family videos a few years ago when they discovered the coincidence. they married in 1997 and now have three children."}, {"x": "manuel pellegrini looks likely to continue as manchester city manager, in part due to the lack of suitable candidates to replace him this summer. serious questions are being asked of pellegrini after another chastening defeat by barcelona in the champions league and what has so far been a weak defence of the premier league title. but although there is deep concern at the etihad about city\u2019s lack of progress this season, it is understood there are no plans to sack him at the end of the campaign. however, pellegrini\u2019s position would be untenable if his team finish outside the top four. manuel pellegrini looks likely to continue as manchester city manager for the foreseeable future . the club are already working on summer transfer targets identified by the chilean - primarily paul pogba . the club are already working on summer transfer targets identified by the chilean \u2014 primarily juventus midfielder paul pogba \u2014 and the feeling is that he will survive into the final year of his three-year contract as city wait for no 1 target pep guardiola to end his spell at bayern munich. atletico madrid coach diego simeone and real madrid manager carlo ancelotti have been touted as possible replacements, though simeone is not liked by the city board, while ancelotti\u2019s links with the club are, according to sources, the result of allies putting his name forward as he looks to find a way out of an increasingly unhappy spell at real madrid. guardiola talks regularly with city chief executive ferran soriano and football director txiki begiristain, though any switch is unlikely until 2016 when the spaniard\u2019s contract expires. city, meanwhile, could lose highly-rated head of youth patrick vieira. the ex-arsenal star is out of contract in the summer and no talks about an extension have taken place. the city hierarchy are waiting for no 1 target pep guardiola to end his spell at bayern munich . diego simeone (left) and real madrid manager carlo ancelotti have been touted as possible replacements . city could lose highly-rated head of youth patrick vieira, who is out of contract in the summer . video pellegrini insists city are improving .", "y": "manuel pellegrini looks set to see out three-year contract at man city. pep guardiola is being lined up as the club's next manager. pellegrini\u2019s position would be untenable if his team finish outside the premier league top four. serious questions are being asked of pellegrini after defeat by barcelona. diego simeone and carlo ancelotti have been touted as possible replacements."}, {"x": "fiorentina scored three goals in the opening 22 minutes to set up a 3-0 away win over struggling roma to secure their place in the europa league quarter-finals, with the all-italian match-up finishing 4-1 on aggregate. roma's season is falling apart, with the team having fallen 14 points behind serie a leader juventus in the italian league and at risk of losing second place. a late sending-off for adem ljajic for a second yellow card capped a dispiriting night which saw about a hundred of the club's `ultras' leave the stadio olimpico after 30 minutes, by which time roma had conceded three times in a 13-minute span. gonzalo rodriguez converts a penalty in the ninth minute to give fiorentina an early lead . rodriguez races away to celebrate as the visitors get an early advantage at the stadio olimpico . marcos alonso celebrates as his 18th minute strike put fiorentina 2-0 up on the night . alonso is overjoyed as his strike secures a 3-1 aggregate lead for the visitors in rome . jose basanta completed a remarkable opening 20 minutes for the viola with a third goal soon after . basanta is mobbed by his fiorentina team-mates following his 21st-minute strike . basanta receives treatment for a cut to the head during following his celebrations . gonzalo rodriguez converted a retaken penalty in the ninth minute, after a number of players encroached into the box for the first attempt. marcos alonso capitalized on a goalkeeping error to make it 2-0 in the 18th and jose maria basanta headed in when unmarked in the 22nd. roma captain francesco totti, goalkeeper morgan de sanctis and midfielder danielle de rossi led the rest of the team's players over to talk to fans after match. totti spoke for a long while with the head of the `ultras.' fiorentina defender stefan savic (left) vies for posession with roma forward gervinho . roma supporters burn flares in the stands as their side's europe league hopes go up in smoke on the pitch . fiorentina celebrate after they booked their place in the\u00a0europa league quarter-finals .", "y": "gonzalo rodriguez gave the visitors the lead in the ninth minute. marcos alonso scored\u00a0fiorentina's second soon after. jose basanta added a third to compete the rout at the olimpico stadium."}, {"x": "german side wolfsburg completed a comprehensive victory over roberto mancini's inter milan to reach the last eight of the europa league. former chelsea midfielder kevin de bruyne, a target for manchester city, enhanced his burgeoning reputation with another impressive performance in the san siro. daniel caligiuri (left) celebrates his goal with his kevin de bruyne . manchester city\u00a0director of football txiki begiristain had planned to watch\u00a0de bruyne in action . the belgian set up the first goal with a perfect cross from the left which was turned in by\u00a0daniel caligiuri in the 24th minute to put the visitors 4-1 ahead in the tie. inter continued to press in a bid to get back in the game but were thrawted by wolfsburg goalkeeper diego benaglio. substitute nicklas bendtner sealed wolfsburg victory with late strike . bendtner volleyed in a cross by fellow substitute maximilian arnold . bendtner celebrates with his team-mates after scoring in the san siro . the swiss stopper blocked a close range effort from fredy guar\u00edn and then kept out a low shot by rodrigo palacio with his foot. the argentinian forward, however, made amends 19 minutes from time, finally beating benaglio after a nice one-two with hernanes. wolfsburg sealed their victory in the 89th minute when nicklas bendtner volleyed in a cross by fellow substitute maximilian arnold. video\u00a0europa league progression 'huge' for wolfsburg - hecking .", "y": "wolfsburg beat inter milan to reach the last eight of the europa league. manchester city target kevin de bruyne set up first goal for\u00a0daniel caligiuri. former arsenal striker nicklas bendtner volleyed in a cross to seal victory."}, {"x": "tony pulis has called for a rule change to allow for clubs to appeal yellow card decisions after claudio yacob was harshly sent off in west bromwich albion\u2019s defeat to aston villa. the argentine midfielder was dismissed for a second bookable offence after making a small jump into a tackle with leandro bacuna but winning the ball cleanly. referee anthony taylor had already given yacob a yellow for tugging back gabriel agbonlahor on the break. yacob will now be suspended for one match, which pulis called \u2018disgraceful\u2019. tony pulis wants the fa to change rules so that yellow cards can be appealed . claudio yacob was sent off for a second bookable offence during west brom's fa cup defeat by aston villa . the baggies midfielder heads for the dressing room as his team are defeated 2-0 by their midlands rivals . aston villa manager tim sherwood agreed the sending off was not warranted and pulis slammed regulations barring an appeal. \u2018the biggest disappointment about this decision is that it\u2019s two yellow cards and we can\u2019t then appeal and i find that disgraceful,\u2019 he said. \u2018it is absolutely shocking, you can get a red card and appeal but you can\u2019t appeal on two yellow cards. i find it absolutely amazing.\u2019 asked if he would write to the football association, the west brom head coach replied: \u2018you\u2019re joking.\u2019 aston villa manager tim sherwood agreed that yacob's dismissal was harsh on west brom .", "y": "aston villa defeated west brom 2-0 to move into fa cup semi-finals. claudio yacob was harshly sent off for a second bookable offence. baggies boss tony pulis wants rules changed regarding booking appeals."}, {"x": "kevin pietersen has backed incoming england and wales cricket board chairman colin graves to make the changes needed to revitalise the national team. graves will take up his new post in may and high on his list of priorities will be to reinvigorate england's one-day side, who were knocked out of the world cup in the group stages after an embarrassing loss to bangladesh on monday. the defeat gave ammunition to those who believe it was a mistake to axe pietersen from the international set-up 14 months ago, while graves appeared to leave the door open for the star batsman earlier this month when he suggested he would have a better chance of an england return if he played county cricket in this country. kevin pietersen has backed incoming ecb chairman colin graves to revitalise the national team . graves will tstart in may and high on his list of priorities will be to reinvigorate england's one-day side . pietersen tweeted on tuesday: 'quick note - ecb doesn't decide who gets to play in ipl/big bash. the franchises have to want them! plenty have tried & failed to get a go! 'but, the encouraging news is that the new boss has the vision to look to open up a window to hopefully give players a better chance! 'i really do think changes are going to be made & positive things are going to start to happen for the good of english cricket...' ecb managing director paul downton insisted after monday's defeat that they needed to look at giving england's players more experience in the twenty20 format. pietersen was sacked by england in january 2014 and has since played domestic t20 cricket for delhi daredevils, surrey, st lucia zouks and melbourne stars. the 34-year-old is currently without a county contract, having left surrey in october. england were knocked out of the world cup in the group stages after defeat by bangladesh . pietersen has not given up hope of playing for england again and graves has suggested it could be possible . pietersen checks his phone while at loftus road with queens park rangers shareholder amit bhatia (right)", "y": "kevin pietersen has backed\u00a0colin graves to\u00a0revitalise the national team. graves is the\u00a0incoming england and wales cricket board chairman. pietersen said he felt 'positive' that things would change."}, {"x": "england and wales cricket board managing director paul downton insists he retains 'every faith' in coach peter moores despite england's humiliating exit at the world cup on monday. a 15-run defeat to bangladesh saw england crash out in the group stages of the one-day tournament after a dismal campaign that included four defeats in five matches. moores' tactics and team selection have come under heavy scrutiny since he was appointed head coach 11 months ago but downton insists the former lancashire coach remains the right man for the job. england coach peter moores (left) is under intense pressure following his side's poor world cup campaign . james taylor (right) was dismissed for just one run as bangladesh bowler taskin ahmed (left) celebrates . bangladesh bowler ahmed celebrates taking the wicket of england batsman taylor . england batsman taylor (left) walks off after being dismissed while bangladesh continue to celebrate . england batsman moeen ali runs after playing a shot during the world cup match with bangladesh . 'i have every faith in peter moores,' downton told sky sports. 'part of the reason for appointing peter moores was he is a very experienced coach. 'whoever took this job was going to have a really difficult job. 'we had a side that broke up in australia, we had to introduce new players and part of dealing with it - which was obviously going to be pressurised - was that experience. 'we're very early into an appointment. much as we'd like to change things instantly, it takes time. 'look at new zealand and where they were with their one-day cricket two years ago - it takes time to bring things through. 'we had a very successful team between 2009 and 2013, we have to rebuild again. 'there are no shortcuts. we have to back our players, invest in them and in time we will be back there again.' bangladesh wicket-keeper mushfiqur rahim knocks off the bails to run out  ali ian bell (left) looks on . england batsman ali lies on the ground after being run out by  rahim during the world cup match . rubel hossain (left) looks towards england batsman  bell after he is dismissed for 63 runs . bangladesh's mohammad mahmudullah reacts after scoring his nation's first-ever world cup century .", "y": "england fell to a 15-run defeat by bangladesh\u00a0at the world cup. the result sees them exit the tournament at the group stage. head coach peter moores is under immense pressure from fans. but ecb managing director paul downton insists he has faith in his man. nasser hussain: england cricket flops must take responsibility for world cup exit, but mistakes were made by moores. click here for all the latest cricket world cup news."}, {"x": "marouane fellaini and adnan januzaj continue to show the world they are not just teammates but also best mates. the manchester united and belgium duo both posted pictures of themselves out at a restaurant on monday night ahead of their game against newcastle on wednesday . januzaj poses in the middle of fellaini and a friend looking like somebody who failed to receive the memo about it being a jackson 5 themed night. premier league duo adnan januzaj and marouane fellaini pose with a friend on the dance floor . manchester united and belgium duo fellaini and januzaj are good friends both on and off the pitch . manchester united ace fellaini runs over to the bench to celebrate his goal against qpr with friend januzaj . the disco effect in the background adds to the theory, but januzaj doesn\u2019t seem to mind as they later pose on the dance floor with other friends. united haven\u2019t had too many reasons to have a song and dance this season so it seems they may be hitting the discotheques as another form of release. however, victory against newcastle on wednesday would leave manager louis van gaal at least tapping his toes as they continue to fight for a champions league spot this season. januzaj and robin van persie join fellaini in celebrating in front of the manchester united fans at west brom . januzaj receives some words of wisdom from manchester united's dutch manager louis van gaal . januzaj and fellaini are joined by some friends as they take to the dance floor ahead of the newcastle game .", "y": "the belgian duo took to the dance floor on monday night with some friends. manchester united face newcastle in the premier league on wednesday. red devils will be looking for just their second league away win in seven. louis van gaal's side currently sit two points clear of liverpool in fourth."}, {"x": "luis enrique says england's lack of a winter break may have given barcelona an advantage against manchester city \u2013 and he hopes the premier league don't change their fixture list. manuel pellegrini suggested after city's 1-0 defeat in the nou camp that the number of games english clubs played in december and january meant they struggled in the latter stages of the champions league. city's 3-1 aggregate defeat followed arsenal's exit at the hands of monaco on tuesday and chelsea's defeat by paris saint-germain last week \u2013 leaving no english clubs in the last eight of the champions league for the second time in three seasons. luis enrique conceded barcelona may have an advantage over english sides due to the winter break . ivan rakitic (right) scored as barcelona beat manchester city 1-0 in the nou camp on wednesday . city manager manuel pellegrini believes the games his team play over christmas hinder them in europe . and enrique has some sympathy for pellegrini. 