ICC: What we learnt from Liverpool vs. AC Milan.

A patient Liverpool were made to work hard for a 2-0 win over AC Milan in the International Champions Cup in the early hours of Sunday morning.

Here are four things we learnt from The Reds victory at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, California.

• Divock Origi will be vital this season.

It only took fourteen minutes after the break with Jurgen Klopp ringing the changes before Liverpool could take the lead. Divock Origi was the man who broke the deadlock after he came in to replace Daniel Sturidge. He picked up the ball inside the penalty area and displayed wonderful feet to shift it on to his right and curl into the bottom corner. Also, he had a 'goal' disallowed for offside.

Since Klopp took over from Brendan Rogers last season, he has given the lad playing time and confidence he needs to flourish at his game. In return, the Belguim forward has delivered some magnificent displays that has surely gotten him thinking.

After the game, the liverpool forward did make a statement of intent of becoming more consistent and an important player in the team.

• Liverpool continue dominant football.

It's the trademark of the teams coached by Jurgen Klopp. His teams usually have more possession of the ball.

That was how the game panned out that Liverpool by the break had already amassed 62% of the ball possession. AC Milan were camped in their own half and played the typical Italian style of football which is bent on organization.

Eventually, the Anfield giants finished the game with a ball possession of 60% and had more chances than their opponent.

• The defense seems a lot better.

Although, it can argued that four of the six oppositions Liverpool have played in their pre-season fixtures are teams from the lower tier of English football, they have managed to concede only a goal which was against Chelsea.

With the additions of Joel Matip and Ragnar klavan, the Liverpool defense has been a lot tighter and solid. Needless to say that Liverpool seems to have got all their deals at the back spot on.

• Klopp to do the "Sturidge dance" this season.

For a man like Klopp whose passion for the game may be incomparable, he certainly goes with the flow. Recently, he did the "Sturidge dance" in the full view of some kids. Expect him to do more of that this season when his leading striker scores a goal.

Click play to view highlights of match.

NBA: Sorry Miami Heat fans, Dwyane Wade is now a certified Bulls player.

All good things have an end. So, after 13 seasons of a blissful union between Miami Heat and Dwyane Wade which resulted in three NBA titles, Wade decided to look elsewhere and has found a new NBA home in Chicago. On Friday, he was shown off in his new look after his introductory news conference.

Who could have imagined that the NBA star could call a place other than Miami "home". This surely will sound strange in the ears of Heat fans. He inked a two-year deal with Chicago Bulls that will pay him about $47 million.

Miami Heat fans, how does Wade look in his New Jersey?

Italian Serie A: Juventus breaks the bank for Napoli striker Gonzalo Higuain.

Juventus have completed the signing of Serie A highest goalscorer last season Gonzalo Higuain from Napoli after activating his €90 million release clause.

The Italian champions confirmed that Higuain signed a five-year contract, tying him with the Turin giants till 2021.

The deal which was struck on tuesday is said to be the most expensive transfer in the history of Italian football.

The 28-year old broke Gunnar Nordahl's 66-year old Serie A goal-scoring record on the final day of last season by scoring a hat trick to give 36 goals in 35 matches.

With all the signings made by Juventus this off-season, expect them to win their sixth consecutive Serie A title and challenge strongly for the Champions League this season.

NBA: Tyronn Lue commits to Cleveland Cavaliers with a five-year contract.

Tyronn Lue has inked a new five-year contract with Cleveland Cavaliers. The first four years are guaranteed with the fifth being a team option according to ESPN sources.

Lue was responsible for delivering the Cavaliers with their first sports title in over 50 years, coming from 3-1 down in the NBA Finals to defeat the defending champions - Golden State Warriors.

He replaced David Blatt after the Cavs management fell out with the then Head Coach, going 27-14 in the second half of the season.

He was already the  league's top-paid assistant coach when he was added to Blatt's staff in the summer of 2014 with a four-year deal worth the total of $6.5 million.

NBA: Cleveland Cavaliers signs Chris "Birdman" Andersen.

The Cavs have signed Chris Andersen aka Birdman to a one-year contract.

The NBA champions needed a backup center forward after losing Timofey Mozgov to LA Lakers in free agency and are hoping that the 38-year-old veteran can fill that role.

The Birdman is known for his multiple tattoos and toughness on the board. He split last season with Miami Heat and Memphis Grizzlies.

In Cleveland, he will be reunited with former teammate Lebron James. They won an NBA title together in 2013 with the Miami Heat.

WWE: What to look forward to at WWE's Batttleground.

Surely, It's July and another time for a pay-per-view show on the WWE's network. This Sunday, it's Battleground and it comes days after the WWE roster have been drafted into Raw and the rebranded Smackdown. Let's enjoy these clashes as we may never get to see some of them for awhile.



