Pep Guardiola s advice helped the Boston Celtics win the NBA Finals, so says Joe Mazzulla.

The Celtics clinched the NBA title with a 106-88 victory over the Dallas Mavericks in Game 5 on Monday.

That sealed a 4-1 series win for Boston, who won their 18th Championship, and first since 2008.

And head coach Mazzulla revealed that Manchester City manager Guardiola, who was in attendance for Game 1 of the Finals, played a part in his team s success.

Dallas has one of the smartest defenses, Mazzulla said.

We had to be creative to counter them.

Pep helped me in transitions and how to move guys.

Perhaps when he does eventually leave City, Guardiola might just try his hand in the NBA?

2024 WORLD CHAMPIONS

— Boston Ce…

James Rodriguez wants to be the Copa America s standout player, and is going some way to being just that.

Colombia reached the semi-finals with a thumping 5-0 defeat of Panama on Saturday, with James taking a starring role as Los Cafeteros claimed their biggest Copa Ameria win.

James scored a penalty and supplied two assists, including a delicious ball for Luis Diaz to make it 3-0 just before half-time.

The former Real Madrid playmaker, who hardly featured for club side Sao Paulo last season, has now created five goals at this edition of the tournament, equalling the record haul for assists (since Opta began collecting such data) at the Copa America, alongside Lionel Messi s five in 2021.

Colombia 5-0 Panama

Colombia have scored 11 goals from 7.34…

Best player of the tournament so far? / Image via theworldgame.sbs.com.au

Atletico Madrid striker Antoine Griezmann scored twice as France national team set up a Euro 2016 final showpiece against Portugal on Sunday.

France put in a memorable display to deny the 2014 World Champions who go home empty-handed and disappointed over what will be considered a Euro 2016 failure for the German nation.

Following an exciting match in Marseille here are the five things we learned:

Better team won

France were pressed hard in the opening stages of the match as Germany exerted heavy pressure to Euro 2016 hosts, but Didier Deschamps’ men responded in adequate manner by scoring a late first-half goal to put a serious dent in Germany’s ambitions.

Fran…

Liverpool manager Arne Slot is keen on bringing Orkun Kokcu to Anfield, according to . The report in the Portuguese news outlet has noted that Slot worked with Kokcu at Feyenoord, and that the Liverpool boss wants a reunion with the young midfielder at Liverpool.

Slot was appointed the Liverpool manager in the summer of 2024 following the departure of Jurgen Klopp. The Reds have made a strong start to the season under the Dutchman and are among the contenders for the Premier League title. The Merseyside club are at the top of the league table at the moment with 18 points from seven matches, a point ahead of defending champions Manchester City and Arsenal, who are second and third respectively in the standings.

Kokcu has been on the books of Benfica since the summer of 2…

New coach Julen Lopetegui will face Getafe in his first LaLiga fixture in charge of Real Madrid.

Lopetegui, sacked by Spain on the eve of the World Cup after his Madrid move was announced, gets the chance to start his reign at the Santiago Bernabeu on August 19.

An away game against Girona follows, with Madrid – now minus all-time leading scorer Cristiano Ronaldo avoid their fellow big guns in the opening weeks of the campaign.

Champions Barcelona host the first Clasico meeting of the season on October 28, with the return fixture in the Spanish capital set for March 3 next year.

The first Madrid derby sees Lopetegui s side host their neighbours at the end of September, while the Wanda Metropolitano will be the venue for the return in February.

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this is one of the most eagerly anticipated games of any season, and this year is no exception, with only one point separating the two teams. Arsene Wenger will be hoping Ferguson s men are both physically and mentally exhausted after their high profile victory over Man City, while Sir Alex Ferguson will also hope Wengers men are lacking in confidence after their shock defeat to Stoke in midweek.

Arsene Wenger will know a lot rests on this game the sort of game where fans and pundits alike tend to write off your season if a loss comes your way. There will be confidence in the Arsenal camp though, with many believing Arsenal to have their most gifted squad for years. There are a few injury problems, with Van Persie some way off a return, and the latest victim being the almost ev…

The 2019-20 UEFA Champions League Round of 16 draw has been completed, and now all teams know which teams will be their opponents heading into the knockout stages of the competition. As it s always the case, some teams were benefited while others will have a tough time trying to reach the quarterfinals.

Among the benefited teams, we can find Valencia, Barcelona and Juventus. Los Che will take on Atalanta arguably the weaker side on the knockout stages while Barcelona will play against a Napoli side that looks like a shell of their former self. Meanwhile, Juventus will play against Olympique Lyon. The reigning Serie A champions somehow managed to avoid facing teams such as Real Madrid, Borussia Dortmund or Chelsea.

Chelsea and Madrid were two of the teams that wouldn t f…

FIFA has finally released the three finalists for the Ballon d Or Award: Real Madrid s Cristiano Ronaldo, and FC Barcelona s Xavi and Lionel Messi.

Messi, a two-time winner of the award (2009, 2010), is the favorite to win the award after a magnificent season which saw FC Barcelona win La Liga and the UEFA Champions League.

Cristiano Ronaldo previously won the award in 2008 and could very much so deserve another one this year.

In 2010-11, Ronaldo tallied a ridiculous 53 goals in 54 games. Simply stunning.

The former Manchester United talisman has kept it going this season, bagging 21 goals in just 20 appearances for Los Blancos.

But Lionel Messi has been just as impressive. The crafty Argentine striker scored 53 goals and added 24 assist…

If you run down Aaron Rodgers’ Christmas list, you may find some strange asks, but you won’t find the Chicago Bears on there. He already owns them.

The last time the Green Bay Packers clashed with the rival Bears, Rodgers was an efficient 17 for 23 for 195 yards and two passing touchdowns. Rodgers – and his lingering toe injury – gets another shot at ownership when the Cheeseheads hosts Chicago on Sunday Night Football in Week 14.

Coming off a bye and laying a lot of lumber, the Packers put their NFL-best 10-2 ATS mark to the test. Here are our free NFL picks and predictions for Bears at Packers on December 12.

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It’s been a great NFL betting season for those who like fading favorites, as underdogs have won over 57% of the time through seven weeks. But regression figures to happen soon, and Week 8 could be that time.

We’ve identified four betting favorites representing good NFL odds value this weekend, and have broken them up into Week 8’s NFL parlay picks, which we’ll discuss below.

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