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Football

‘The Lisbon Lions never knew they were beaten. We were on top of the world and could take on anybody on our day – it was a glorious era for us all’ Celtic legend Jim Craig on the club’s iconic European triumph

Celtic’s European Cup win in 1967 remains one of the most iconic nights in the club’s storied history, almost 60 years on.

The Scottish side’s 2-1 victory over Inter Milan at the Estadio Nacional in Lisbon saw them become the first British club to win the European Cup and it was all done with a homegrown squad, the majoirty of whom were born within a ten-mile radius of Celtic Park.

Jim Craig was playing at right-back that evening, as he added European football’s biggest prize to his list of 14 domestic trophies won during his eight-year spell with the club.

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Jim Craig on his part in the Lisbon Lions success

Jim Craig

Celtic’s Lisbon Lion Jim Craig

“We had our moments but he respected me as a player,” Craig recalls to FourFourTwo when asked about manager Jock Stein’s influence during the run. “I only wanted to know one question before a game: how fast was the opposition winger? If they were quicker than me I’d pull Bobby Murdoch closer. If I was quicker then I could catch him, but Jock would never tell me.

“He had more run-ins with Jimmy Johnstone. Jock was once giving a team talk and, when he finished, he asked if there were any questions. Jimmy’s hand shot up, which was a surprise because Jinky had sat through the whole talk looking at his nails. Jimmy said, ‘How long’s the flight?’ He was terrified of flying and that was all he was interested in, not the team talk or any of the tactical stuff.”

Celtic captain Billy McNeill lifts the European Cup, 1967

Celtic captain Billy McNeill lifts the European Cup, 1967 (Image credit: Alamy)

When the final came around, Craig got off to an unfortunate start, giving away an early penalty that meant his side went into the dressing room a goal down at half-time.

“It happened in the seventh minute. Jock was great, he said, ‘Forget about it, just take care of the guy in the second half’. I had a chance to look at it afterwards and told him I thought it was an indirect free-kick [to Celtic, for simulation] and he agreed.

“The player, Renato Cappellini, was running across my path, and I didn’t want to foul him. I held my body maybe a little bit too close to him without doing anything else. However, after that I set up Gemmell’s goal for the equaliser, so I reckon I more than made up for it!”

Less than a fortnight after winning the European Cup, Craig would then play in the Alfredo Di Stefano testimonial, winning 1-0 against Real Madrid. What does he remember about that night?

“Jinky decided that he was going to show them what he could do,” Craig says. “He had a wonderful game and his touch was tremendous. Every time he took on an opponent, he beat them. Eventually, the crowd were cheering his name instead of Di Stefano’s. Any time Jinky touched the ball they would shout, ‘Ole!’ I felt sorry for the left-back – he got battered that night.

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Celtic players celebrate with the European Cup after victory in the final over Inter in the final in Lisbon in May 1967.

Celtic players celebrate with the European Cup (Image credit: Getty Images)

“Following the game, I made a beeline for Paco Gento and shook his hand. There were 120,000 fans present for a friendly. Real were playing a team that had just won the European Cup, so they were up for it. We were defending our image, so we were equally up for it.”

Celtic would reach another European Cup final in 1970, only to lose 2-1 to Feyenoord, but Craig insists that was another special team. “The team never knew it was beaten. We’d just won five league titles in a row back home, so it was a glorious era for us all. We were on top of the world and could take on anybody on our day.”

Sadly, only Craig, Willie Wallace and Bobby Lennox from that famous side are still with us, but Craig is keen to keep his team-mates’ legacy alive and credits former Hoops boss Martin O’Neill for reigniting interest in the Lisbon Lions when he arrived at the club in 2000.

“He was very good at that and very kind at bringing us back into the fold again,” Craig adds. “We are ambassadors for the club still. I spend my time going to functions as people want to know about Lisbon and I have the stories for them. It’s nice to be known after all these years.”

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WWE

Ken Griffey Jr. Makes Iconic Entrance to Mariners vs. Tigers ALDS Game 5 on Video

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Baseball Hall of Famer and Seattle Mariners legend Ken Griffey Jr. made an amazing entrance to T-Mobile Park to hype up his former team’s fans prior to Seattle’s winner-take-all Game 5 of the American League Division Series against the Detroit Tigers.

