NBA: League eases 2017-18 schedule for weary stars
Back then, managers could lose two matches on the bounce and not fear the sack, and $260 million would have likely bought you every single player and still leave you with sizeable change.
To state the obvious, times have changed.
The Premier League is not now so much a parochial English sporting competition than it is a rapacious, money-loving monster hellbent on global domination.
That new reality may have ushered in mind-boggling wages and increased ticket prices, but it has also created as diverse a sporting spectacle as anything you are likely to find. The number of overseas players who started the 10 games on the last day of last season was 112 out of 220, more than half.
That change has seen the number of deserved. As much as anyone, Mahrez personified the traits that made football’s most unlikely story become reality: persistence, hard work, tenacity and a huge helping of skill.
The 26-year-old was key to the Foxes’ tactic of playing on the counterattack: Him terrorizing opposition defenses with his mazy runs was one of the memorable sights of the shock season. He ended up scoring 17 goals and setting up 11.
It did not go unnoticed by bigger clubs, with Barcelona reportedly interested in enticing him to the Nou Camp. But keen on adding another chapter to the fairytale he stayed at Leicester and
MOHAMED ELNENY — ARSENAL: Another Arab who played during Friday’s Premier League opener was the Egyptian midfielder. He has had trouble nailing down a starting spot at the Emirates and the jury is still out on whether he will ever be able to do so.
His performance during Arsenal’s 4-3 win over Leicester summed up his time at the Gunners: Brilliance and effort mixed in with some indifferent stuff, not least giving the ball away in the buildup to Leicester’s second goal.
While not a fan favorite, the supporters more than appreciate his ability to keep the ball — he once completed 122 passes in a match, a then-season record — without ever believing he is the man to marshal the midfield toward a title tilt.
A stat that reveals much about his role at Arsenal is that he has played no more than 26 games since he moved to North London from Swiss club Basel in January last year.
He is, however, still only 24 and, having turned down an offer to move to Leicester this summer, keen to prove he can impress for the Gunners.
Friday’s performance offered up some hope, as does the fact he has already played over 50 times for his country.
SCOUT’S ASSESSMENT: Solid team man, needs to do more to impress. NEW YORK: The NBA announced its full 1,230-game schedule for the upcoming season, complete with tweaks designed to reduce wear-and-tear on players through the grinding 26-week campaign.
The 2017-18 season will be the first season in NBA history in which no team plays four games in five days. The number of back-to-back games has been reduced to 14.4 per team — down from 16.3 last year.
The issue of keeping teams fresh during a regularseason lasting more than six months gained urgency as coaches opted to rest stars like LeBron James and Stephen Curry occasionally to be sure they’d be ready for deep playoff runs.
The absence of marquee players was felt not only by fans who paid for tickets but also by national broadcasters.
LONDON: On the first day of the inaugural English Premier League season in 1992, of the 242 players that started the 11 matches, only 13 were not British or Irish.
ISLAM SLIMANI — LEICESTER CITY: Before Salah, the last Arab to move to the Premier League with a big transfer fee attached was Slimani.
The Algerian striker moved to the then champions with a £28 million price tag and the promise of goals on top of a big, powerful presence up front.
He arrived from Portuguese giants Sporting Lisbon but is yet to settle at the King Power Stadium. In 23 appearances last season he scored just seven times and was increasingly used as an impact player off the bench, not exactly what you dish out a club record fee for.
Over the summer there has been speculation he could move to either Everton or Newcastle, so could yet still show the Premier League what he is capable of — at Sporting he scored 42 goals in 82 appearances.
However, with him having stayed on the bench during Leicester’s 4-3 defeat at Arsenal on Friday, and the Foxes having splashed £25 million ($32 million) on Kelechi Iheanacho, the chances of him doing that at Leicester look increasingly slim.
SCOUT’S ASSESSMENT: Bench warmer.
OTHER PLAYERS TO WATCH NORDIN AMRABAT — WATFORD: The Moroccan winger started for Watford in their 3-3 draw against Liverpool, and played the full 90 minutes. There were rumors this summer he wanted to move back to Spain, where he played for Malaga before joining the Hornets, and chances are Watford will allow him to go.
SCOUT’S ASSESSMENT: On the move.
SOFIANE BOUFAL — SOUTHAMPTON: The Moroccan winger was the Saints’ record signing last year when they splashed £16 million to sign him from French club Lille. He struggled to impress, however, and only played 20 Premier League matches last season. He came on during Southampton’s bore draw with Swansea on Saturday and needs to impress new manager Mauricio Pellegrino.
SCOUT’S ASSESSMENT: Bench warmer. ABC and ESPN recently paid $24 billion for the right to air some of the league’s marquee games.
To make it possible, the league shortened the preseason, and added about a week to the regular season.
The season that tips off on Oct. 17 with the reigning champion Golden State Warriors taking on the Houston Rockets and the Cleveland Cavaliers, bested by the Warriors in last season’s finals, taking on the Boston Celtics in a rematch of the Eastern Conference Finals.
The NBA had already revealed its five Christmas Day contests, which include a Warriors-Cavaliers rematch. The two teams, who have clashed in the last three championship series, will meet again on Martin Luther King Jr. Day — Jan. 15.