Browsing: praises

Orange Cassidy has had his ups and downs with Kris Statlander but the former did take time to acknowledge the historic moment recently generated by the latter. At AEW All Out, Statlander unseated then-champion Toni Storm from her throne in a fatal four way match. It was a feat that not only saw Statlander claim the AEW women’s title, but she became the first woman in company history to hold the women’s world title and the TBS championship.

Cassidy recently returned to the AEW fold after Statlander accomplished this feat and while The Best Friends had a public, bitter breakup last year, the former AEW international champion was clearly watching from afar to take in Kris Statlander’s big accomplishment. Speaking to The Takedown on SI about Statlander’s history making christening in Toronto, Cassidy said,

“She is the definition of working hard. She works very, very hard. And personally, you know, she’s going through some stuff and she’s made some decisions, and I’ll never hold that against her.”

“She hasn’t lost my phone number, and, yeah, I personally really have a special place [for her]. And I don’t think it’s really hit to anybody yet that she’s the first ever person to get both the TBS and the Women’s [World Championship]. That’s incredible. She’s had two knee [surgeries]. She works very, very hard. It’s nice to see when people that work hard get success.”

Orange Cassidy’s road to returning and his own pursuit of a second singles title in AEW

Orange Cassidy addressed the injury related hinderances that Kris Statlander recently overcame but the man who is freshly squeezed had his own difficult road that kept him sidelined. A torn pectoral muscle kept Cassidy out of the ring since April and he made his AEW return on last week’s instalment of AEW Dynamite in a winning effort alongside compatriots, Mark Briscoe and Hologram. The trifecta got the victory over The Don Callis Family and guides OC toward an important opportunity to claim even more singles gold within All Elite Wrestling.

Orange Cassidy will test skill with Kyle Fletcher for the latter’s TNT championship on the next episode of AEW Dynamite which celebrates the six year anniversary of the television program. Cassidy and Fletcher have a bit of a longer history with one another clashing for AEW gold although the champion and challenger roles will be reversed in this next meeting.

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Sep 27, 2025, 08:56 PM ET

Former Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has praised the quality of MLS and said the league will continue to grow in the next five years, while visiting with the New York Red Bulls this week.

Klopp, who was appointed head of global soccer with Red Bull after leaving Liverpool last year, took in training with the MLS club ahead of Saturday’s Hudson River derby against rivals New York City FC.

And the German coach said he has been impressed with the level of play in MLS.

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“I’m 100% sure, in five years time, we [will] speak completely differently,” Klopp said before he attended Saturday’s rivalry match Harrison, New Jersey. “I’m really sure it will grow and grow and grow.

“The kids coming up, starting playing soccer earlier, training, getting better. Obviously, the place where you can play and train getting better. Everywhere.

“I can tell you, the quality is really, really good. Good players, a lot of talent, high intensity. All these things you want to see when you watch it in a stadium or in television. I think [MLS] found its spot and now let’s work with it.”

Jurgen Klopp watches New York Red Bulls training ahead of the Hudson River derby. Courtesy of New York Red Bulls

MLS clubs spent a record total of close to $336 million on transfers in 2025, nearly doubling the previous record spend in a calendar year, as the league looks to close to gap to the top competitions in Europe.

The league’s reputation has grown since the arrival of record eight-time Ballon d’Or winner Lionel Messi to Inter Miami in 2023. South Korea star Son Heung-Min was the most high-profile arrival in 2025, joining for an MLS-record $26 million fee from Premier League Tottenham Hotspur.

The New York Red Bulls are one of several clubs owned by the energy drink brand that Klopp now helps oversee, along with RB Leipzig in Germany, Austria’s Red Bull Salzburg and Bragantino in Brazil.

The New York team went into Saturday’s derby in 10th place in the Eastern Conference, one place below the playoff line as it looks to extend its record streak of 15 straight postseason appearances.

“I don’t think we played exactly the season we wanted to play, but that’s OK, that happens, but we are still in a position to fight for it,” Klopp said. And that’s exactly the vibe I realized. That’s the mood. … What I saw now gives me a really positive feeling.”

Klopp also declared gave a big thumbs up to the Red Bulls’ new training facility in Morris Township, New Jersey.

“Massively, massively impressed,” he said. “This is outstanding. It’s something you never really can dream of, because you cannot win when you win or whatever you do in football and soccer.

“But then you think guys that possibly, this is fine. This is fine. This fine. This is a completely next level. It’s really it’s really cool. It’s really well thought through. It’s so many opportunities. It’s easy to say we will not be successful in the future. This is not the reason”

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Chicago Bears head coach Ben Johnson has been impressed with Las Vegas Raiders rookie running back Ashton Jeanty.