'we are used to resting during winter with our families,' enrique said. 'i heard (southampton manager) ronald koeman complaining about the number of fixtures in england, so maybe it is an advantage for us. 'i don't know, it is impossible to say, but we do enjoy watching the english teams playing on boxing day.' speaking after the game, pellegrini suggested the heavy fixture scheduling played a part in city's demise. lionel messi's barcelona eliminated city by beating them 3-1 on aggregate in the champions league . for the second time in three years, there are not any english teams in the last eight of the champions league . pellegrini said: 'it is difficult to analyse because the premier league is strong, with money and very good players. 'we play so many games in december and january and we are not fresh in february. in spain, italy and germany they stop playing. last year we played nine games in december and nine in january, and that was before we played barcelona.' video enrique hails 'special night' for barca .", "y": "there are no english teams in the last eight of the champions league. barcelona beat manchester city 3-1 on aggregate to knock them out. barca boss luis enrique says a winter break helps against english sides. read: until english clubs learn to keep the ball they are doomed to fail. click here for all the latest barcelona news and post match reaction."}, {"x": "france are coming to twickenham to take on england in the six nations finale this weekend, but olivier giroud showed there is already one frenchman in london with rugby ability. the arsenal striker was eager to show off his keep-ups skills, which were impressive, despite using a rugby ball. the gunners frontman managed 29 kick-ups before losing control of the ball and shrieking in frustration. olivier giroud, with team-mates watching on, attempts to do keep-ups with a rugby ball . the french striker made a reasonable stab at the attempt, keeping the oval ball under control . although he eventually began to lose his composure, the french star showed plenty of rugby skill . giroud eventually lost control of the ball after 29 keep-ups, a strong effort with the tough ball . giroud, who missed a large part of the season with injury, has been in superb form recently, scoring seven times in his last eight games. he was on target against monaco on tuesday night as arsenal attempted to come back from a 3-1 deficit in the champions league last 16, but fell just short. on thursday the 28-year-old was named in france's squad to play brazil and denmark next week. the 28-year-old scored arsenal's first goal in the 2-0 win over monaco at the stade louis ii on tuesday . but despite his goal, france striker giroud was not able to inspire his team to an aggregate victory .", "y": "giroud shows off his skills with rugby ball after arsenal training. arsenal striker has been in excellent form since injury return. giroud was included in france squad announced on thursday. click here for all the latest arsenal news."}, {"x": "sam allardyce is more bothered about winning points than playing attractive football and has confirmed defender james tomkins will be out for the remainder of the season. west ham have won just one barclays premier league match in 12 and questions have been asked about whether allardyce will remain in charge beyond his contract, which expires at the end of the season. the hammers face a sunderland team under new management on saturday after dick advocaat replaced sacked boss gus poyet at the stadium of light on tuesday. james tomkins will be out for the remainder of the season after having surgery on his shoulder problem . sam allardyce is more concerned about picking up points rather than playing attractive football . big sam will be without tomkins after the defender needed surgery on a dislocated shoulder suffered in training, while winston reid will be assessed on saturday following his hamstring problem. yet the good news for west ham is that goalkeeper adrian and carlton cole will be available for selection against sunderland in a game allardyce feels is a must win. 'carl comes back into the fray. we're going to wait a little longer for winston,' the west ham boss. 'he's still a little way off with a hamstring problem, and we're prepared to wait until saturday morning to see what it is. 'our squad is suffering a little bit at the moment. we can't feel sorry for ourselves. it's about overcoming it and winning results, starting saturday against sunderland. winston reid (right) will be assessed by west ham ahead of saturday's clash with sunderland . 'this run of fixtures has been quite challenging but we've been so close to famous victories against manchester united and tottenham away. a draw against southampton, and we shouldn't really have lost to chelsea. 'when you consider all those teams above us in the top end of the table, and we shouldn't have lost to any of them. the bottom line is playing fantastic is great but not winning is crucial. critical. 'we have a big problem in winning football matches at the moment. our goal is to win football matches. the most important thing for saturday is for us to gain victory. 'hopefully we can do that in style but if we can't play as well as we have been doing, just make sure we win this game.'", "y": "west ham under pressure after just one premier league win in 12 games. james tomkins out for season after surgery on his dislocated shoulder. sam allardyce says saturday's game against sunderland is a must win. click here for all the latest west ham united news."}, {"x": "crisis-hit serie a club parma were declared bankrupt on thursday with estimated debts of 100 million euros (\u00a372.4m). it took just 10 minutes for an italian court to make the decision and it is not known whether the club, who are bottom of serie a, will now finish the season. however, there is a plan in place with the league's governing body and the italian football federation to fund the club for the rest of the campaign. parma's new president giampietro manenti was arrested for alleged involvement in money laundering . parma's new owner and president, giampietro manenti, was not present following his arrest on wednesday on charges of money laundering and embezzlement. the court appointed accountants angelo anedda and alberto guiotto as receivers. 'i believe we'll play on sunday against torino,' board member osvaldo riccobene told reporters at the end of the hearing. parma's players and staff haven't been paid in months, with players having to do their own laundry and drive the team bus while games were postponed because the club could not afford stewards or police at their tardini stadium. players also refused to play after manenti failed to fulfil a promise to pay them by mid-february. captain alessandro lucarelli said: \u2018i hope sooner or later this all ends because honestly we can\u2019t take any more.\u2019 manenti became the third owner of parma this season after purchasing the club for a nominal sum from a russian-cypriot group in february. according to la gazzetta dello sport, manenti is under investigation for various acts of financial irregularity including money laundering and fraud. parma captain alessandro lucarelli (left) admits the players are struggling to deal with the club's predicament .", "y": "parma declared bankrupt after just 10 minute court hearing. owner giampietro manenti not at hearing after he was arrested on wednesday on charges of money laundering and embezzlement. serie a side have not paid their players or staff in months."}, {"x": "prom is supposed to be one of best nights of the year for high school juniors and seniors, but sometimes it doesn't turn out that way. looking back at prom photos is sometimes an easy way to see why. weird haircuts, strange poses and wardrobe choices that are just wrong await in the latest set of pictures from awkward family photos. is it worse to be her, him or the rug? maybe they thought it was a magic carpet or something. guess not . no tuxedo, no trousers, no smile, no problem... at least the fringe on the jean shorts looks classy . there are three chandeliers in the background at this place. they didn't help to distract from the foreground . maybe the laser show in the background was an attempt to call attention away from the suit. it didn't work . they had their spot on the dance floor marked off with a stack of telephone books for him to stand on . the question is, who ended up with the flowers at the end of the night? where these guys were so serious looking because they were planning to fight over her after the photo was taken? when you don't have a date, the best solution is always to go with a giant fish in a dress . the mustache is awesome. the jacket and pants are even kind of cool. but the chair makes this guy shine . at least this guy didn't have to worry about shelling out for a limo or sticking his date with the corsage . as soon as the dance was over, they ran off to go compete on american gladiators. didn't need to change . though the sunglasses made it harder for them to see other people, it doesn't work the other way around . it's a well-known fact there's no better way to attract a suitor than by taking a photo with a tractor . they seem really, really happy. wonder how they would feel if they saw this photo again? their first date was probably to go see the breakfast club or something else involving molly ringwald .", "y": "snapshots from awkward family photos shows painfully-funny prom pics. feature wardrobe malfunctions, hairstyles that don't cut it and and more."}, {"x": "zinedine zidane's third son, theo, appears primed to follow in the footsteps of his famous father judging by a goal he recently scored for a real madrid youth side. the 12-year-old found the back of the net in the 10-2 thrashing of moratalaz and demonstrated a prodigious first touch alongside unnerving composure to conjure memories of his father in his prime. as a cross was floated over from the right, theo fernandez tucked the ball on to his right foot after a defender missed an interception before deftly placing the ball out of the reach of the goalkeeper and into the top corner. theo fernandez, the third son of zinedine zidane, scored a brilliant goal for a real madrid youth side recently . theo fernandez (right) neatly controlled a high cross with a superb left-footed touch . his control allowed him to work his way into space from just inside the penalty area . he then placed the ball past the goalkeeper as three defenders tried to close down the space around him . zinedine zidane (left) is considered one of the best players ever and is now the coach of real madrid b . enzo zidane has progressed through the ranks at real madrid and has played for the b team . theo is not the only zidane son looking to emulate the achievements of zidane snr, who won the champions league with madrid and the world cup with france. enzo, the oldest zidane son at 19, has already appeared for the real madrid b team, which is coached by zidane snr, who retired from playing in 2006. as well as winning the world cup and champions league, zidane snr was named world player of the year three times in 1998, 2000 and 2003.", "y": "theo fernandez zidane scored a great goal as real madrid won 10-2. zinedine zidane is now the coach of the real madrid b team. his eldest son enzo is progressing through the ranks at madrid."}, {"x": "referee michaela tabb has decided to leave the world snooker circuit. tabb, 47, was the first woman to referee at a world ranking tournament and led the way too as the first to do so in a final. the scot has twice taken charge of the world championship final at sheffield's crucible theatre, another first in 2009 and then again in 2012. michaela tabb (left) stands alongside ronnie o'sullivan during the 2012 world championship final . tabb was the first female to referee a world championship final at the crucible in 2009 . she had previously played on the eight-ball pool circuit, and also captained the scottish ladies' pool team. it was announced on thursday, however, that she has left the circuit. a world snooker statement read: 'michaela tabb, one of snooker's most experienced referees who took charge of two world championship finals, has left the world snooker circuit. tabb poses for photographs with the world championship trophy on the table at the crucible in 2007 . drew henry watches tabb re-aligning the white after a foul during the world snooker championships, 2003 . 'michaela's involvement in snooker began in 2001 when she was fast tracked by world snooker having worked as a pool referee. 'she refereed her first snooker match at the crucible theatre in 2003, and in 2009 became the first woman ever to referee the world championship final. 'world snooker would like to take the opportunity to thank michaela for her contribution to world snooker over the last 14 years and wish her all the best with her future refereeing endeavours.' tabb on celebrity pot black in 2006 with steve davis, vernon kay, bradley walsh and ronnie o'sullivan .", "y": "referee michaela tabb has left the world snooker circuit. tabb, 47, was the first female to referee a world championship final. the scot refereed on the circuit for 14 years."}, {"x": "theo walcott wants a significant pay rise if he is to sign a new arsenal contract. talks over a new deal have begun with the arsenal forward nearing the final year of his contract. the pacy forward currently earns in the region of \u00a390,000-per-week - but walcott will ask for a sum significantly north of \u00a3100,000-per-week before agreeing to an extension. theo walcott wants a significant pay rise if he is to sign a new arsenal contract . the pacy forward currently earns in the region of \u00a390,000-per-week but will ask for a sum significantly higher . it remains to be seen whether the gunners will meet the demands but his current position in arsene wenger\u2019s plans may provide an indication. since returning from a long-term injury, walcott has struggled for regular football, with the likes of olivier giroud, danny welbeck, alexis sanchez, santi cazorla, mesut ozil and alex oxlade-chamberlain all vying for a slot in wenger\u2019s four attacking positions. arsenal top-earners sanchez and ozil earn in the region of \u00a3140,000-per-week. the emirates stadium are unlikely to offer walcott anything near that amount, particularly given his lack of games. his wage demands could lead to another long drawn out contract saga, similar to the discussions for his existing deal which nearly saw walcott leave before he signed his last contract in january 2013. liverpool and manchester city will be monitoring walcott\u2019s situation closely ahead of a potential summer move. walcott will be hoping to earn a similar amount to star man alexis sanchez on \u00a3140,000-per-week . gunners winger walcott has struggled for a first team place under arsene wenger (above) video chelsea too far in front - wenger .", "y": "theo walcott holding out for arsenal pay rise before signing new deal. walcott is currently earning around \u00a390,000-per-week. england international hoping for sum north of \u00a3100,000-per-week."}, {"x": "sam allardyce insists he is not nearing the exit at west ham and that his link with the sunderland job for next season is nothing more than speculation. dick advocaat took over from sacked manager gus poyet at the stadium of light on tuesday until the end of the season, and the 67-year-old\u2019s first-ever barclays premier league match will be against the man tipped to replace him. allardyce\u2019s future remains uncertain under co-owners david gold and david sullivan with his contract expiring at the end of the season. sam allardyce (pictured at the emirates last saturday) insists he is not nearing the exit at west ham . allardyce is well thought of at sunderland, who hired dick advocaat on a short-term deal this week . big sam goes into saturday's game with sunderland having not won in the premier league since january 18 against hull city, and the 60-year-old refused to discuss his future beyond his current contract. \u2018pure speculation,\u2019 allardyce said. \u2018i\u2019m west ham manager. i\u2019m professional. i\u2019 m contracted to west ham, and don\u2019t expect anything other than that somewhere along the line we will be talking about a contract here.