St. Mirren captain accidentally spears teammate in the thigh in “daft prank” gone awry

By Nicholas MendolaApr 27, 2015, 3:11 PM EDT

When the words “captain” and “spearing” come together, I usually think of things like “Moby Dick” and the NHL playoffs.

What generally doesn’t jump to mind is a “daft prank” at a training ground that ends with a young player nursing a centimeter-deep thigh wound.

[ MORE: Premier League Playback, Round 34 ]

Yet that’s exactly what Scotland brings us today, as St. Mirren captain Steven Thompson’s decision to hurl a training pole at a teammate who tackled him, only to see the stick embed itself in the player’s thigh.

Now John McGinn is set for three weeks on the sidelines, though he also has a heck of a story.

What? Yup. From WhoAteAllThePies.tv:

“I’ve been shocked by it, to be honest, really down about it. I like a laugh and a joke in training, but for something like this to happen is just unbelievable.

…

“I’m just mortified by the whole thing. It was a daft prank. It wasn’t like I threw the pole out of anger or anything like that.

“That’s not what happened. I threw it for a laugh, stupid me trying to be funny, and unfortunately it’s anything but. It’s a total disaster.”

I’m very excited to start using the phrase “daft prank” to describe horrible things that come of my own misdeeds around the house. “Honey, sorry I shrunk your dress in the washing machine. Just a daft prank. Forgive me.”

Follow @NicholasMendola

NBC Sports Premier League schedule

By Joe Prince-WrightJul 14, 2020, 7:02 PM EDT

4 Comments

The new NBC Sports Premier League schedule for the 2019-20 season has been released, with time and dates for the upcoming matchweeks confirmed and here’s how you can watch it all live on TV in the USA and via Peacock online.

[ WATCH: Premier League video ]

With games spread out across multiple days and many in separate time slots, there are lots of changes to your regular schedule as the league returns on June 17 after being suspended on March 13 due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Games will be played in empty stadiums and at home venues.

[ SIGN UP: Premier League on Peacock ]

The full TV schedule for the games this month are below, plus you can watch every single second of every single game live online via NBC Sports.com, the NBC Sports App and by purchasing the “Premier League Pass” via NBC Sports Gold and the new Peacock streaming service from NBC.

Below is the new schedule for the Premier League on NBC Sports from June 17 to July 22 , as we will release the dates and times for the final matchweek of the 2019-20 season when they become available and how to watch them in the USA.

Premier League: How to watch, schedule in USA (all times EST)

Matchday 36

Tuesday, July 14: Chelsea 1-0 Norwich
Wednesday, July 15: Burnley v. Wolves, 1 p.m. ET, Peacock
Wednesday, July 15: Man City v. Bournemouth, 1 p.m. ET, Peacock
Wednesday, July 15: Newcastle v. Tottenham, 1 p.m. ET, Peacock
Wednesday, July 15: Arsenal v. Liverpool, 3:15 p.m. ET, Peacock
Thursday, July 16: Everton v. Aston Villa, 1 p.m. ET, Gold/Peacock
Thursday, July 16: Leicester v Sheffield United, 1 p.m. ET, NBCSN
Thursday, July 16: Crystal Palace v. Man United, 3:15 p.m. ET, NBCSN
Thursday, July 16: Southampton v. Brighton, 3:15 p.m. ET, Gold/Peacock
Friday, July 17: West Ham v. Watford, 3 p.m. ET, NBCSN

Matchday 37

Saturday, July 18: Norwich City v. Burnley, 12:30 p.m. ET
Sunday, July 19: Bournemouth v. Southampton, 9 a.m. ET
Sunday, July 19: Tottenham v. Leicester, 11 a.m. ET
Monday, July 20: Brighton v. Newcastle, 1 p.m. ET
Monday, July 20: Sheffield United v. Everton, 1 p.m. ET
Monday, July 20: Wolves v. Crystal Palace, 3:15 p.m. ET
Tuesday, July 21: Watford v. Man City, 1 p.m. ET
Tuesday, July 21: Aston Villa v. Arsenal, 3:15 p.m. ET
Wednesday, July 22: Man United v. West Ham, 1 p.m. ET
Wednesday, July 22: Liverpool v. Chelsea, 3:15 p.m. ET

Follow @JPW_NBCSports

Farke: Pulisic will be ‘world-class’; Lampard praises USMNT star

By Joe Prince-WrightJul 14, 2020, 6:39 PM EDT

Leave a comment

The news every Pulisic and USMNT fan wants to hear: Daniel Farke believes Christian Pulisic is well on his way to being a ‘world-class’ player as the Norwich City manager marvelled at the display the USMNT star put on during Chelsea’s win against the Canaries.

[ MORE: Pulisic Watch – Analysis ]

Christian Pulisic, 21, provided the assist for Olivier Giroud to score the only goal of the game and the American winger hit the bar and went close on several occasions in another standout display for Chelsea since the Premier League restart.

