Aston Villa play hardball with Liverpool over Christian Benteke buyout
• Villa insist Liverpool should pay £32.5m buyout clause in contract • Tim Sherwood: ‘We don’t want to sell him. We don’t want the £32m’Liverpool are set to step up their pursuit of Christian Benteke in the wake of Raheem Sterling’s d
MLB All-Star Game: baseball’s Midsummer Classic – live!
The National League all-stars take on the American League all-stars at the Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati. Follow all the action with David LengelTweet @LengelDavid or email [email protected] 8.48pm ET American League 1-0
Carl Froch, the Cobra who just loved fighting | Kevin Mitchell
Super-middleweight champion will be remembered for world title bouts against best 12st fighters in a career as gilded as that of any British boxer of past decadeCarl Froch will not miss the physical and spiritual grind of his calling, nor the aggrava
England’s Ben Stokes savours taste of Ashes revenge before Lord’s Test
• All-rounder backs side to enter second Test full of confidence• ‘After what they did to us in Australia, Cardiff was pretty cool’Ben Stokes believes the “massive” motivation of revenge for last year’s Ashes humiliation will ensure Eng
Manchester City hope £49m Raheem Sterling can sprinkle some stardust | Amy Lawrence
That the Etihad club’s movers and shakers were prepared to gamble such a large transfer fee on a 20-year-old winger who is not yet the finished article, shows just how difficult it is for even wealthy clubs to recruit serious A-list talentDoes the
The Open 2015: St Andrews in person is a world away from following on TV | Bryan Graham
First impressions: Bryan Armen Graham, the Guardian America deputy sports editor, on his first visit to the historic Home of GolfAs my train hurtled northbound through the stupefyingly beautiful scenery along Scotland’s east coast on Monday afterno
When Tiger Woods last took on the Open at St Andrews with a rebuilt swing | Ewan Murray
In 2005, Woods arrived in Fife as the Masters champion, but below Vijay Singh in the rankings, having split with his longstanding coach to ‘own’ his swing …When pressed on the reason for an unwavering belief that he can retrieve his career from
Tour de France 2015: Chris Froome makes huge statement with stage win
• Froome bursts clear to extend general classification lead to 2min 52sec• Richie Porte finishes second at La Pierre Saint-Martin 59sec behind FroomeTeam Sky’s Chris Froome blew the peloton apart to take a significant stride towards a second To
Raheem Sterling completes £49m Manchester City move from Liverpool
• Sterling signs five-year deal at the Etihad Stadium• 20-year-old winger set to join pre-season tour in AustraliaRaheem Sterling has signed for Manchester City from Liverpool on a five-year contract for £49m. Sterling will now join Manuel
Tiger Woods says his back is healed for Open and 18 majors remains target
• Former world No1 declares he is not yet ‘buried and done’• Woods says back surgery and swing change to blame for drop in formTiger Woods insists he is not yet “buried and done” and claims he still has Jack Nicklaus’s record haul of 18
Brad Haddin likely to be left out of second Ashes Test by Australia
• Wicketkeeper Peter Nevill set to make international debut• James Faulkner will not be considered for one-day seriesThe Australia wicketkeeper Brad Haddin is likely to be left out of the second Test at Lord’s and be replaced by Peter Nevill, t
Tour de France 2015: stage 10 – live!
Stage 10 into the Pyrenees, 167km from Tarbes to La Pierre Saint-MartinWatch video highlights of stage nine of the TourAnd email [email protected] or Tweet @Paul_Doyle 1.25pm BST Paul will be here soon enough. In the meantime, here’s what
The Spin | TMS: the key to being a functioning Test cricket addict | Andy Bull
It seems so arcane, and is often patronised, but Test Match Special, part soap opera, part sports commentary, is a perfect fit for this meandering gameFew things seem to perplex people quite like Test cricket. “I tried to watch it once, but couldn
The Forgotten Story of … when Pelé and the Santos circus came to England
In the late 1950s Santos, with Pelé in their ranks, realised they had a method of printing money by sending the squad out on the road. And, for the next decade, they sent them to every corner of the globeProbably the most frequent complaint about mo
Manchester United omit Víctor Valdés from US tour amid transfer speculation
• Spanish goalkeeper ‘not selected’ for four-match trip to United States• Antalyaspor interested in 33-year-old but agent has dismissed linkVíctor Valdés’ future at Manchester United has been thrown into doubt after he was omi
Jordan Spieth warns Open 2015 rivals: ‘My putting is awesome right now’
• Spieth says after John Deere Classic win: ‘I’ve plenty in the tank’• World No2 admits he must ‘fine-tune my driver’ at St AndrewsThe latest Jordan Spieth warning to the remainder of this week’s Open Championship field has arrived. T
Carl Froch retires to bring curtain down on glittering boxing career
Calls time on 35-fight career, 33 of which he won‘I have nothing left to prove,’ 38-year-old saysFour-time world super middleweight champion Carl Froch has announced he is retiring from boxing. Nicknamed The Cobra, Froch twice won the WBC title,
Mikel Arteta says Petr Cech has instilled title belief at Arsenal
• Arsenal captain says goalkeeper’s move from Chelsea has been major boost• Adds that Cech’s arrival is part of process to keep best players and add qualityPetr Cech is providing the inspiration to make his Arsenal team-mates believe they can
Claudio Ranieri appointed as new Leicester City manager
• Italian succeeds Nigel Pearson in charge of the Foxes• Leicester opt for former Chelsea and Inter manager on three-year dealClaudio Ranieri has ended an 11-year absence from the Premier League after Leicester City took the surprise decision to
Father fears F1 driver Jules Bianchi will never recover from injuries
• Marussia driver has been in coma since accident at 2014 Japanese Grand Prix• His father Philippe says waiting for signs of progress has become ‘daily torture’Jules Bianchi’s father is becoming “less optimistic” that the former Marussi
Novak Djokovic targets US Open to complete year after Wimbledon triumph
• Twenty-eight-year-old says he can go on as long as 33-year-old Federer• Serb has won only once at Flushing Meadows and wants moreThe good news for Novak Djokovic is that, at 28 and with nine majors to his name, he is getting better. The bad new
Sir Dave Brailsford fears Chris Froome critics have hacked Team Sky
• Brailsford says rider’s data is being targeted for signs he could be using drugs • Team principal confirms Sky have called in lawyers to investigateSir Dave Brailsford believes Team Sky’s computers have been hacked by critics who are sifti
The Open 2015: Tom Watson prepares for his final farewell at St Andrews
The five-times champion is set to play final Open round this week and expects to shed a few tears when he crosses Swilcan Bridge for the last timeThe notion that Tom Watson would readily accept this, the 144th Open Championship, as his final appearan
Stuart Broad: Pressure on Australia after defeat in first Ashes Test
• England aiming to keep tourists on the back foot at Lord’s• Players are ‘fresh and ready to go’ after early victory in CardiffStuart Broad knows that questions are being asked of Australia after their defeat in the first Ashes Test at Car