WWE Champion Dean Ambrose vs. Seith Rollins vs. Roman Reigns.

Who would have known two years ago after Seith Rollins stabbed his former brothers in the back and dissolved The Shield, that all three members will be vying for the WWE Championship in a triple threat match at Battleground? 

WWE Champion Dean Ambrose earned the title after cashing in his Money in the bank contract against Rollins, same night Rollins won the title against Roman Reigns at Money in the bank last month. 

Certainly, this match should end all feud as to who is the best among former Shield brothers.

WWE Tag-team Champions The New day vs. Wyatt family.

The epitome of positivity in the WWE - The New day, entered new territory when they accepted the challenge of The Wyatt family to clash at their backyard. The tag-team champions did bring the fight to The Wyatts but left shell-shocked at what length they could go. 

This time at Battleground, forces will be reignited. The New day have found some formidable foe in the Wyatt family. 

This is a case of the epitome of positivity against the personification of fear. Would fear reign over positivity? It's a non-title fight.

United States Champion Rusev vs. Zack Ryder.

The United States Champion Rusev is a Bulgarian brute with some Russia accomplice how ironic is that? But it seems the Long Island Iced-Z is bent on restoring the pride of the American people by defeating the crush master, only he knows how realistic that is.

Ryder will have to show great courage to defeat Rusev whose singular aim is to crush his opponents.

'The Highlight Reel' with The Viper.

With Randy Orton's absence from the WWE for nearly a year owing to a shoulder injury, he returns to appear on Chris Jericho's show 'The Highlight Reel' at Battleground. 

The Ayatollah of Rock 'n' Rolla will be asking those soul-searching questions burning in the minds of WWE universe as The Viper gets set to face The Beast Incarnate at Summerslam next month.

Sami Zayn vs. Kevin Owens.

The bad blood between these two continues at Battleground. It's just like the animosity between Superman and Lex Luthor. It never seizes to end.

The animosity between these two have derailed them of opportunities since they arrived into WWE. Both men have cost each other, in order, the NXT Championship, the WWE championship, the Intercontinental Championship (twice) and the Money in the Bank contract.

This time, yours sincerely hopes that Battleground will bring an end to this longtime rivalry.

WWE: WWE Championship ends in a double-pin draw contest.

Monday night offered a dress rehearsal of what to expect at Battleground come this Sunday in the WWE triple threat championship match albeit minus Roman Reigns. The Big Dog has been suspended owing to some violation of the WWE rules but am damn sure he will look like a caged animal set lose at Battleground.

But on this night, it was about his former Shield allies - Seith Rollins and Dean Ambrose jostling for the WWE Championship.

It was a keenly contested bout. Both men delivered their best moves. The Lunatic Fringe with dirty deeds and The Architect with pedigree but still the job couldn't be done.

Eventually, the contest ended inconclusively with both men's back on the floor at the end of the three count. The Lunatic Fringe will be heading into Battleground still champion but it's all going to be a different proposition with the return of Roman Reigns.   

Click play to view some highlights of the match.

Premier League: With Chelsea FC signing N'Golo Kante, Mikel Obi should seek to move elsewhere.

Newly appointed Chelsea manager Antonio Conte set the standard straight during his unveiling to be the kind of manager that demands his players to to work, run and cover every blade of grass on the field.

It's no surprise that he has bought a player who also plays the game the way he perceives it - N'Golo Kante. The pint-sized French international was one of the major reasons Leicester City won the Premier League title last season as he led the league in tackles won with 115. He dominated the midfield area like a beast and destroyed attacking forays of opposing teams with aplomb.

This signing affects our son and the current golden boy of Nigerian football John Mikel Obi. Surely, Mikel can't be said to be first in the pecking order of defensive midfielders for Chelsea now plus he isn't the kind of player that exerts his energy. Even though there are reports that Juventus are interested in signing Nemanja Matic and somehow the deal pulls through, should Mikel continue to play second fiddle?

Most of his playing career in Chelsea has required him playing as a substitute. In Mourinho's first reign, he played substitute to Claudio Makalele, Felipe Scolari preferred Micheal Essien, Rafeal Benitez never hid his displeasure as he went for Oriol Romeu and Mourinho second stint produced Nemanja Matic. He only enjoyed being a mainstay in the starting XI during the short spells of Avram Grant, Roberto Di Matteo and Guis Hiddink.

The Nigerian international has surely paid his dues for Chelsea. He has played for the club for ten years now. Last summer, it was reported that Galatasary of Turkey were interested in his signature. I think this is the time where Mikel should seek elsewhere to ply his trade. He shouldn't continue to sit on the bench collecting the British pounds all in the name of being a team player.