\u2019 it was in may that allardyce was told to play more attractive football, but the manager admitted he is now more bothered on simply winning points after picking up just eight in 2015. james tomkins is out for the remainder of the season following surgery on a dislocated shoulder . west ham will have to do so without defender james tomkins, who was confirmed as being out for the remainder of the season following surgery on a dislocated shoulder suffered in training. \u2018the bottom line to that is playing fantastic is great, but not winning is crucial. it\u2019s critical,\u2019 allardyce continued. \u2018we have big problems in winning a football match at the moment. not the performance. the ultimate is our goal is to win football matches. not to play well and not win. \u2018that\u2019s what we\u2019ve been doing recently, and we\u2019ve got to stop that. we\u2019ve got to make sure the most important thing for saturday is to gain a victory. hopefully we can do that in style but if we can\u2019t play as well as we have been doing, just make sure we win this game.\u2019", "y": "sam allardyce has been linked with the sunderland job. the west ham boss is well thought of at the stadium of light. sunderland appointed dick advocaat until the end of the season after sacking gus poyet earlier this week."}, {"x": "angel di maria insists manchester united will fight till the very end to ensure they qualify for the champions league as the red devils prepare for a make or break four game run-in. di maria sat out the win over tottenham after being sent off for tugging referee michael oliver's shirt in united's fa cup defeat to arsenal. the \u00a359.7million midfielder knows the next four fixtures - against liverpool, aston villa, manchester city and chelsea will ultimately make or break united's season. angel di maria pleads his innocence after being booked by referee michael oliver in the defeat to arsenal . di maria  walks off the pitch after receiving the red card during the fa cup quarter-final with arsenal . 'we are all aware that a number of big games are just around the corner, and the season will be decided by these fixtures,' di maria told united review. 'we know all about these upcoming games and we have been thinking and talking about them for quite some time now. we've known that everything would be at stake over this final period of the season.' di maria celebrates after scoring during united's fa cup third round match against yeovil town . he added: 'everyone at the club is 100 per cent confident, we know we want to get back into the champions league and that we want to be fighting it out. 'we'll battle hard right to the end of the season. from what i know of the club, united always fight right to the end and that's what we're going to do.' di maria celebrates at old trafford after scoring against everton in the premier league win . di maria slides on his knees as he celebrates manchester united's thumping victory against qpr .", "y": "angel di maria insists manchester united are premier league fighters. the \u00a359.7million man says they will fight to secure champions league spot. di maria knows next four games could make or break their season. united face liverpool, aston villa, manchester city and chelsea."}, {"x": "a woman arrived home to find that her husband had tied up a naked teenage man in the living room of the family home, a court has heard. joanne o'connor said she discovered the bizarre scene after she returned home early from work one day last year. her husband john young, a radio dj, then assaulted her and grabbed her hair, and has now been fined \u00a3300 for the attack. row: john young fought his wife after she found a naked 18-year-old man tied up in the family home . ms o'connor, 48, told kilmarnock sheriff court: 'i knew our marriage was in trouble when i found an 18-year-old boy naked and bound in the living room.' the court heard that young, 49, then smashed up his own collection of cds during the ensuing row in kilwinning, ayrshire, the evening times reported. an antique clock which was a family heirloom was also damaged in the fight. the couple's daughter went into the room and said: 'what are you arguing about now?' young denied assaulting and injuring his wife by grabbing her hair and chest. fined: young was convicted of assault after a trial at kilmarnock sheriff court, pictured, and fined \u00a3300 . he told the court that he has since come out as gay, but claimed that ms o'connor accused him of being a paedophile. the dj said that if he had attacked his wife she would have hit him back. sheriff brian murphy found young guilty of assault, and ordered him to pay a \u00a3300 fine. he could also lose his new job with north ayrshire council. young, who uses the professional name ian young, helped to set up irvine beat fm, but has now left the station.", "y": "joanne o'connor discovered her husband john young had a naked teenager tied up in the living room of ayrshire home. young then attacked his wife and grabbed her hair in a massive row. he has been convicted of assault and fined \u00a3300 over the incident."}, {"x": "sevilla remain on course to retain their title after easing past fellow spanish side villarreal. having done most of the damage with a 3-1 first leg win at el madrigal, sevilla finished things off at home. the red and whites secured their progression with a 2-1 victory courtesy of second-half goals from vicente iborra and his replacement denis suarez. sevilla's midfielder denis suarez celebrates after scoring during the europa league match with villarreal . suarez of sevilla scores his team's second goal during the win over their la liga rivals . sevilla's midfielder vicente iborra celebrates after scoring during the europa league match . villarreal had netted in-between those strikes through giovani dos santos' fine free-kick but almost immediately had centre-back eric bailly sent off as they tumbled out 5-2 on aggregate. in truth it could have got a whole lot worse for villarreal if not for goalkeeper sergio asenjo who impressed throughout. sevilla's victory could provide a significant psychological blow as both sides prepare to do it all again in their la liga clash this weekend. sevilla's cameroonian midfielder stephane mbia vies with villarreal's midfielder dos santos . sergio asenjo fists the ball away from iborra of sevilla during the uefa europa league round of 16 .", "y": "vicente iborra opened the scoring for the hosts in the 69th minute. villarreal equalised four minutes later through mexican giovani dos santos. eric bailly received a red card for villarreal\u00a0ending any hopes of a comeback. denis suarez struck with just seven minutes of the game to secure the win."}, {"x": "a stork found itself out of its dinner after a hungry eagle stole the fish it had put in hard effort hunting for. the saddle-billed stork was caught on camera as it fished for food at the kruger national park in south africa. however, as the bird readied itself for dinner, a large eagle swooped in, grabbing the fish, leaving the poor stork behind to hunt once more. dinner time: the saddle-billed stork has managed to catch a fish for supper\u00a0at the kruger national park . incoming: an eagle flies in, causing the stork to drop the fish, and the bird of prey goes in for the steal . the stork was filmed wading through a shallow pond, trying to catch a fish, and can be seen being rudely interrupted by the eagle. as the large wading bird is re-positioning the fish in its large bill, an african fish eagle swoops in, causing the stork to drop its dinner. the eagle grabs the fish with its claws, and despite the efforts made by the shocked stork, the bird of prey flies off with the prey. the african fish eagle is known to steal fish that other birds catch, grindtv reports, which is how it got its name. the eagle can be found troughout sub-saharan africa and is the national bird of zimbabwe, zambia and south sudan. snatch: the african fish eagle grabs hold of the fish in front of the shocked stork . my lunch! despite an effort from the saddle-billed stork, the eagle swoops in and flies off with the fish . poor birdie: although the eagle is surely pleased with his catch, the stork is left hungry and has to hunt again .", "y": "eagle stealing fish from stork filmed at the kruger national park. after fishing up its dinner, saddle-billed stork loses out to the eagle."}, {"x": "huddersfield town centre back anthony gerrard has joined league one oldham athletic on loan. the out-of-favour 29-year-old is set to feature in saturday\u2019s game at crewe alexandra. gerrard, who was injured during pre-season, has made only one start and three appearances from the bench this season. anthony gerrard (right) is moving to oldham athletic on loan and could feature against crewe alexandra . he is out of contract at the end of this season and is considering a move to the mls to follow his cousin steven gerrard. oldham manager dean holden told the club's official website: 'gerrard is a player we have tracked for a couple of weeks now. he is a natural leader with a good pedigree and most importantly he is a winner. 'he will be a very good addition to our squad.' gerrard could join his brother steven by moving from england to play for a team in mls next season .", "y": "anthony gerrard has joined oldham on loan and could feature immediately. midfielder is out of contract in the summer and considering an mls move. he has made just four appearances so far this season for huddersfield."}, {"x": "houston rockets guard james harden has been suspended for one game without pay for kicking cleveland cavaliers forward lebron james in the groin, the nba announced on monday. the incident between the two league most valuable player candidates occurred with 2:08 remaining in the third quarter of the rockets' 105-103 overtime victory on sunday against the cavaliers in houston. closely guarded by james, harden lost his footing, fell to the floor and then lifted his left leg and kicked james below the belt. video scroll down for james harden suspended for kicking lebron james in the groin . houston rockets' james harden pushes against cleveland cavaliers' lebron james on sunday night . harden works to keep control of the ball under pressure from cleveland cavaliers' james in overtime . harden was assessed a flagrant foul for the incident. \"obviously that's not a basketball play,\" james told reporters after the game. \"i have no idea why he would do that, but two competitors just trying to go at it, and he won this one.\" harden will serve his suspension on tuesday when the rockets travel to atlanta to play the hawks. james drives the ball past houston rockets' trevor ariza in the first half of the game in houston. james goes to the basket as houston rockets' josh smith tries to knock the ball away in overtime .", "y": "guard james harden has been suspended for one game without pay. rockets star kicked lebron james in the groin during game on sunday. incident happened in third quarter of rockets' 105-103 overtime victory. he will serve suspension on tuesday when they face the atalanta hawks."}, {"x": "angel di maria will prove his detractors wrong and become a hit at manchester united, believes the club's former defender rio ferdinand. di maria made an impressive start to his career at old trafford following his \u00a360million summer switch from real madrid last summer. the 27-year-old netted three times in his first five games for the red devils but has since struggled for form since in recent weeks. former manchester united defender rio ferdinand believes angel di maria will prove a hit at the club . di maria (centre right) was sent off on monday night as united tumbled out of the fa cup at home to arsenal . despite providing the assist for wayne rooney's goal in their 2-1 fa cup sixth round exit to arsenal on monday night, di maria's night ended prematurely as he was sent off in the second half. regardless of his dismissal, ferdinand is adamant that the argentina international's star qualities will be evident once he has had time adapt to playing in the premier league. 'i thought [angel] di maria was a great signing for [manchester] united and i still think he was a good signing because he is a top player,' ferdinand told goal. ferdinand (pictured, left, playing for qpr) feels di maria just needs time to adapt to playing in a new country . 'he was arguably [real] madrid's best player last year, him and [cristiano] ronaldo were their standout players. i think he is a highly talented player. 'but it always takes time for a player to adapt to his new surroundings, especially when you go to a foreign league. not every player can be like ronaldo and just turn up and instantly become a superstar. maybe it will take di maria a bit longer. it might take him a year, you never know. 'but his style does suit the premier league. he is quick, runs at people, hungry to create chances and commit people. i think he is a very talented player and i like him.' di maria (right) provided the assist for united's goal against arsenal before his sending off on monday night .", "y": "angel di maria joined manchester united from real madrid last summer. the \u00a360m signing scored three goals in his opening five games for united. the 27-year-old was sent off in the 2-1 fa cup exit to arsenal on monday."}, {"x": "they were designed to make britain\u2019s sailors look \u2018cool and modern\u2019. but the royal navy\u2019s new uniform was ridiculed yesterday by being compared to the outfits worn by garage mechanics. the all-navy blue gear will replace the outfit worn by serving military personnel since the second world war and was welcomed by the defence ministry as \u2018cool and more modern\u2019. scroll down for video . the old royal navy uniform of light blue shirt and dark blue trousers, left, is being replaced with all-navy blue gear, right . but twitter user tony shumacher wrote: \u2018royal navy unveils \u201cmodern\u201d uniform\u2026 sponsored by kwik fit?\u2019 jamie frost, a seaman who trains at the university royal naval unit, said it \u2018reduces rn personnel to looking like garage car mechanics\u2019. the new attire, which replaces the action working dress known as no4s, has been tested on ships and submarines. the navy says the feedback from sailors so far has been \u2018mostly positive\u2019. the new uniform has been ridiculed by being compared to the outfits worn by garage mechanics . it is only to be worn during operational duties and will not replace more formal uniforms or berets and old caps . it is only to be worn during operational duties and will not replace more formal uniforms or berets and old caps. a layering system allows it to be adapted for different climates. the crew of frigate hms lancaster will be the first to deploy in the royal navy personal clothing system (rnpcs) when they begin an atlantic patrol tomorrow. the crew of frigate hms lancaster, pictured will be first to wear the uniforms, when they begin an atlantic patrol tomorrow .", "y": "royal navy has unveiled first new uniforms since the second world war. the all-navy blue gear has been welcomed by mod as 'cool and modern' but others have ridiculed it, saying it looks like outfits worn by mechanics. it will only be worn during operational duties and won't replace formal uniform."