Griffey played his first 11 MLB seasons (1989-1999) with the Mariners before closing his career with Seattle for his final two (2009-2010). The first-ballot Hall of Famer made 13 All-Star Games and won 10 Gold Gloves, seven Silver Sluggers and the 1997 American League MVP award.

Griffey was phenomenal in the 1990s, posting a per-162 game average of 44 home runs and 126 RBI, per Baseball-Reference. He also hit .302 with a .965 OPS and led the American League in home runs in four of those swasons. The phenomenal fielder, who was known for his leaping catches at the wall to rob home runs, won a Gold Glove each year from 1990-1999.

Griffey is currently seventh all time in home runs (630), 17th in RBI (1,836) and 34th in runs scored (1,662).

The Mariners notably made the playoffs (and the American League Championship Series) for the first time in franchise history in 1995 with Griffey leading the way.

This year’s team won the AL West and gave itself a berth in the ALDS for the first time since 2001.

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WWE Announces Massive Show At Iconic Venue

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WWE continues to pack its schedule with special events in the TKO era. As John Cena prepares to work his final dates for the company, a rare appearance is being rumored for the 17-time World Champion after an upcoming special was just announced.

World Wrestling Entertainment has a deep history with Madison Square Garden, billed as the company’s “home office” at one time. MSG hosted WrestleMania 1, 10, and 20, as well as a handful of other WWE Premium Live Events, TV tapings, and non-televised shows. NJPW and ROH ran the legendary venue in 2019.

The World’s Most Famous Arena has also hosted certain wrestling events at The Theater, including Ken Shamrock’s SummerSlam 1998 win over Owen Hart, held in the Lion’s Den. The Theater at MSG hosted WCW’s NYC debut in April 1993, and the promotion’s return in June 1996. WWE brought NXT to The Theater for a non-televised live event in November 2016, then AAA and TNA booked the 5,600-capacity theater in September 2019 for Lucha Invades NY.

WWE returned to The Theater this past March for the history-making fourth annual NXT Roadblock special, and now the brand is heading back to the 58-year-old venue while John Cena wraps his farewell tour. The Cenation leader made his NXT debut appearance on October 10, 2023 for a star-studded episode that went head-to-head with AEW Dynamite, and while not announced as one of his last dates, he is now rumored for another big outing on WWE’s third brand before retiring.

Special WWE NXT Episode Set For The Theater At MSG

WWE announced today that the NXT brand will return to New York City for a special edition of its Tuesday night show on The CW. The episode will air live from The Theater at Madison Square Garden on Tuesday, November 18 at 8pm ET.

The NXT-MSG special is touted as part of John Cena’s farewell tour, but as of this writing, the Hollywood heavyweight has not been confirmed for the broadcast. Cena will be on RAW the night before, November 17, for his farewell at Madison Square Garden. It’s not clear what Cena will be doing at The World’s Most Famous Arena, for RAW or NXT that week.

“The event will feature the biggest Superstars from NXT, including NXT Champion Ricky Saints, NXT Womenâ€s Champion Jacy Jayne, NXT North American Champion Ethan Page, NXT Womenâ€s North American Champion Sol Ruca, Trick Williams and more,” reads the official press release issued today.

Tickets for NXT’s return to NYC will go on sale via Ticketmaster pre-sale at 10am ET on Monday, October 6, with the WWEVIP passcode. The general on-sale will then begin at 10am ET on Wednesday, October 8.

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Football

Germany 2026 World Cup home kit leaked – inspired by iconic 1990 shirt

Germanyâ€s home kit for the 2026 World Cup has leaked online – and it pays tribute to one of the nationâ€s most beloved designs.

In images shared by Footy Headlines, adidas have gone retro with a shirt that closely mirrors the strip worn when West Germany lifted the trophy in 1990.

As tradition dictates, the jersey is predominantly white, with black adidas shoulder stripes and red-and-black cuff trims. But the standout feature is the flag-inspired motif: black, red, and yellow stripes sweep diagonally from each shoulder, meeting in the middle to form a striking V-shaped diamond pattern across the chest.

Itâ€s an unmistakable nod to the 1990 World Cup-winning shirt, which carried a similar design – though that version placed the stripes off-centre.

Other details include the four stars above the DFB crest, each printed with the years of Germanyâ€s triumphs – 1954, 1974, 1990, and 2014 – plus black shorts and white socks to complete the set.

A nostalgic throwback to one of footballâ€s most iconic shirts, the design is expected to go down well with fans – who will be hoping Die Mannschaftcan channel the spirit of 1990 in North America next summer.