“He’s a phenomenal player,” Johnson said, via Michael David Smith of Pro Football Talk. “I thought the world of him. He’s a hard guy to bring down, compact yet powerful. You better have low pad level when you’re looking to tackle this guy or else he’s going to lower his shoulder and run you over. He’s got that mentality, he brought it with him from college. You see it in the first three games of the season so far. He’s fearless, he sees a little bit of air, he steps on the gas, and he plays violently.”

He added that the Bears will attempt to “bottle him up” during a Week 4 matchup with Jeanty and the Raiders.

Chicago was linked to the running back throughout the pre-draft process before Las Vegas ended up selecting him at No. 6 overall, four picks before the Bears were on the clock.

Jeanty was coming off an impressive junior season at Boise State, leading the country with 2,601 rush yards and finishing No. 2 in Heisman Trophy voting.

His individual production to open his rookie year with the Raiders has fallen below expectations, rushing for 144 yards and one touchdown while averaging 3.1 yards per carry.

Still, it’s worth noting that Jeanty has routinely faced multiple defenders in the backfield through his first three games. His 13 broken tackles are the most among running backs this season, while his 93 yards after contact rank No. 12 in the NFL (via Pro Football Reference).

Jeanty is still clearly a threat within Las Vegas’ offense, and Johnson has taken notice.

Kickoff between the Bears and Raiders is on Sunday at 4:25 p.m. ET.

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Pep Guardiola admitted he had no choice but to park the bus against Arsenal, and praised Manchester Cityâ€s defensive resilience despite conceding a late equaliser.

A brilliant lob from the substitute Gabriel Martinelli in the third minute of stoppage time cancelled out Erling Haalandâ€s early strike as Mikel Arteta became the first manager to go five consecutive league games unbeaten against his compatriot. City recorded just 32.8% possession at the Emirates – the lowest in a top-flight match for a team managed by Guardiola – in an uncharacteristically backs-to-the-wall display.

It was not quite enough to secure a first victory against Arsenal since April 2023 but the City manager acknowledged his players showed a different side to their game.

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“Our resilience was fantastic, otherwise we couldnâ€t survive,†Guardiola said. “Last season we lost 5-1; today we were close. Itâ€s by far one of the best teams in Europe. I would prefer to play another way, but when we play a lot of games in 10 years [as City manager], the teams defend deep, deep, deep and take a result of fantastic performance, mindset, strategy … Sometimes it happens. You have to defend, honestly. Itâ€s because the opponent is better. When you have to accept it, you have to survive in that way. And we did it.â€

Asked about the possession statistics, he said: “One time in 10 years is not bad, right? I have to prove myself against another strategy. Now I am a transition team.â€

Having finished as runners-up for the past three seasons, Arsenal are five points behind Liverpool, the league leaders, after five games. Arteta refused to accept criticism over his decision to select Mikel Merino ahead of Eberechi Eze after the England forward came off the bench at half-time and set up the equaliser. But he recognised that service must improve to Viktor Gyökeres, after the new £55m striker did not register a shot during the match.

“To have very big open chances is extremely difficult, but heâ€s certainly trying his best and trying to do that, and we have to provide more for him,†Arteta said. “There were a lot of situations when the chances were there and then especially the final pass was missing today.â€

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In his brief time with the Dallas Cowboys after being acquired in the trade that sent star edge rusher Micah Parsons to the Green Bay Packers, veteran defensive tackle Kenny Clark has already made a major impact.

While speaking to Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated following Sunday’s dramatic 40-37 overtime win against the New York Giants, Cowboys head coach Brian Schottenheimer praised Clark for stepping up as a leader despite being with the team for just a few weeks.

“Lo and behold, it was Kenny Clark,” Schottenheimer told Breer. “He’s been here nine days and was very much matter-of-fact, being authentic. That’s what I preach to our guys, man—I don’t want to put CeeDee [Lamb], Dak [Prescott], or [Kenneth] Murray in a box, man. Be who you are and be authentic. And he was leading the group today. Big sack and very consistent for us. You can see why Green Bay loved him.”

Clark registered four tackles and recorded his first sack in a Cowboys uniform in Sunday’s win. Dallas won a back-and-forth battle that saw a combined 41 points scored in the fourth quarter, with Brandon Aubrey kicking the game-winning 46-yard field goal as time expired in overtime.

Schottenheimer added that he hopes this win sets the tone for the rest of his first season at the helm for the Cowboys.

“These guys saw in me the work ethic, the warrior mentally to fight to the end,” Schottenheimer said. “They had my back. We’ve built something pretty special here from a culture standpoint. And I’ll remember this one for a long time.”

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