}, {"x": "gareth bale is approaching the end of his second season at real madrid, but the world's most expensive player admits he still finds it surreal to be called a 'galactico'. the wales international left tottenham for the spanish capital in september 2013, and has already won a champions league, copa del rey, uefa super cup and club world cup in the white of los blancos. it has been quite a rise for the 25-year-old, who admits it still feels odd to be playing for one of the world's biggest clubs. he is becoming used to the media attention, but is particularly aware of it during the high-profile training sessions at\u00a0valdebebas. don't get nutmegged, gareth! bale and his real madrid team-mates train at valdebebas last week . bale (right) aims a shot past the outstretched leg of pepe during a training session with real madrid . 'it is a bit surreal to be called a \"galactico\",' bale told fourfourtwo. 'the one thing you don't want is to be on the end of a nutmeg [at training] - especially with the rows of cameras. 'we are always getting killed out there and i just try not to let it be me. whenever someone gets nutmegged, we are all jumping and joking.' carlo ancelotti's side remain top of la liga, despite a disappointing draw against villarreal last time out. they will look to get back to winning ways at athletic bilbao at the weekend. the welshman dives to keep the ball in play during madrid's 1-1 draw with villarreal last time out . bale celebrates after scoring in the champions league final in may; madrid's second of four goals .", "y": "gareth bale joined real madrid from tottenham in september 2013. he has already won four trophies for los blancos since his arrival. the welshman says it is still strange to be called a 'galactico' bale admits he tries desperately to avoid getting nutmegged at training. click here for all the latest real madrid news."}, {"x": "paul scholes has criticised joe hart for appearing 'delighted' despite manchester city's defeat by barcelona which saw them crash out of the champions league. hart was in inspired form at the nou camp on wednesday as he pulled off a string of world-class saves to keep the scoreline down. but barcelona won the second leg 1-0 thanks to ivan rakitic's first-half goal as the catalan giants progressed 3-1 on aggregate. joe hart was fist-bumping his defenders after making saves despite manchester city's defeat by barcelona . hart shares a smile with lionel messi as manchester city lost the second leg to the catalan giants . hart produced several world class saves to keep the score down at the nou camp . writing in his column in the independent, scholes said: 'well done to joe hart for a record number of saves in a champions league game this season, and without him it would undoubtedly been worse for city. 'but what i could not get my head around was his evident delight at it all. towards the end of the game he was smiling after every save and fist-bumping his defenders. 'city were losing 1-0. they were going out of the champions league. what were they celebrating? losing 5-0?' hart was quick of his line to deny neymar as the brazilian forward looked set to score . hart was commanding in his area, spreading himself wide to keep out luis suarez's effort . ivan rakitic was the only player to find a way past hart as barcelona edged the second leg . city trailed 2-1 after the first leg at the etihad and were fortunate not to concede more in barcelona as lionel messi, luis suarez and neymar all went close. hart made a total of 10 saves and even messi paid tribute to the england keeper. 'he saved everything,' he said. 'we had a lot of clear chances but the keeper had a brilliant game. 'we can only congratulate him, but the important thing is we achieved our objective to get through.' video pellegrini insists city are improving .", "y": "joe hart kept the score down as manchester city lost to barcelona. only ivan rakitic was able to pierce the last line of city's defence. but paul scholes has criticised hart for appearing to be delighted. the keeper was smiling and fist-bumping with his defenders. click here for the best images from messi's personal battle with hart."}, {"x": "floyd mayweather jnr has refused to agree to a $5million (\u00a33.4m) fine should either he or manny pacquiao fail a drug test, according to the filipino star's adviser. both fighters are subject to random, olympic-style testing by usada in the build up to their $300m (\u00a3200m) mega-fight in las vegas on may 2. should either fail a test, they would likely be banned for four years but pacquiao also wanted a financial penalty. manny pacquiao had his first blood and urine test last saturday ahead of his fight against floyd mayweather . pacquiao and mayweather must both undergo random testing which is overseen by usada . 'today we were informed that mayweather turned down the request,' michael koncz told epsn. 'manny had requested that there would be a reciprocal fine of $5 million for a failed drug test.' the details of the testing were not written into the fight contract but were instead included in a separate agreement. and mayweather's adviser leonard ellerbe said that was pacquiao's mistake. 'michael koncz is an idiot, and manny pacquiao should be ashamed to have him as his representative, in my opinion,' he told espn. 'it's obvious he didn't read the contract. why would he have his fighter sign something he was not happy with? mayweather and pacquiao failed to agree a $5million penalty should either man fail a drug test . mayweather has long demanded his opponents submit to random, olympic-style drug testing . 'the deal was negotiated up and down by his promoter  on behalf of manny with floyd and mayweather promotions, and it's been well documented in the media for quite some time. 'if this moron didn't convey his fighter's wishes when the negotiation was going on, that's their problem. this is a lame-ass attempt to generate publicity.' drug testing was the central reason for a collapse in negotiations five years ago when pacquiao refused to agree to the same strict conditions. pacquiao was tested for the first time last saturday when he was visited in los angeles.", "y": "floyd mayweather and manny pacquiao are undergoing random drug tests. usada are overseeing the process and will test both blood and urine. pacquiao wanted to insert a $5m penalty clause into the contract. but mayweather refused to agree, according to the filipino's adviser. click here for the latest mayweather vs pacquiao news."}, {"x": "when manny pacquiao promised to come out swinging against floyd mayweather jnr, this probably wasn't what he had in mind. the filipino star looked relaxed as he took his mind off his upcoming $300million (\u00a3200m) mega-fight with a trip to the playground. earlier on wednesday, pacquiao had completed the 15th day of his training camp with little more than six weeks until he faces mayweather in las vegas on may 2. manny pacquiao headed for the playground after his morning workout in los angeles . pacquiao appeared without a care in the world as he continued preparations for floyd mayweather . the day before, the 36-year-old sparred for the first time with partners edis tatli and kenneth sims jnr, completing a total of five rounds. tatil, a finnish lightweight, has lost just once in 25 fights while sims has fought just five times but his style has been likened to mayweather's. 'after 13 days of strength and conditioning and boxing drills at wild card plus weeks more of working out in the philippines in february, it was great to finally put on the headgear and spar,' pacquiao said. mayweather continued to work on the pads in his las vegas gym . mayweather also worked the heavy bag and tweeted that his training was 'easy work' 'my sparring partners gave me good work today. they were perfect for testing the strategy freddie and i have developed to beat floyd mayweather. i was very happy with my stamina and speed today.' trainer freddie roach, meanwhile, said he was impressed with what he had seen. 'manny looked so fresh today. i'm very happy with what he showed me,' he said. 'you couldn't tell he had been away from the ring since the algieri fight in november. manny is on fire in the gym.' mayweather on the other hand, was sticking to more tried and tested training methods as he continued to work on the pads. the 38-year-old seemed to be enjoying himself, tweeting 'easy work' after his session.", "y": "manny pacquiao took a trip to the playground after his training session. the filipino star spent some time on the swing as he looked relaxed. he started sparring on tuesday, spending five rounds in the ring. mayweather tweeted that his training was 'easy work' with six weeks to go. read: boxing fans pick $1m emerald belt for winner of historic fight. click here for all the latest mayweather vs pacquiao news."}, {"x": "this is the touching moment a hundred strangers embraced a blindfolded aboriginal woman on the middle of a popular beach. as part of a social experiment, western australian teenager jasirah bin-hitam headed to cottesloe beach in perth blindfolded with a sign that read: 'i trust you. do you trust me? let's hug.' the heart-warming video, uploaded yesterday by artist peter sharp, is intended to encourage australian's to be more trusting. western australian teenager jasirah bin-hitam is seen standing in the middle of cottesloe beach in perth blindfolded with the simple sign . it begins with the 17-year-old marine biology student opening her arms and setting up the sign. while the crowd are initially dubious, they're soon swooping in for a warm embrace, telling hitlam she is 'very brave' and 'bloody amazing darling.' after a sequence of heart-rending hugs, the video finishes with a concerning statistic from the australian reconiliation barometer: . 'in 2012, only 13 per cent of australians said they trusted an aboriginal or torres strait islander.' ms bin hitam told seven news she hopes the video, which shows several 100 strangers offer her a hug in a half an hour, can help change that statistic. 'it was really emotional for me, having random people come up and hug me,' she said. while the crowd are initially dubious, they're soon swooping in for a warm embrace, telling hitlam she is 'very brave' and 'bloody amazing darling.' peter sharp, who created the video, said it is intended to change  people's conceptions about trust . peter sharp was propelled into the spotlight last month with a video of a spontaneous dance party on a perth train, which garnered over 10 million views. he told seven news the video is intended to change people's conceptions. 'we are just human beings who want to make a difference and it can be as simple as standing there with a sign,' he said. the video was uploaded on thursday and has already been viewed by more than 160,000 people.", "y": "the video shows jasirah bin-hitam stand with the sign on cottesloe beach. about 100 strangers offer the 17-year-old student a hug in half an hour. the video is intended to encourage australian's to be more trusting. it was inspired by a statistic that only 13 per cent of australians trust aboriginals or torres strait islander."}, {"x": "fiorentina winger mohamed salah, who joined the club on loan from chelsea earlier this year, appears to be enjoying his new surroundings and celebrated with fans following la viola's 3-0 win over roma. the 22-year-old filmed himself with supporters gleefully singing his name as fiorentina progressed to the quarter-finals of the europa league. salah had struggled to make an impact during his time in england and was readily used as a makeweight when the blues signed juan cuadrado from fiorentina in january. winger mohamed salah is surrounded by fans chanting his name following fiorentina's 3-0 win over roma . the 22-year-old has become one of la viola's most popular players since joining the club on loan in january . fiorentina fans celebrate their win over roma which sees them progress to the europa league quarter-finals . salah attempts a shot during the europa league round of 16 match against roma at the\u00a0olimpico stadium . since moving to italy though, salah has enjoyed a magnificent renaissance, scoring six goals and making two more in his last 10 games. he has quickly become one of fiorentina's most popular players and manager vincenzo montella has suggested \u00a0that the italian side may have actually done better than chelsea in the sale of cuadrado. 'maybe right now we have got the better deal,' he told mediaset premium. salah has been in superb form for fiorentina and has scored six goals in his last 10 appearances for the club . when chelsea signed juan cuadrado from fiorentina, salah moved to italy on loan as a makeweight . salah takes to twitter to show that he is enjoying the shopping scene in his new city, florence .", "y": "mohamed salah celebrated with fans after fiorentina's 3-0 win over roma. fiorentina are now through to the europa league quarter-finals. salah is on loan from chelsea and has become a fans favourite in florence."}, {"x": "britain is a nation of soap lovers, but it\u2019s not just us humans that like to watch some on-screen drama. apparently dogs \u2013 well a particular shetland sheepdog \u2013 just cannot get enough of popular soap opera eastenders. videoed lying on the sitting room floor, the dog named alfie initially appears to be content minding its own business. suddenly, graham broad\u2019s iconic drum roll that features at the start of the famous eastenders theme tune is audible from the television, and the dog turns towards it in anticipation. as the melody picks up, the dog, which is now staring intently at the screen, lifts its head back and lets out a little howl. at first it appears to be like any other dog singing along to a particular tune of their choosing. the shetland sheepdog named alfie initially appears to be content minding its own business . but it\u2019s only as the song continues that the dog\u2019s musical prowess is shown off in all its glory. howling in a relatively controlled manner, alfie actually appears to mimic the exact notes present in the song. and better still the dog doesn't just howl over the top of the melody, but instead stops in time for the breaks within the composition. the dog listens to the sound of graham broad\u2019s iconic drum roll that features at the start of the eastenders theme tune . the video was captured by the dog's owners at home in whitehall, london. composed in 1984, the eastenders theme tune is the work of simon may and leslie osborne. the theme tune  was cited as the most recognisable piece of music in the uk in a 2008 poll conducted by prs for music, seeing off competition from the english national anthem. alfie appears to mimic the exact notes present in the song and even pauses for the breaks .", "y": "the song's drum roll initially gets the dog's attention. dog howls along with the melody in controlled manner. and stops in time for the breaks within the composition. the video was recorded at home in whitehall, london."