Maybe, he could yet fulfill the aspirations Nigerians had for him after the Holland 2005 FIFA U-20 World Cup. He was the midfield general of that team, his displays made all Nigerians believe that he was surely the heir of the No.10 jersey held then by Austin Okocha, only for Jose Mourinho to turn our man into a defensive midfielder.

Well, at the age of 29 years, I will say that it is better late than never. I believe that he can still reproduce that kind of play that made Nigerians compare him with former Barcelona player - Xavi Hernandez. He can begin with the Olympics and after which move to some other club.

WWE: Dean Ambrose Vs Seith Rollins for the WWE Championship on next week's Raw.

Backtrack to this week's Monday night Raw were Seith Rollins leveraged on his relationship with The Authority (Stephen McMahon) to get his show, "The Rollins report" premiered. The Architect claimed to be at par if not better than the best investigative reporters like Jon Stewart and Anderson Cooper of CNN. Really??? His exclusive interview was all about tarnishing the suspended Roman Reigns with some concocted video footage.

Well, someone wasn't pleased with the report plus claims in the footage that his reign as Champion is simply a 'joke'.

Enter Dean Ambrose, who gets all riled up by Seith Rollins comment that he was, is and will always be the best of the trio (former SHEILD brothers). The Lunatic fringe gets livid and lays it all on the line by throwing a challenge to Rollins for a one-on-one match for his WWE Championship at anytime. The architect duly obliges.

We have a WWE Championship match on Raw next week.

Euro 2016: France seeking to outwit Germany in today's semifinal.

 

There are not many teams in this competition who are as lethal as Germany in the semifinal stage of this competition. They have been in eight semifinals from inception and have won six times. So, France could be said to be in a state of dilemma as to how to deal with this kind of animal.

In the last World Cup played in Brazil, Germany meet France in the quarterfinal stage and lost 1-0 thanks to a solitary strike from Matt hummels. Last year, in an international friendly played in Paris, Germany lost 2-nil but several explosions that occurred outside the stadium overshadowed the match.

Consequently, both teams could be said to be familiar with each other but in tonight's match, it will be about the managers. Who has the tactical nous to outwit the other? France in this competition, has relatively had an easier path to the semifinal, i mean, in level of opposition they have had to face but the Die Mannschaft faced by far their biggest threat in Italy which caused Joachim Low to mirror their formation.

Ultimately, the match dragged into penalties where the Germans prevailed but were left with scars which the French National team may seek to exploit in today's semifinal.

Mario Gomez and Sami Khedira have been ruled out of this match due to injuries while Matt hummels is suspended due to the accumulation of yellow cards from previous rounds. So the biggest question for Joachim Low is, who fills these voids created by these players?

Les blues haven't had it quite their way since the start of the tournament as Didier Deschamps has been tinkering with his formation and starting XI. So, the biggest question staring him in the face tonight is, what formation could do the job and who gets to start tonight?

Something going for the French National team is that they are playing on their home turf but could this also play into the hands of the Germans?

Euro 2016: Wales fairytale story comes to an end.

It has been a long road till this point, but the Welsh can take solace in the fact that their team got to the semifinals of Euro 2016, their first major tournament since 1958 when they were knockout of the World Cup by Brazil at the quarterfinal stage.

They have been impressive so far in this competition, turned on the style in the quarterfinals when they defeated a star-studded Belgium side 3-1 to advance to the semis. More impressive in that performance was that they had to come from behind to win the game. Hal Robson kanu's goal will forever be remembered, he delivered in a singular move, a cruff-esque like turn that beat three defenders. Surely, that goal would be part of the best goals scored in the competition.

From the qualifiers which started in September 2014, Wales have grown in leaps and bounds as a team, amassing a total of 21-points which enabled them to qualify as second placed team in their group behind Belgium. Chris Coleman their manager, has built a team that's compact with the formation 3-5-1-1.

It's no surprise that when Aaron Ramsey got booked for the second time in this competition during their quarterfinal clash with Belgium, that there were fears of how far the team could go. He has been the ball carrier of the team, contributing four assists in this competition alone.

And so it was on Wednesday, that Wales couldn't play to their strength without their midfield maestro, Gareth Bale their star man continuously droped deep to get the ball in midfield areas, whereas he was suppose to be upfront waiting for those passes from Ramsey.

They were undone by Bale's Real Madrid teammate "Cristiano Ronaldo" one goal and an assist.

They have lived the dream and at this stage of the competition, there isn't any shame in losing rather we thank the Welsh national team for showing the rest of the world that with hardwork, determination and togetherness, you can achieve.

NBA: It's crazy, Kevin Durant joins Golden State Warriors.

The biggest question since free agency day began some days ago has been, where will Kevin Durant be inking his next contract? Several teams held meetings with KD in other to prise him away from The Thunder where he has forged a brotherly relationship with Russell Westbrook but news had it that the teams with the best bet of landing him were Golden State Warriors and Oklahoma City Thunder.