Farke watched Pulisic closely as a coach of Borussia Dortmund II from 2015-17 and ProSoccerTalk asked him via Zoom after the game what he makes of how the Chelsea star is progressing.

“I would value and appreciate it if Christian would be in my team, without a doubt!” Farke laughed. “Chelsea spent 60 million pounds or something like this, of course I know him out of my time with Borussia Dortmund. He’s a brilliant lad. Always humble. Always with both feet on the ground. Always works unbelievably hard on the pitch. A player full of potential. He will have a bright future and it was a lot of money [to spend on him] but he is definitely worth each and every pound because he’s a top class player. He proved that today with a great cross and I would have preferred he was not able to find Giroud, who in this moment is still a top class striker. Christian will have a bright future and will be a world-class player one day and this is the best way to develop in this direction.”

Pulisic went straight over to Farke at the final whistle and the pair had a nice moment on the pitch at Stamford Bridge, catching up and wishing each other well.

“What is said is always under us but there are many players on the Chelsea squad I really value and they are not just great football players but also great characters,” Farke revealed. “Sadly there wasn’t much time at the final whistle to speak with all of them, just a few words. It is always great to see lads like Christian again. I wish him all the best for the future and I think he will have a bright future.”

Farke has seen Pulisic’s development closer than most and if he thinks he will be ‘world class’ then it is time to get pumped.

As for Pulisic’s boss at Chelsea, Frank Lampard, he was very thankful for Pulisic to create the only goal of the game to keep Chelsea in third and extend the gap to fifth-place Man United to four points with two games to go, although Leicester City (fourth) and Man United do have a game in-hand of the Blues now.

[ MORE: Who will finish in the top 4? ]

Lampard praised the growing partnership between the USMNT winger and Olivier Giroud and highlighted Pulisic’s movement in-behind the French striker.

“We clearly saw that with the goal and I was delighted with Christian’s movement to run in-behind on the little angle because that is what we weren’t doing in the early stages of the game,” Lampard said. “Ollie will always be alive and if you’re playing Giroud, you want to get balls in the box. You need to play to his strengths and he gets a really good goal. The link-up is good. Generally it could have been better. But job done.”

Pulisic has now scored three goals and had an assist since the restart, plus won two penalty kicks and a free kick which Willian has scored from, so he’s had a direct hand in over half of the 12 goals Chelsea have scored since the Premier League resumed.

Week after week the USMNT winger is staking his claim as being one of the best players in the world 21 years old or under and there’s no doubt Pulisic is well on his way, if he’s not there already, to being a world-class player.

These ‘world class’ comments aren’t news to USMNT fans but it shows that he’s being talked about on a slightly different level given his form since the restart.

Follow @JPW_NBCSports

Premier League standings

By Nicholas MendolaJul 14, 2020, 6:35 PM EDT

1 Comment

The Premier League is back a three month suspension due to the coronavirus pandemic. Below you will find a reminder of the Premier League standings as we get back to business.

[ MORE: Latest PL TV schedule ]

With three matchweeks remaining in the 2019-20 Premier League season, there is plenty to play for up and down the league and the standings are extremely tight.

Liverpool have wrapped up the Premier League in stunning fashion over Man City, with the reigning champions and current second-place side eager to focus on cup competitions.

Three of the top four should stay there unless Leicester City’s form dips considerably, but the race for fourth and fifth should be fierce. We now know that fifth is NOT a Champions League place after Man City’s appeal over its European ban was successful That makes things even tighter.

[ VIDEO: Premier League highlights ]

There are still so many teams fighting for the Champions League and Europa League spot, with plenty of Premier League clubs still have their European hopes in the balance.

The action is going to come fast and often, with the league putting together a staggered schedule of kickoff times that will make matches even more of an all-weekend affair.

Below are the Premier League standings in full, as we will updated them throughout the remainder of the 2019-20 season.

PREMIER LEAGUE STANDINGS

Team	GP	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Home	Away	PTS
Liverpool	35	30	3	2	76	27	49	17-1-0	13-2-2	93
Manchester City	35	23	3	9	91	34	57	13-2-2	10-1-7	72
Chelsea	36	19	6	11	64	49	15	10-3-5	9-3-6	63
Leicester City	35	17	8	10	65	36	29	10-4-3	7-4-7	59
Manchester United	35	16	11	8	61	35	26	10-6-2	6-5-6	59
Wolves	35	14	13	8	48	37	11	7-7-4	7-6-4	55
Sheffield United	35	14	12	9	38	33	5	10-3-5	4-9-4	54
Tottenham Hotspur	35	14	10	11	54	45	9	11-3-4	3-7-7	52
Arsenal	35	12	14	9	51	44	7	8-6-3	4-8-6	50
Burnley	35	14	8	13	39	47	-8	8-3-6	6-5-7	50
Everton	35	12	9	14	41	52	-11	8-6-3	4-3-11	45
Southampton	35	13	6	16	45	58	-13	5-2-10	8-4-6	45
Newcastle United	35	11	10	14	36	52	-16	6-8-3	5-2-11	43
Crystal Palace	35	11	9	15	30	45	-15	6-4-7	5-5-8	42
Brighton & Hove Albion	35	8	12	15	36	52	-16	5-6-7	3-6-8	36
West Ham United	35	9	7	19	44	59	-15	5-3-9	4-4-10	34
Watford	35	8	10	17	33	54	-21	6-6-6	2-4-11	34