}, {"x": "the draw for the europa league quarter-finals took place on friday afternoon with defending champions sevilla's tie against zenit st petersburg the standout clash. the pair have both won the tournament in the past with  sevilla winning the competition three times previously, while zenit's sole triumph came in 2008. the odds are looking ominous for zenit who have won only twice in 14 encounters with spanish sides, and are without a victory in their last seven games against la liga opponents. defending europa league champions sevilla will face zenit st petersburg in the quarter-finals . zenit (right) are through to the quarter-finals after beating serie a outfit torino 2-1 on aggregate . sevilla vs zenit st petersburg . dnipro vs club brugge . dynamo kiev vs fiorentina . wolfsburg vs napoli . first and second legs to be played on\u00a0april 16 and 23 . elsewhere ukrainian outfit dynamo kiev will face fiorentina. kiev, who knocked out everton 6-4 on aggregate in the last 16, have won just twice in 18 encounters with italian clubs, with both of those wins coming against roma in the 2004/05 uefa champions league. the viola, who feature on loan chelsea midfielder mohammed salah, are yet to lose in eight games against ukrainian sides - having won five and drawn three. dnipro\u00a0dnipropetrovsk, the other ukrainian representative in the draw, host belgian outfit club brugge first in their quarter-final tie, while wolfsburg face italian opposition once more. wolfsburg, who knocked out inter milan in the previous round, will entertain napoli in the first leg of their quarter-final before travelling to naples for the return encounter. this clash is the only pairing in the round when the sides have never met in europe before. dynamo kiev will face fiorentina in the europa league quarter-finals after beating everton in the last 16 . on loan chelsea midfielder mohamed salah (right) will prove a key man for fiorentina against dynamo kiev . kevin de bruyne (right) will be hoping to lead wolfsburg to victory in their quarter-final against napoli .", "y": "dnipro dnipropetrovsk host belgian side club brugge in the first leg. other quarter-final tie sees wolfsburg entertain serie a outfit napoli. quarter-final matches will take matches on april 16 and 23. click here to see how it all unfolded."}, {"x": "a year after letting top wide receiver desean jackson go, chip kelly has again put his stamp on the philadelphia eagles with a jaw-dropping piece of business. two-time all-pro running back lesean mccoy will be traded to the buffalo bills in exchange for third-year linebacker kiko alonso. the stunning trade will reunite eagles head coach kelly with former oregon star alonso, who is coming off acl surgery after a dominant rookie year in 2013. lesean mccoy will move to buffalo to work under new head coach rex ryan . kiko alonso will be reunited with chip kelly as he looks to recover from acl surgery . mccoy was regularly sidelined in favour of chris polk during the eagles' disastrous stretch, which saw the dallas cowboys claim the nfc east title. the move should end cj spiller's time in buffalo and further confirms the devaluation of the running back position. freeing up $11.95million in cap space, the move adds fuel to the fire that the eagles will move up for former ducks quarterback - and kelly protege - marcus mariota in april's draft. espn's adam schefter first reported the trade, with nfl.com's michael silver confirming the move.", "y": "lesean mccoy, 26, heads to buffalo after six season in philadelphia. he rushed for 1,319 yards and five touchdowns last season for the eagles. kiko alonso, 24, missed all of the 2014-15 season with a torn acl. in his rookie season, he played every defensive snap and ranked third in the nfl with 159 tackles."}, {"x": "with her colourful pom-poms by her side and her svelte frame, this student looks like an average cheerleader. however, in a video that's now gone viral online, patricia\u00a0ballesteros reveals that despite her slender arms, she possesses incredible strength. in the footage, which has spread across social media, the 15-year-old schoolgirl, from mesa in arizona, can be seen squatting a barbel carrying 300lbs - more than the weight of a giant panda. scroll down for video . patricia poses with her pom poms and says her friends were surprised that the video went viral . patricia takes a deep breath as she gets ready to lift 300lbs - in a video that's gone viral . the footage has now been watched around the globe, and has been shared by sports networks such as espn impressed by her incredible talent. though adults can lift more, patricia revealed her exploits make her stronger than almost 75 per cent of her school's american football team. patricia is a keen cheerleader and is seen here showing off her jumping skills . patricia, who studies at desert ridge high school, is part of the cheer squad which has been crowned state champions for the past two years. the slender powerhouse spends extra time in the weights room to strengthen her legs which helps with her routines. and despite the attention, patricia insists she has no plans to stop strengthening. pretty patricia says her trainers encourage her to push herself because they know she can be a great athlete . she said: 'for the people who already know me they knew i could lift. 'but it was definitely surprising to them when they heard about the video going viral. 'as for the people who don't, they didn't see it coming, because 300lbs is a lot to squat. 'i became strong by having amazing coaches who pushed me beyond my limits to see my potential as an athlete. 'i also put in extra time in the weight room and cheer during summer break so i can come back to the school each year stronger than i was before.'", "y": "patricia ballesteros was filmed squatting a barbell carrying 300lbs. the video went viral shared by people impressed with her talent. the 15-year-old is stronger than 75% of her schools football team."}, {"x": "the draw for the fa cup semi-finals at wembley  takes place on monday with two quarter-finals needing to be replayed after the weekend action. reading and bradford's goalless draw on saturday was followed by a stalemate between liverpool and bradford at anfield on sunday. aston villa secured their place at wembley with a 2-0 victory at home to west brom. the games will be played on april 18 and 19 and you can watch the draw live below: . liverpool's philippe coutinho (second right) is crowded out by five blackburn players in the anfield draw . league one side bradford, who knocked chelsea out earlier in the competition, have a replay at reading .", "y": "aston villa earned a semi-final place with victory over west brom. championship side reading were held to a 0-0 draw away to bradford. liverpool were unable to get past blackburn in another 0-0 draw at anfield."}, {"x": "a woman was arrested on suspicion of being drunk on an aircraft after she allegedly stripped off on a flight from jamaica and exposed herself. the 46-year-old woman from south-west london was arrested by police when her british airways flight landed at gatwick airport yesterday from kingston, jamaica. she allegedly disrupted the flight and one report claims she performed a solo sex act. a 46-year old woman was arrested yesterday after arriving at gatwick for causing a disturbance onboard . the flight landed at around 8.45am on march 19, and aircrew on board asked for the flight to be met by police. british airways released a statement saying: 'we can confirm that police were requested to meet our flight from kingston.'", "y": "46-year-old woman from south west london arrested on arrival at gatwick. woman was drunk and had stripped off on flight from jamaica. the woman caused disruption after performing a solo sex act."}, {"x": "it doesn't get more australian than that! cars have been brought to a hasty halt after a unique animal crossing of a hopping kind. a group of over 20 kangaroos have made a quick dash across the craigieburn east road in victoria on thursday morning. at 10.50 am on thursday, many cars were brought to a hasty halt as over 20 kangaroos crossed the highway . the swarm executed perfect timing with the cars able to safely slow down and watch the group . the video shows the troop hopping across the busy road in single file and jumping over a barbed-wire fence to make it to the land on the other side. all caught on a driver's dash cam, some of the animals are seen to be doing flips over the fence and disappearing into the long grass. luckily all other cars slow to a halt on the 100km/hr road to wait for the group to safely cross, with all cautiously driving off after the encounter. with no clear 'kangaroo crossing' signage the confrontation could have been potentially dangerous. kangaroo crossings are more dangerous at night as the animals become blinded by vehicle head lights . some of the kangaroos can be seen performing expert flips over the barbed wire fence and disappear into the grass . the crossing took place at 10.50 am on a thursday and there were clearly not too many vehicles on the usually busy road. the craigieburn east road is 45 minutes north of melbourne and the driver was on his way to work. in the day, our hopping friends are more likely to make a safer crossing by choosing their moments to dash more wisely. however in the evenings, when they are most active, they are easily collected as they become blinded by the headlights of cars.", "y": "a troop of over 20 kangaroos have been captured on video. the group were crossing the craigieburn east road on thursday morning. driver's dash cam captured the action with all the cars slowing to a halt. some of the kangaroos can be seen to be doing flips over the fence."}, {"x": "conor mcgregor may have to wait until july to get his hands on jose aldo but that hasn't stopped the irishman taking his frustration out on the ufc featherweight champion. mcgregor challenges for the belt at ufc 189 on july 11 in las vegas and he wasted little time in goading his brazilian opponent on a recent trip to rio de janeiro. visiting an irish pub, the dubliner threw darts at a board with a photo of aldo attached. he then took off his shirt and worse sunglasses before continuing his attack. conor mcgregor threw darts at a board with a picture of ufc champion jose aldo attached . mcgregor visited an irish pub in rio de janeiro as part of a world tour before his fight with aldo in july . mcgregor later posed for photographs with fans before talking to the media. 'they love me out here. i own rio. where's jose? he's not even here, rumour has it he's fled the country,' he said. mcgregor has risen to stardom in the ufc after five victories over the last two years. he earned his shot at aldo by stopping denis siver in the second round in january.", "y": "conor mcgregor takes on jose aldo in las vegas on july 11. mcgregor is in rio de janeiro as part of a world tour to promote the fight. the irishman threw darts at a pictue of the ufc featherweight champion. mcgregor is undefeated in his five fights in the ufc. click here for all the latest ufc news."}, {"x": "dick advocaat has confirmed that adam johnson is available for selection ahead of his first game in charge at west ham. the sunderland winger returned to training on wednesday after the club lifted his suspension following his arrest on march 2 on suspicion of sexual activity with a 15-year-old girl. the black cats took the decision to allow johnson to return after his bail was extended to april 23. new sunderland manager dick advocaat has confirmed that adam johnson will be available for selection . advocaat faced the media as sunderland boss for the first time as he bids to save them from the drop . the veteran dutch manager admitted it was a big challenge taking over at the stadium of light . advocaat has worked with the 27-year-old at the academy of light this week and he took part in a full-scale practice match on thursday. and, when asked during his unveiling press conference if johnson would play at west ham, advocaat said: \u2018everyone who is training is available for selection. \u2018i name the squad after the final training session.\u2019 advocaat has inherited a side one point and one place above the drop zone. the dutchman, however, had no reservations about taking on the task at the stadium of light. johnson is available for selection after the mackems lifted his suspension following his arrest on march 2 . \u2018it\u2019s a big challenge to take over in this position,\u2019 said the 67-year-old, who revealed this week\u00a0that he has known for a few weeks he was in line to replace gus poyet. \u2018i was a free man after what happened in serbia (sacked in november).\u2018the opportunity came and i thought, in my opinion, it was a good side and a great club \u2013 so why not? \u2018in holland we can see all of the games on tv. i know the players. we have a great stadium and great fans \u2013 with their support we should be able to stay up. johnson rejoined his team-mates on wednesday, followed by a full training match on thursday . \u2018i have a good feeling about the squad from the last three days.\u2019 advocaat has signed a nine-game deal on wearside and is almost certain to return to holland at the end of the season. he explained: \u2018we did not discuss that (staying on). for me it\u2019s important to do this job. what happens after is not so important.\u2019 sorry we are not currently accepting comments on this article.", "y": "adam johnson returned to sunderland training on wednesday. sunderland lifted the england winger's suspension after his arrest. dick advocaat faces his first test as sunderland manager at upton park."}, {"x": "a group of fishermen in townsville, queensland, got a nasty surprise when a crocodile surfaced and stole their catch off the end of the line. the men appeared to have hooked a barramundi and were reeling it in when the massive mass of sharp teeth and scale got the jump on them. thrilled with the seeming size of their catch, one of the fisherman is heard saying 'he's a good fish, mate' to another man off camera. scroll down for video . fishermen in townsville catch the moment they receive an unwelcome visitor on camera. 'did you get it yet, dad?' sean evans, who filmed the catch, can be heard asking just seconds before the dinosauric creature made its entrance. with one swift swipe the croc had knicked the catch from the fishermen, who were left to marvel at their close encounter, and be thankful they hadn't been hanging a limb over the edge of the boat within biting range. thrilled with the seeming size of their catch, one of the fisherman is heard saying 'he's a good fish, mate' to another man off camera. .with one swift swipe the croc had knicked the catch from the fishermen, who were left to marvel at their close encounter . the video ends with the croc having swam away to eat its dinner, when one of the fisherman asks 'where's my barra?' the video ends with the croc having swam away to eat its dinner, when one of the fisherman asks 'where's my barra?' it's safe to say these guys will always fish with a long-line from now on.", "y": "fishermen catch crocodile on film as it emerges from muddy water. townsville anglers got a surprise, after thinking they landed a barramundi. video has been shared thousands of times since being posted online."}, {"x": "kolo toure left anfield the happier sibling as liverpool defeated younger brother yaya\u2019s manchester city on sunday. kolo\u2019s late appearance in the game was a special one as it was the first time the ivory coast duo had gone head-to-head in a competitive game. before the lunchtime kick off yaya tweeted: love my big bro. he has taught me so much. but today\u2026 may the best toure... sorry team win.\u2019 yaya toure tweeted this message to his brother before manchester city took on liverpool at anfield . the ivory coast brothers embrace each other at the full time whistle of liverpool's 2-1 win against city . the toure brothers leave the anfield pitch following the premier league lunchtime kick off on sunday . however, a 2-1 defeat to liverpool probably wasn\u2019t what yaya had in mind as manchester city slipped up yet again in their pursuit of the title. a wonder goal in each half, either side of an edin dzeko strike, handed liverpool all three points as brendan rodgers\u2019 side continue to stake their claim for champions league qualification. despite the defeat yaya and kolo showed their brotherly love at the full time whistle as they walked off the pitch together. the toure brothers share a joke and some brotherly love as older sibling kolo comes out on top at anfield . yaya holds the champions league trophy which he won during his time at barcelona . kolo and yaya celebrate as manchester city won the premier league with a last gasp win against qpr .", "y": "yaya toure and kolo toure faced each other for the first time on sunday. it was kolo who left the happier sibling as liverpool won the game 2-1. the brothers left the pitch together but it was kolo who was victorious. he came on as a second half sub as manchester city stuttered yet again."