WORLD CUP-1990-WEST GERMANY-ARGENTINA

Germany fans will be hoping history can repeat itself in their new kit. / DANIEL GARCIA/GettyImages

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Alex Hammerstone Shares How He Overcame Doubts About Competing In Iconic TNA Match

Alex Hammerstone ultimately made it through one of TNAâ€s signature matches, but he wasnâ€t sure how it was going to go at first.

Hammerstone recently spoke with WrestleZone Managing Editor Bill Pritchard. During the conversation, Hammerstone was reflecting on some of the “crazier†matches heâ€s been part of, noting that heâ€s never done anything too extreme. However, he did recall being puzzled by how he would fare in TNAâ€s Ultimate X match.

Hammerstone, currently signed with MLW, was with TNA in 2024. There, he competed in the Ultimate X match at TNA Emergence in August 2024. Hammerstone said he tried to mentally prepare as much as he could, but wasnâ€t sure how it would all work.

“I remember looking at all these videos being like, ‘I donâ€t know how this going to work.†And then I remember looking at the ring before the show [thinking], ‘I donâ€t even know if I can climb across that rope. I donâ€t know if I am going to fall right off. I donâ€t know if the truss is gonna break.†But, I didnâ€t go in the ring and go play with it and try to calculate. I just said, ‘You know what? When the bell rings, Iâ€m going to go out there.â€

Did anyone try to persuade him to test out the structure?

Hammerstone said some people approached him to test it out, but he didnâ€t want to slip and fall, and have that doubt in his head during the match.

“Plenty of people asked me to try it out. I donâ€t know. I just donâ€t care to. Iâ€m just like, because what are the pros to that? If I go up there, and I climb it, and Iâ€m like, ‘Oh, this is really easy. I feel more confident about this. Cool.†If I go out there and I slip off, now, I have that in the back of my head that I might fall off. So, Iâ€d rather just go out there and… We are doing it live, I am going to try. But if I am sitting there thinking, ‘Oh, well, I fell off earlier, so maybe I shouldnâ€t try this.†Itâ€s like, I just pretend that the best is going to work out for me.†  Â

Hammerstone agreed that itâ€s pretty easy to keep thoughts of self-doubt out of your head if you never put them there in the first place.

Read More: Shotzi Is Bringing ‘The Graveyard Shift†To MLW

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Cricket

Dickie Bird dies aged 92: Tributes paid to iconic former umpire

Among those to pay tribute to Bird was former Prime Minister David Cameron who said: “He was a national treasure and I was fortunate to have shared some hugely enjoyable times with him over the years.

“At 92 he had a good innings. Farewell friend.”

Bird’s sister Marjorie Wyatt said: “Dickie was always proud of putting Barnsley on the map – he was Barnsley through and through.

“He was very caring and used to bring us home souvenirs.

“I would wash his cricket whites and his famous white flat cap, and he always appreciated that they would be immaculate and he would be turned out the best.

“What I will remember most about him was that he was always good at making decisions!”

Former England captain David Gower said Bird will be “remembered as one of the best umpires ever to take the field”.

“He certainly set himself high standards as an umpire, but that smile on his face at all times – whether he’s giving you out or not out, whatever he was doing out in the middle – you just knew that Dickie was in the place that he loved best,” Gower told the BBC.

“He was just a very, very good umpire. He had a sense of humour. He had the ability in his own very quirky and slightly barmy way of being able to get on with everyone.

“Everyone respected him immensely for what he was on the field, and he was the most likeable man off it.

“Umpiring gave him the opportunity to stay in the game that he’d loved from childhood.”

Boycott said: “When I was 15 and taken to Barnsley Cricket Club by my Uncle Algy, I was in awe of him because every week Dickie was the star batsman and he made a half-century to get a collection.

“He was a very good technical batsman but nerves got the better of him when he stepped up to play for Yorkshire and he could never quite hold down a place in the first team.

“When he became a first-class umpire he was absolutely brilliant. He made light of his nerves – even channelled them into making a success of umpiring.

“Players all over the world respected and admired him for his firmness, fairness, and he did it with a sense of humour.”

Former England captain Kevin Pietersen described Bird as an “absolute legend of English cricket”.

“May you rest in peace knowing that you were loved by all,” Pietersen said. “I had so many amazing moments with Dickie. A remarkable character that will be missed dearly!”

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