Bournemouth	35	8	7	20	36	60	-24	5-6-7	3-1-13	31
Aston Villa	35	8	6	21	38	65	-27	6-3-9	2-3-12	30
Norwich City	36	5	6	25	26	68	-42	4-3-11	1-3-14	21

Follow @NicholasMendola

Pep responds: ‘I tell Jose and Jurgen that it was a good day for football’

Getty Images

By Nicholas MendolaJul 14, 2020, 6:29 PM EDT

Leave a comment

Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola isn’t taking criticism from Jurgen Klopp and Jose Mourinho lying down.

The Liverpool and Tottenham bosses branded the lifting of Man City’s European ban as bad for the game, and Guardiola had answers at the ready.

Klopp called it a “bad day for football” while Mourinho applied the adjective “disgraceful.”

[ MORE: What now for Man City, PL? ]

“I tell Jose and Jurgen that it was a good day for football,” Guardiola said. “A very good day. We played with the same rules as everyone. If we broke them then we would’ve been banned.”

Guardiola was outright preening now that City’s seen its ban rescinded and a massive fine lowered to about $12 million (still plenty of money). The fine was for obstructing the investigation.

He went off. From The Daily Mail:

“All these clubs Arsenal, Chelsea, Leicester, Wolves, Man Utd, Tottenham, Liverpool — Liverpool — Burnley, I understand they want the five positions. We were with the eight clubs, we wanted a resolution.

“(But) don’t go behind and whisper. Next time before (you) make phone calls, call our chairman and say, ‘Guys, all these clubs we are going to do it all together.’ Manchester City don’t have to apologise because the three independent judges decided we have done everything properly. It’s clear. We were exonerated for something we were accused of.

“In the last decade, we’ve spent more than in the past, yes, but 30 years ago Arsene Wenger (spent). Arsene, the guy who perfectly defends Financial Fair Play… so Arsene, you know that Manchester City was correct with what we have done.”

“United with Sir Alex Ferguson spent a lot of money. When Chelsea started to win Premier Leagues, they invested more than the others. Barcelona and Real Madrid spent a lot of money.”

There should be some fair play to Guardiola, who is right to point out that all of the above managers spent massively to sustain success regardless of academy development. Man City is criticized for where its investment comes from but also can point to similar companies investing in his rivals. Essentially, Guardiola is asking that critics apply their disdain for spending across all clubs.

In other words, everybody spends. Few less than City. Guardiola laid out about $75 million on Rodri and a little less on Joao Cancelo (albeit with a lot going the other way in Danilo). His 2017-18 spend on Ederson, Kyle Walker, Aymeric Laporte, Benjamin Mendy, and Bernardo Silva was audacious.

Mourinho has worked in some of the biggest spending clubs in the world. Liverpool splashed huge money on Virgil van Dijk, Alisson Becker, Mohamed Salah, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Naby Keita, Fabinho, Sadio Mane, Christian Benteke, and Roberto Firmino. These managers and clubs don’t operate in a vacuum and don’t produce beautiful football out of the bargain stores.

Guardiola did not limit his criticism to his critics in England.

The ex-Barcelona boss was happy to issue a stinging rebuke to La Liga chief Javier Tebas.

[ MORE: Pulisic Watch versus Norwich City ]

“He’s another one, this guy Senor Tebas must be so jealous of English football. He’s an incredible legal expert from what I see, maybe next time I’ll ask them which court and judges we have to go to.”

Here are some more thoughts relayed by Man City’s Twitter account:

PEP 💬 I am humble enough to accept that without my players I am nothing. Zero. That's why I need my players. Have we spent more in the decade than in the past? Yes.

— Manchester City (@ManCity) July 14, 2020

PEP 💬 All the clubs spend a lot of money. Barcelona, Real Madrid spend a lot of money, English teams spend a lot of money. But we have built a club in terms of the past decade to compete with the elite in Premier League and Champions League.

— Manchester City (@ManCity) July 14, 2020

PEP 💬 For that I need the club to be financially strong – like a lot of clubs – to do it. Of course, we make mistakes. But we can spend as much money as our chairman or owners want but always, always in the FFP rules.

— Manchester City (@ManCity) July 14, 2020

Follow @NicholasMendola

Premier League: How to watch, schedule in USA (all times EST)

Matchday 29

Matchday 30

Matchday 31

Matchday 32

Matchday 33

Matchday 34

Matchday 35

Matchday 36

Matchday 37

PREMIER LEAGUE STANDINGS

Follow @NicholasMendola