}, {"x": "the liverpool squad may be about to face arguably their most important test of the season against manchester united, but that didn't stop brendan rodgers' side from enjoying some star gazing on friday morning. the likes of dejan lovren and\u00a0mamadou sakho donned pairs of special sunglasses in a bid to catch a glimpse of friday's solar eclipse outside liverpool's melwood training ground. the near-total eclipse over britain was seen by millions across the country, but it looked as the fabio borini and lucas leiva couldn't quite make out the phenomenon. liverpool defender dejan lovren checks out the solar eclipse before training on friday . mamadou sakho also donned a pair of special shades in a bid to see the special occasion . even liverpool's kit man lee radcliffe (centre) took the opportunity to gaze at the sun . lazar markovic will be hoping to figure in liverpool's crunch clash against manchester united on sunday . the reds players seemed to be in high spirits ahead of sunday's clash at anfield and rodgers looks set to be able to call upon a full compliment of players. leiva's fitness will be assessed as the brazil international continues to recover from a groin problem sustained six weeks ago but may not be ready to go straight into the squad. striker mario balotelli has recovered from the bout of illness which saw him miss monday's win at swansea. reds frontman fabio borini couldn't quite get the hang of his glasses, but saw the funny side . lucas leiva looks puzzled as he looks up into the morning sky during friday's eclipse . the liverpool players looked in a relaxed mood during their training session on friday .", "y": "liverpool players looked\u00a0for the solar eclipse on friday morning. reds squad in relaxed mood ahead of manchester united clash. louis van gaal's side travel to anfield in hunt for top four spot."}, {"x": "paris saint-germain's serge aurier is the subject of uefa disciplinary action after posting a video on facebook criticising the officiating in the french side's champions league tie with chelsea. psg prevailed on away goals, but only after dutch referee bjorn kuipers had sent off zlatan ibrahimovic in the first half of the last-16 second-leg tie, which finished 2-2 on the night and 3-3 on aggregate at stamford bridge last wednesday. aurier, currently out injured, declared his frustration with the decision - saying 'referee, dirty son of a b***h' - and now faces the prospect of a sanction from european football's governing body. psg's serge aurier is the subject of uefa disciplinary action after posting a video on facebook . aurier\u00a0now faces the prospect of a sanction from european football's governing body . psg's aurier could face trouble from uefa for posting the video as he was injured on the night . aurier, out injured for psg's visit to chelsea, said 'referee, dirty son of a b***h' on the video . a uefa statement read: 'following an investigation by the disciplinary inspector, uefa has today announced that disciplinary proceedings have been opened against the paris st germain player serge aurier, following comments he made on social media after the uefa champions league round of 16 second-leg match between chelsea fc and paris saint-germain played in london on march 11. 'charges: insulting acts - art. 11(1), 11(2) and 15(1d) of uefa disciplinary regulations. 'the case will be dealt with by the uefa control, ethics and disciplinary body on march 19.' referee bjorn kuipers reaches for his pocket to send off psg's zlatan ibrahimovic last wednesday . kuipers  sent off  ibrahimovic in the first half of the last-16 second-leg tie for his foul on oscar (bottom)", "y": "serge aurier posted a video on facebook criticising the officiating in psg's champions league tie with chelsea last wednesday. dutch referee bjorn kuipers sent off zlatan ibrahimovic in the first half. aurier said 'referee, dirty son of a b***h' on a video posted afterwards."}, {"x": "a 6-year-old boy has died after being struck in the head by a bullet that came through the wall of his family's houston-area apartment from an adjacent unit. the child was pronounced dead thursday night after being taken by helicopter to an area hospital. harris county sheriff's deputies say five people from a neighboring apartment were detained for questioning in the shooting. scroll down for video . deadly accident: a 6-year-old boy was mortally wounded in the head when someone fired a gun through a wall from an adjacent apartment in harris county, texas . in tears: the victim's emotional uncle is seen being comforted by the slain boy's 3-year-old brother . after the bullet hit the boy in the upper head, his mother discovered him and called authorities. according to harris county sheriff's office, the boy was inside an apartment at 6301 sierra blanca in harris county just before 8pm when a gun was fired in a next-door unit. deputies said the bullet pierced the wall connecting the two apartments and struck the boy in the head. 'he was laying in the bed and the bullet hit him right on the head,' a family friend, joel saldanas, told click2houston. 'when the mom came in the room she found him there bleeding. blood all over, he was just laying there unconscious already.' in custody: five people, among them three minors, from a neighboring apartment were detained for questioning in the shooting . harris county sheriff's deputy gilliland is pictured talking to reporters about the shooting . responding officers detained for questioning five suspects, among them three minors and two adult males, reported houston chronicle. so far, no charges have been filed in the shooting. the mortally wounded 6-year-old was airlifted by lifeflight to memorial hermann-texas medical center, where he was pronounced dead at 8.20pm. the victim's 3-year-old brother was in the bedroom at the time of the shooting but escaped unharmed.", "y": "boy was shot in front of his 3-year-old brother in harris county, texas. five people, among them three minors, were taken in for questioning."}, {"x": "maverick midfielder ravel morrison has posted a picture of himself striking a unique pose on his official instagram account. the 22-year-old, who was released from last his last contract at west ham following a series of disciplinary problems, is currently training with serie a side lazio ahead of a planned summer move. morrison signed a pre-contract agreement with the rome-based outfit in january, but was unable to make his debut for them this season, because of a delay in squad registration. ravel morrison shows off with a strange pose on his official instagram account . morrison was released from his last contract at west ham following a string of disciplinary problems . he started his career at manchester united and was once compared by sir alex ferguson to legendary red devils midfielder paul scholes. however, for all morrison's precocious talent, he found himself consistently involved in off-field dramas. in february 2011, he pleaded guilty to witness intimidation and was fined \u00a3600 three months later for throwing his girlfriend's phone through an open window during an argument. by the summer of 2012, ferguson had seemingly had enough of morrison's antics and he was allowed to join west ham. but at upton park, the problems persisted and morrison was fined \u00a37000 by the fa for writing an allegedly homophobic tweet shortly after signing. following only a handful of first-team appearances and some loan spells at birmingham, qpr and cardiff, morrison had his hammers contract terminated. the troubled 22-year-old has signed a pre-contract agreement with lazio ahead of next season .", "y": "ravel morrison is training with serie a side lazio after west ham release. morrison is expected to join the italian side in the next transfer window. morrison started his career with manchester united before being sold."}, {"x": "one capital one cup final cameraman's afternoon got a whole lot wetter thanks to chelsea boss jose mourinho. with his side a goal to the good on a wet afternoon at wembley stadium, the chelsea boss decided to have a bit of fun with a member of the tv crew by giving him a cheeky soaking with a water bottle. known for having an overall good relationship with members of the press, mourinho followed his prank with a\u00a0mischievous\u00a0smile towards his unlucky victim. chelsea boss jose mourinho takes aim and fires as he gives a camera man a soaking with a water bottle . with play going on in the background the blues manager turned to squirt his unlucky victim with water . the portuguese manager gives a cheeky smile to the television crew member after his prank at wembley . and the smile continued on a successful outing for the portuguese, as his side went on to beat tottenham 2-0 to lift his first piece of silverware during his second stint in charge of the blues. a goal from captain john terry and an own goal from spurs defender kyle walker handed chelsea their fifth league cup title, helping mourinho get his hands on this particular cup for the third time in his managerial career. it was a solid performance from his men as they dampened tottenham's week even further following their eviction from the europa league on thursday after defeat to fiorentina. chelsea skipper john terry turns to celebrate after scoring the opener for his side on sunday afternoon . diego costa blasts a shot goalward before it takes a deflection off tottenham defender kyle walker . diego costa (left) celebrates chelsea's second goal at wembley with team-mate cesar azpilicueta (right)", "y": "jose mourinho squirted a camera with water during the game at wembley. his side went on to lift the capital one cup after beating tottenham 2-0. it is mourinho's third league cup title in charge of the west london club."}, {"x": "manuel pellegrini believes that manchester city\u2019s season will not have been \u2018a disaster\u2019 even the premier league champions fail to overhaul chelsea in the title race. the city boss is under fire after seeing his team crash out of europe to barcelona for the second season in a row on wednesday night. they must beat west bromwich albion at the etihad this lunchtime (sat) to keep the pressure on jose mourinho\u2019s side, who are six points clear with a game in hand, and stay clear of the chasing pack. manchester city boss manuel pellegrini has insisted that their season has not been a disaster . pellegrini stands behind barcelona boss luis enrique during their champions league defeat on wednesday . ivan rakitic (second left) scored the only goal of the game past joe hart as barcelona won 1-0 . but pellegrini said: \u2018second position in the whole year i don\u2019t think is a disaster. we are not in eighth, ninth or 10th. only chelsea has done better than our team. \u2018as i said to the players, we are still in this competition. we have nine games left and me must try to play well and do what we must for this team, which is to stay in second positon. 'and \u2013 i repeat \u2013 never give up, because in football anything can happen, so we will fight to retain the title to the end.\u2019 yaya toure (left) has not recovered in time to face west brom on saturday after going off against barcelona . city\u2019s players were criticised for their lack of effort in last weekend\u2019s defeat at burnley but pellegrini insisted that the buck stops with him. he added: \u2018it will be my responsibility because i always choose the starting xi, i choose the squad and i choose the way we like to play.\u2019 asked if he still enjoyed the job, he replied: \u2018of course. every day i enjoy it. if you cannot enjoy playing in the champions league against barcelona, fighting for title in the premier league, being with this team, being in best league in world, you should go and see a doctor.\u2019", "y": "manuel pellegrini accepts manchester city could end season trophyless. knocked out of champions league in last-16 by barcelona. eight points behind chelsea in premier league with nine games left."}, {"x": "adam johnson is set to start for sunderland in dick advocaat\u2019s first game in charge at west ham on saturday. the winger returned to training on wednesday after the club lifted his suspension following his arrest on march 2 on suspicion of sexual activity with a 15-year-old girl. the black cats took the decision to allow johnson to return after his bail was extended to april 23. adam johnson, pictured with girlfriend stacey flounders, has had his bail extended until april 23 . new sunderland manager dick advocaat has confirmed that adam johnson will be available for selection . johnson played 81 minutes of sunderland's 2-0 defeat by manchester united shortly before being arrested . and the 27-year-old flew to london with the rest of the squad last night ahead of the game at upton park. advocaat has worked with johnson at the academy of light this week and he took part in a full-scale practice match on thursday. when asked during his unveiling press conference if johnson would play at west ham, advocaat said: \u2018everyone who is training is available for selection.\u2019 former manchester city player johnson has had his suspension lifted following the extension of his bail . the 27-year-old winger\u00a0could feature for new manager dick advocaat after his suspension was lifted . advocaat has inherited a side one point and one place above the drop zone. the dutchman, however, has never been relegated in his 27-year managerial career and does not intend to add demotion to his cv at sunderland. \u2018i have never been relegated and always have the feeling that i will never go down,\u2019 he said. \u2018so i don\u2019t really want to talk about relegation.\u2019 sorry we are not currently accepting comments on this article.", "y": "adam johnson was arrested on suspicion of sexual activity with\u00a0girl, 15. sunderland suspended the winger during police investigation. johnson had bail extended to april 23 and his suspension was lifted. johnson is set to start for the black cats against west ham on saturday. dick advocaat takes charge of his first game as sunderland manager."}, {"x": "michael carrick has given manchester united a big lift ahead of their clash with arch-rivals liverpool by signing a new one-year contract at old trafford. the england midfielder has emerged as a key figure under louis van gaal despite missing the first two-and-half months of the season with an ankle injury sustained in the dutchman\u2019s first training session last summer. van gaal has made carrick his vice-captain and the midfielder\u2019s impressive displays culminated in him creating the opening goal for marouane fellaini in last weekend\u2019s 3-0 win at home to tottenham before scoring himself with a rare headed effort . michael carrick has signed a new one-year deal at manchester united . carrick has made 17 appearances for manchester united this season . the 33-year-old, who joined united from spurs for \u00a318.6million in 2006, was due to be out of contract in the summer but the club have exercised an option to extend it for another 12 months. speaking at his weekly press conference ahead of sunday\u2019s trip to anfield, van gaal said: \u2018he is important. he can read the game as a player on the pitch so he can coach during the game but he can improve that, i think. \u2018and he is also a midfielder who can play the ball forwards and that i like because our aim is always passing the ball more forwards than sideways or backwards. carrick has won five premier league titles with manchester united as well as the champions league . carrick joined manchester united from tottenham in 2006 for \u00a318.6m . \u2018and he is my second (vice) captain, he is an important man for my selection. \u2018wayne rooney is my first captain and michael carrick is my second captain and that say enough what i think about those players. \u2018wayne rooney is wayne rooney and michael carrick is michael carrick. these are different people.