Then on Monday afternoon, it's KD joining Warriors. It's really crazy. Before this move, the Warriors were arguably the best team in the NBA, just forget that Cleveland Cavaliers won the 2016 NBA title, but with this, they are surely the superpower of the NBA.

 Come to think of it, am sure this move will pretty upset the chemistry of the Warriors. It just raises many questions. Who gets to make more shots? How would Kevin Durant's game affect Klay Thompson's role? Just look at how Cleveland Cavaliers have been trying so hard to cope with their Big three, surely, Kevin Love's game has declined since he left Minnesota Timberwolves.

Some NBA players are already insinuating that with his arrival, Splash brothers (Curry & Thompson) will be changed to Splash family. Well, I kind of agree but am pretty sure we won't see much of Thompson shooting the ball as we have been used to.

Obviously, the rationale behind this move is to wrestle the NBA title from Cleveland Cavaliers. As it stands, the Cavs and Warriors are the undisputed kings of their conferences. It's just like the Barcelona-Real madrid dominance of the Spanish La Liga.

Kevin Durant is expected to sign a two-year, $54.3 million contract which would include a player option after first year, according to ESPN's Marc Stein. He announced the news on a post on The Player's Tribune.

"The primary mandate I had for myself in making this decision was to have it based on the potential for my growth as a player - as that has steered me in the right direction,".  "But I am also at the point in my life where it is of equal importance to find an opportunity that encourages my evolution as a man: moving out of my comfort zone to a new city and community which offers the greatest potential for my contribution and personal growth".

"With this in mind, I have decided that I am going to join the Golden State Warriors."

With this development, all the rest of the league can forget about the NBA title for at least the next three years.

EURO 2016: 3 things to expect in tonight's Germany-Italy clash

This match has been billed as "The Final" before the Final. The Italians have been impressive so far in this competition with some stellar performances against Belgium and Spain while Germany cruised passed Slovakia to reach the quarterfinal. We want to take a closer look at what to expect in this battle of European heavyweights.

1)  Germany to mirror Italy's 3-5-2 formation. 

So far in this competition, Germany have been playing with their customary 4-2-3-1 formation and it has served them so well but there is the saying that "the fear of God is the beginning of wisdom" and in this case, it's the fear of Italy. Germany have never beaten Italy in a competitive match coupled with Italy's performances in this competition, my gut just tells me Germany will change their formation to mirror that of Italy as this was the case in a friendly match played way back in March which the Germans won 4-1.

2)  Expect Italy's BBBC to be decisive.

The Italians BBBC - Gianlugi Buffon, Leonardo Bonucci, Andrea Barzagli and Giorgio Chiellini, are a riff on Real Madrid's BBC - Karim Benzema, Gareth Bale, Cristiano Ronaldo. They have so far been decisive in this tournament as Italy are yet to concede a goal in this competition. Chiellini and Bonucci have even contributed to the opposition's goal but in tonight's match it will be about preventing the Germans from scoring. We are talking about that seemingly inveterate quality Italian sides have been known for, the ability to defend.


3)  Without Daniel De Rossi and Thiago Motta, Italy will defend even deeper.

Daniel De Rossi is key to the way the Italians play but has been ruled out due to injury while his replacement Thiago Motta is suspended for this clash after the accumulation of yellow cards which has resulted in a one-match ban. Without both, expect the Italians to defend even deeper.


I just don't want to be put on the spotlight as per who would carry the day. So wherever you are, if you have the means of watching the match, just try enjoy two heavyweights play the best of European football.

English Premiership: Finally, Zlatan Ibrahimovic announces Manchester United move.

Upon the announcement of Jose Mourinho as the next manager of Manchester United, most football pundits predicted that Ibrahimovic will be heading to Old Trafford after his refusal to renew his contract with Paris Saint-German because he had expressed his desire to play in the Premiership and had previously worked with him at Inter Milan in 2008-2009 season.

On Thursday afternoon, one of the worst kept secret was finally let out of the bag as Ibrahimovic announced on his social media handles that his next destination is Manchester United although at the time of publishing, this news has yet to be confirmed on the Manchester United official website.

On the day he became a free agent after his contract expired with PSG  on Thursday,  he wrote on twitter: "Time to let the world know. My next destination is @manchesterunited #iamcoming".

In Ibra, Manchester United will be getting a proven winner who has won titles in four countries, having secured Spain's La Liga, Italy's Serie A, France's Ligue 1 and the Dutch Eredivisie. He has previously played for Malmo, Ajax, Juventus, Barcelona, AC Milan & Inter Milan.

With the acquisition of Ibra, Eric Baily from Villarreal, and more to follow with news report suggesting Borussia Dortmund's Henrikh Mkhitaryan is expected. I guess Mourinho and Man U are signaling their intent for the upcoming season very early.