\u2019", "y": "michael carrick has signed a new deal keeping him at the club until 2016. carrick joined manchester united from tottenham in 2006 for \u00a318.6m. carrick scored in the 3-0 win over former club spurs at the weekend."}, {"x": "paul scholes believes english football has declined to such an extent that barcelona, real madrid and bayern munich would win the premier league by 10 to 15 points. chelsea, arsenal and manchester city all exited the champions league in the last 16, while everton's defeat to dynamo kiev in the europa league meant a total wipeout of the english sides in europe. and scholes, the former manchester united midfielder who twice lifted the european cup, has entered the debate on why english clubs are so inferior to their continental counterparts. paul scholes (centre) believes barcelona, real madrid or bayern munich would dominate the premier league . mesut ozil's arsenal fought back strongly against arsenal but couldn't overturn the 3-1 first leg deficit . dejected chelsea players walk off following their loss to paris saint-germain last week . writing in the independent, scholes said: 'over the last two weeks our coaches and players in the champions league have looked second rate. 'if you put one of barcelona, real madrid or bayern munich in the premier league, they would win it by 10 to 15 points. 'even psg and juventus look better sides than any of those currently at the top of the premier league.' while some have blamed the lack of a winter break for english failings, scholes puts it down simply to inferior players. paul scholes has twice won the european cup with manchester united - in 1999 and 2008 (pictured) scholes played 134 european matches during his career, scoring on 26 occasions . 'the bottom line to this season's failings? i think the big two in spain, and bayern, simply have better players than the english teams in the champions league,' he writes. barcelona completed their win over man city this week, with lionel messi to the fore, while french sides paris saint-germain and monaco eliminated chelsea and arsenal respectively.", "y": "man united hero says premier league is inferior to european leagues. chelsea, arsenal and man city all went out in champions league last 16. scholes says the english clubs have inferior players to european rivals. man utd legend believes real madrid, barcelona or bayern munich would easily win premier league title. read: until english clubs learn to keep the ball they will fail in europe."}, {"x": "christian eriksen is set to become the youngest dane to win 50 caps after he was named in the squad by manager morten olsen on tuesday ahead of friendlies against the united states and france. the 23-year-old tottenham midfielder should reach the 50 international milestone at a younger age than previous record holder michael laudrup. the spurs playmaker made his debut in march 2010, becoming the youngest dane to play for the national side since michael laudrup and the fourth youngest ever. christian eriksen is set to become the youngest player to earn 50 international caps for denmark . eriksen has currently played for the national side 49 times since making his debut in march 2010 . during his 49 caps so far eriksen has only scored one competitive goal with his other four strikes coming in friendlies, and the former ajax man has often been criticised for his performance for denmark. captain daniel agger, defender lars jacobsen and midfielder william kvist were named in the squad despite having been involved in a bitter dispute with the danish fa (dbu) over a collective bargaining agreement. negotiations to resolve the dispute, which concerns payments and bonuses to men's, women's and under-21 international teams, are ongoing, the dbu said.", "y": "morten olsen has named his denmark squad for upcoming\u00a0friendlies. denmark play the united states and france on march 25 and march 29. eriksen could become youngest dane to play 50 international games."}, {"x": "jonny evans maintains he didn\u2019t wilfully spit at papiss cisse \u2013 and would\u2019ve been locked out of the family home if he had. the manchester united defender reacted angrily during their 1-0 win at st james\u2019 park earlier this month, with television cameras seemingly catching him in the act. but evans insists the altercations is not what it appears, even if the fa felt the need to slap him with a six-match ban. newcastle's papiss cisse and manchester united's jonny evans squared up at st james' park . both evans and cisse were charged and banned by the fa for spitting, but cisse admitted the offence . \u2018i can totally understand there is an image around that, and in the british game and our society it\u2019s not something that is accepted, and rightly so,\u2019 evans told the times. \u2018but i was able to go home and look my mum and dad in the eye because if i\u2019d genuinely spat at someone i think they would have been disgusted in me. \u2018it\u2019s not the background i come from in northern ireland. my mum and dad would have given me a rollicking if i had done that.\u2019 evans says his mum and dad would have been disgusted if he had 'genuinely spat at' papiss cisse . cisse was handed a seven-match ban for a clearer spit in the aftermath, the additional game owing to a previous red card for the magpies this season. evans added: \u2018i did not have the intent to spit at an opponent, so when the fa charged me with that i could never accept it. \u2018to spit at anyone is one of the most disgusting things you can do; it\u2019s low and it\u2019s cheap. i would never think to spit at someone. you just look like an idiot.\u2019 cisse appears to wipe spit away from his eye after the altercation at st james' park .", "y": "jonny evans was handed a six-match ban after clashing with papiss cisse. television cameras seemed to catch the defender spitting at cisse. but evans says his parents would have been disgusted if he had done so."}, {"x": "phone hacking at mirror group newspapers made the crimes of the news of the world look like a \u2018cottage industry\u2019, the high court was told yesterday. journalists at the daily mirror, sunday mirror and the people listened in to the private messages of celebrities on a \u2018mass industrial scale\u2019, it was claimed. scores of celebrities including footballer paul gascoigne and actress sadie frost were targeted thousands of times. hacking claims: scores of celebrities including footballer paul gascoigne (left) and actress sadie frost (right) were targeted thousands of times . in a sign of the scale of the gross intrusion, one reporter is suspected of hacking about 100 people every day for 18 months. and a senior colleague was so desperate for stories he wanted to create an \u2018enigma-type\u2019 code-breaking machine so he could access more messages. the details were revealed yesterday at the start of a civil claim brought by eight claimants, including gascoigne, miss frost and bbc chief alan yentob. details: a civil claim is being brought by eight claimants, including gascoigne, miss frost and bbc chief alan yentob (pictured) mr justice mann must assess the extent of phone hacking across the three titles and rule on the level of damages payable to each of the claimants. the newspaper group has already set up a \u00a312million compensation fund. last month it printed an apology for \u2018unwarranted and unacceptable intrusion into people\u2019s private lives\u2019 in the decade up to 2009. sorry we are not currently accepting comments on this article.", "y": "claims involve reporters at daily mirror, sunday mirror and people. celebrities including paul gascoigne and sadie frost were targeted. one reporter os suspected of hacking 100 people daily for 18 months."}, {"x": "wayne rooney is on course to break sir bobby charlton's all-time goalscoring record at the club, but the manchester united captain has struggled to find the net at the home of one their fiercest rivals. ahead of sunday's crunch clash at anfield, red devils manager louis van gaal will be hoping his star striker can lead by example when united travel to liverpool. rooney was on target as united swept aside tottenham at old trafford on march 15 - taking his league tally to 11 this season. manchester united boss louis van gaal will be hoping wayne rooney can fire them to glory at liverpool . rooney (centre) scored in united's 3-0 win vs tottenham on march 15 but has struggled at anfield in the past . however, the 29-year-old's record at anfield is a poor one during his time at united and at boyhood club everton. in 10 appearances at the ground, rooney has only managed to score once. that goal proved decisive though as united ran out 1-0 winners against liverpool in january 2005. since then however, the stats make for unimpressive reading for van gaal's talisman - with the forward having failed to score in his subsequent seven appearances at anfield. rooney has only scored once in 10 matches at liverpool during his time at everton and united . rooney (left) celebrates his strike with cristiano ronaldo in 2005 as united won 1-0 at anfield . furthermore he has only produced two shots on target in total in those following matches and nine overall. despite this, van gaal will be hoping rooney can rediscover his goalscoring touch at anfield as united battle for a place in the top four against brendan rodgers' side. defeat for united would see them drop below liverpool into fifth with just eight premier league games remaining. since that goal though, rooney (centre) has failed to score in seven subsequent matches at anfield . in additio, the 29-year-old has only produced two shots on target in total in those following matches .", "y": "manchester united travel to liverpool in the premier league on sunday. wayne rooney has scored 11 premier league goals this season for united. 29-year-old's only goal at liverpool came in united's 1-0 win in 2005. read: man utd train ahead of crunch clash with liverpool on sunday. liverpool vs manchester united: team news, probable line ups and more. click here for all the latest manchester united news."}, {"x": "a 40-year murder mystery has taken another dramatic twist with sensational new claims the victim's husband confessed to the triple killing on his deathbed. queensland police are investigating whether bill mcculkin admitted shortly before he died in 2011 to killing his wife, barbara, 34, and their two daughters, vicki, 13, and leanne, 11. mrs mcculkin and her daughters disappeared from their brisbane home in january 1974, and have not been seen since. scroll down for video . barbara mcculkin (right), 34, and their two daughters, vicki, 13, and leanne, 11, disappeared in january 1974 . the case has become one of australia's most enduring cold-case mysteries. but a major break may have come in the case recenty, when a witness to mcculkin's alleged confession gave a statement to police. police are trying to reconcile inconsistencies between the supposed confession and the other clues in the investigation and the conclusions detectives have reached previously. mcculkin, a petty gangster, reportedly took up with another woman just two months before his former partner and her girls disappeared. he was initially a suspect, but was later cleared of being involved in the crime. vicki mcculkin, 13, barbara mcculkin, 34, and her sister barbara, 11, in 1974 . vince o'dempsey (left) leaves southport watchhouse in december 1989, and\u00a0billy mcculkin (right) outside court in 1980 . leanne mcculkin (left) and barbara mcculkin befor etheir disappearance and murder . the court was told the motive for the killings was allegedly that barbara mcculkin knew too much about the gang\u2019s involvement in the torino\u2019s nightclub fire, according to the courier mail. crown prosecutor david meredith argued barbara\u2019s loose lips were proof of motive for murder. dubois and o'dempsey face three counts of murder and deprivation of liberty. they are due back in court later this month. vincent o'dempsey on his farming property before his arrest . gary dubois (left) was charged with the murders along with o'dempsey (right) dubois and o'dempsey are believed to be linked to the the whiskey au go go nightclub fire through their involvement with the\u00a0clockwork orange gang . sorry we are not currently accepting comments on this article.", "y": "victim's husband allegedly confessed to murders on his deathbed. bill mcculkin had  been cleared by police  of killing wife and children. barbara, 34, vicki, 13, and leanne mcculkin, 11, disappeared in 1974. gary reginald dubois and vincent o'dempsey charged in last year. mcculkin's alleged confessors does not match with police investigation. dubois and o'dempsey were not granted bail by brisbane court this week."}, {"x": "douglas costa will spark a transfer scramble this summer with shakhtar donetsk ready to sell their prized-asset. chelsea manager jose mourinho is a known admirer of the brazil international having tried to land the midfielder in the previous transfer windows. shakhtar chiefs are now open to selling costa this summer and talks with third parties over his departure are underway. brazil international douglas costa is set to depart shakhtar donetsk for \u00a325million in the summer . midfielder costa (left) could spark a bidding war from chelsea, real madrid and barcelona . the 24-year-old costa wants to remain playing for a champions league side and is open to a move to england . and the ukrainian side hope to spark a bidding war for the midfielder in attempt to maximise his transfer fee, with a starting price of \u00a325million. costa is open to joining a barclays premier league club, but wants to be playing champions league football. however, a host of europe's top sides will also be in the running to land costa this summer, real madrid and barcelona among them. arsenal have had costa watched extensively, while manchester united and liverpool have both been linked with a move. chelsea manager jose mourinho is known to be an admirer of the midfield player costa . costa has dual brazilian and portuguese nationality, removing any potential work permit problems . chelsea are set to lead the charge for the 24-year-old having tracked the brazil international for two years. despite playing for brazil, costa has dual portuguese nationality so should not face work permit issues.", "y": "shakhtar donetsk could sell douglas costa for at least \u00a325million. jose mourinho is a known admirer of the brazil international midfielder. real madrid, barcelona and arsenal are also interested in the 24-year-old. read: douglas costa dreaming of summer move to chelsea."}, {"x": "vincent kompany insists that manchester city are still in the title hunt for the premier league title after their convincing 3-0 win over 10-man west brom at the etihad. there was controversy in the first minute as gareth mcauley was mistakenly sent off by referee neil swarbrick for a foul committed by craig dawson, before wilfried bony opened his city account with a powerful finish. fernando and david silva completed the scoring in the one-way tie that saw city close the gap between themselves and chelsea to three points, and kompany thinks his side can keep up the pressure on the leaders, who have two games in hand. manchester city captain vincent kompany challenges west brom striker saido berahino at the etihad . 'there was nothing to win today for us, we just had to do a good job and we didn't fail. we will take confidence out of this game,' he told bt sport. 'we just focus on ourselves now.' 'there's eight games left so we've got 24 points to aim for. i think we've won nine or 10 on the spin already this season, of course we can do it but that gives us no guarantees that we will win the title.' bony added: 'it was an important goal. today it was very important to win. we did well today to get the win.' wilfried bony opened his account for the club when he scored a fine solo goal after 25 minutes . fernando gets down on his knees to celebrate scoring city's second goal five minutes before half-time . david silva raises his arms in celebration after touching in a shot by stevan jovetic for city's third .", "y": "manuel pellegrini's side defeated 10-man west brom 3-0 on saturday. ivorian striker bony scored his first goal for the club on 25 minutes. fernando doubled the advantage five minutes before the break. david\u00a0silva tapped in a stevan jovetic shot from close range. city are now three points behind chelsea at the top of the premier league."}, {"x": "luis suarez admits he had never even dreamed of playing in an el clasico match before he sealed a move to barcelona. but now, the 28-year-old, who arrived in spain following a \u00a375million move from liverpool, is preparing for his first el clasico at the nou camp. it's a game that could shape the la liga title race this season and suarez, who made his barcelona debut against real madrid earlier in the season, is nothing but excited. suarez revealed in an interview with barca tv: 'i never imagined playing in el clasico. i used to watch the games and look at photos and i used to say how incredible to play in it was. 'now it's time to enjoy it and make the most of the moment. i was at the 5-0 game and the 1-1 draw in the champions league (2010/2011). as a fan you enjoy it a lot.' speaking about making his debut in spanish football's biggest game, suarez said: 'i was focused on my nervousness about coming back to play. lionel messi, suarez and neymar jnr have netted 55 la liga goals between them this season . 'aside from it being el clasico, it was important for me. i didn't enjoy it as you should enjoy el clasico, let's hope i can do it this time.' suarez has become an important part of a three-pronged attack at barcelona since his arrival and has played some of the best form of his career. however, the uruguayan striker remains self-critical and is only concentrating on being happy on the pitch and helping the squad. suarez attempts to score past manchester city's goalkeeper joe hart during a champions league clash . suarez said: 'i don't know if this is my best moment of form. i do know that i am happy, i feel like i am helping the team and that allows me to be relaxed. 'it isn't difficult to have an understanding with players of barcelona's quality. 'but we have to continue in that vein, showing that we want to help the team and that nobody wants to steal the limelight, only to achieve big things.' hart denies suarez as the former liverpool striker looks to score during the champions league clash .", "y": "luis suarez admits he had never even dreamed of\u00a0playing\u00a0in el clasico. suarez was given the opportunity when he made the move from liverpool. now the 28-year-old striker is preparing for his first at the nou camp. suarez made his barcelona debut against real madrid earlier this season."}, {"x": "former barcelona manager gerrardo martino believes lionel messi is a dream player to work with because he can play in almost any attacking position. messi famously played in the 'false nine' spot for four years at barcelona when pep guardiola, who now manages bayern munich, was in control of the catalan club. the argentinian has taken up the no 10 role under manager luis enrique on occasions this season, but has also been deployed in wider roles to form a three-pronged attack with luis suarez and neymar. lionel messi weighs up his options with barcelona teammate neymar during the game with manchester city . messi celebrates after scoring during the la liga match between eibar and barcelona at the ipurua stadium . martino, who is a coach for argentina, knows all about the 27-year-old having worked with both on the international and domestic scene and admits messi is effective in almost every attacking role. 'for a long time we haven't seen him be as absolutely crucial as he was against manchester city on wednesday,' the coach told mundo deportivo. 'he can play on the right, left, as a no.9, behind the striker, or even as a no.4! he is able to make the difference anywhere on the pitch.' messi looks to take on manchester city goalkeeper joe hart during their champions league clash . messi reels away in celebration having scored against villarreal in the copa del rey semi-final . martino also admitted it is often best to give him as much freedom in his role as possible, he said: 'sometimes, it is logical that by analysing a player one thinks it is better to play him in one place or another, but then, if he is good, you can be more flexible. 'the reality is that his effectiveness is down to him rather than where he is put on the pitch by the coach.' messi takes on manchester city's belgian international vincent kompany at the nou camp in barcelona . the argentinean wizard skips on by manchester city's\u00a0fernandinho with ease at the nou camp .", "y": "gerrardo martino believes lionel messi is the dream player to work with. former barcelona boss believes the\u00a0argentine\u00a0can play almost anywhere. duo have worked together both at barcelona and with\u00a0argentina\u00a0squad. martino feels you have to let messi roam free to get the best from him."}, {"x": "manny pacquiao has been training hard recently, so it\u2019s hardly surprising he replaces the many thousands of calories he burns with a big feast. the filipino star looked relaxed as he took his mind off his upcoming $300million (\u00a3200m) mega-fight against floyd mayweather jnr with a family meal. it\u2019s a little over six weeks before the duo go head-to-head in las vegas and the 36-year-old has again stepped up his training in recent days, this time sparring for the first time with partners edis tatli and kenneth sims jnr. manny pacquiao enjoys a well-earned family feast as filipino fighter takes his mind off upcoming mega-fight . pacquiao has been training hard ahead of his $300million (\u00a3200m) mega-fight against floyd mayweather jnr . tatil, a finnish lightweight, has lost just once in 25 fights while sims has fought just five times but his style has been likened to mayweather's. 'after 13 days of strength and conditioning and boxing drills at wild card plus weeks more of working out in the philippines in february, it was great to finally put on the headgear and spar,' pacquiao said. pacquiao appeared without a care in the world as he continued preparations for mayweather earlier this week . manny pacquiao headed for the playground after his workout in los angeles at the start of the week . outside of the ring, sky sports are expected to be declared the winners of the bidding war for the television rights to the mega-fight. sky has been in fierce competition from frank warren\u2019s boxnation channel, but are believed to be on the brink of securing the richest fight in ring history. sky sports are expected to be declared the winners of the bidding war for television rights to the mega-fight .", "y": "manny pacquiao enjoyed some rare time off with his family at dinner. pacquiao has been training hard ahead of mega floyd mayweather bout. duo preparing for $300million (\u00a3200m) mega-fight in las vegas in may. sky are expected to win the bidding war for the television rights."}, {"x": "for those with nerves of steel, this brand new 325-foot tall roller coaster is the ultimate adventure ride. slated to open on march 28 at the carowinds park in charlotte, north carolina, the mega-coaster, called fury 325, sure lives up to its name. it's so intense, in fact, that it's even been dubbed a gigacoaster: a roller coaster that completes a full circuit and has a drop height of more than 300 feet. a brand new 325-foot roller coaster is set to open later this month at carowinds park in north carolina, usa . the ride, called fury 325, will be the largest and fastest monster coaster once it opens on march 28 . can't make it to down to charlotte? no problem. the park is offering adrenaline junkies a virtual ride, and trust us, it gives you a pretty accurate idea of just how harrowing this ride will be. warning: it's definitely not for the faint of heart. the park, located in charlotte, is offering fans a chance to experience a virtual ride before it officially opens . the frightening first-person pov video is definitely not for the faint of heart, especially the initial drop . the massive initial drop is at an angle of 81 degrees and the ride hits top speeds of up to 95 miles per hour . for those who'd like to be the first to try first hand, the park is offering a contest to benefit a local charity . at its fastest, fury 325 hits speeds of 95 miles per hour (about 153 km per hour). and if that's not enough to frighten even the most seasoned riders, the massive 81 degree initial drop definitely should be. once it opens, the mega-coaster will have the distinct honour of being the largest and fastest in the world. for those who can't wait to queue up later this month, the park is holding a contest to be the first person to ride it, with proceeds being donated to a local charity.", "y": "world's largest and fastest roller coaster to open later this month. fury 325 can be found at the carowinds park in charlotte, north carolina. heart-wrenching pov video offers adrenaline junkies a virtual ride."}, {"x": "a mother-of-three in new mexico has been arrested after she was caught on camera allegedly cheering on her middle-school-aged daughter during a violent fight with another girl. in a video filmed by another student, nicole morlan, of albuquerque, can be seen encouraging her daughter to violently fight the other girl. at one point in the video, filmed on tuesday, a teacher tries to break up the girls but is instead punched and dragged to the ground. scroll down for video . nicole morlan, of albuquerque, new mexico, after cheering on her middle-school-aged daughter as she violently fought another girl . in a video filmed by another student, the girls can be seen hitting one another violently as morlan stands by cheering. a teacher stepped in to break up the fight but is punched and pushed to the ground . and while the teacher is dragged down with the girls, morlan stands a few feet away cheering on her daughter. people in the video can be heard shouting things like 'beat the s**** of her' and 'drop her'. her daughter, known on facebook as obey faith chavez, said in a comment on koat's facebook page that her mother was teaching her to stand up for herself. she said that her mom taught her 'a lesson that i'll never forget', which was 'to stand up for myself' and have a voice. morlan is seen in the video wearing a striped sweater and following the girls around as they pummel one another . the girls involved in the fight were disciplined and morlan was banned from school property for a year . police said the two girls in the video had fought earlier in the day before things turned violent, according to wptv. morlan was arrested shortly after the fight and face two felony charges and a count of contributing to the delinquency of a minor. if the mom is convicted she could face thousands of dollars in fines and jail time. the girls were also\u00a0disciplined\u00a0and morlan was banned from school property for the rest of the year. moreland was later arrested and faces two felony charges and a count of contributing to the delinquency of a minor. if convicted, she could face thousands of dollars in fines and jail time .", "y": "nicole morlan can be seen encouraging daughter to fight other girl, authorities believe. when a teacher tried to break fight up, she's punched and pulled to ground. morlan's daughter says she was teaching her to stand up for herself. she was arrested shortly after the fight and faces two felony charges and a count of contributing to the delinquency of a minor. the middle-school-aged girls were disciplined for their actions."}, {"x": "leicester striker andrej kramaric has criticised the standard of premier league refereeing following leicester's 2-0 midweek defeat at manchester city. goals from david silva and james milner gave the hosts victory, in a match that contained several talking bouts. nigel pearson's side felt they should have been awarded two penalties during the match when kramaric and team-mate jeffrey schlupp both fell under challenges during the clash at the stadium. leicester striker andrej kramaric is unsatisfied with the standard of premier league refereeing against them . and kramaric believes wednesday night's match isn't the first time that foxes have had the rub of the green go against them. 'we should have been awarded two penalties against man city, one on me and one on [jeffrey] schlupp,' the 23-year-old told goal in an exclusive. 'i admit, my contact with [joe] hart was not a penalty, but when fernando fouled me, it was clearly inside the box. i have to admit: i am not satisfied [with] how referees treat leicester.' leicester were denied a penalty when jeffrey schlupp (left) fell under the challenge of wilfried bony . the croatia international has scored twice in eight appearances for leicester since joining the club in january from rijeka. despite their struggles as a team domestically, kramaric feels he has adapted well to the demands of the premier league - and in particular england's top-flight defender. 'i have played against many top premier league defenders so far and i can handle every one, no one is impossible,' he added. 'i need just a little more time to get used to everything here.' kramaric (right) believes he has adapted to premier league defenders well since joining leicester in january .", "y": "manchester city won 2-0 at home to leicester on wednesday night. foxes were denied two penalty appeals during the match at the etihad. andrej kramaric\u00a0believes he has adapted to premier league defenders well since joining leicester in january."}, {"x": "following this week's results in the premier league it is looking increasingly likely that all three teams promoted last summer will be heading straight back down to the championship. leicester, burnley and qpr find occupy the bottom three places in the top flight with just 10 games to play and although there are other teams in sight, form is a big concern for all three. if the trio are all relegated it will be the first time that no promoted team has survived in 17 years, and only the second season none have stayed up in since the premier league's inception in 1992. burnley's danny ings reacts as his side slip to a 2-0 defeat at anfield on wednesday night . leicester goalkeeper mark schwarzer can't prevent james milner scoring manchester city's second goal . olivier giroud celebrates arsenal's opener as the inquest begins in the qpr backline . barnsley went straight back down in 1998 but they did famously beat liverpool at anfield (above) in 1997-98 it was barnsley, bolton and crystal palace who could not cope with the step up but - despite the adage that the gulf between the top flight and the football league is huge - promoted sides have fared well in recent seasons. twice - in 2011-12 and 2001-02 - all three promoted teams have avoided the drop, while only five of the last 18 promoted sides have been relegated. in fact, promoted teams have a 58.2 per cent instant survival rate, with only 27 of the 68 teams to have been promoted to the top flight being sent straight back down. that recent record will significantly worsen though come may unless leicester, burnley and qpr can all find form fast. *four teams relegated . **two teams promoted .", "y": "burnley, leicester and qpr all in relegation zone after promotion last year. only once since 1992 have all three promoted teams been relegated. 58.2 per cent of promoted teams survive in their first season. click here for all the latest premier league news."}]