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The Manchester United forward had endured a frustrating evening at the Aviva Stadium, with several big opportunities passing him by in a 0-0 draw, but his mood was light enough to wave security away after seeing a young pitch invader make a dramatic bid for his shirt. Addison Whelan, who plays for Shelbourne FC’s U13 side and harbors dreams of one day turning professional, was the star-struck fan in question and is still coming to terms with the fact that she was able to share a postgame hug with her hero....

Croatia suffered a disappointing start to their Euro 2020 campaign and clumped to a narrow 1-0 defeat at the hands of England. The Balkan giants are in a period of transition at the moment and will have to play out of their skins in this fixture. Czech Republic, on the other hand, stunned Scotland in their opening game of the tournament and will look for a similar result in this match....

“I used to say, ‘Give me a Barcelona or a Real Madrid and I will win titles,’” Dalic recalled Thursday. Such jobs no longer seem so far out of reach, especially if Dalic collects the biggest prize in soccer on Sunday. Croatia will win the World Cup for the first time if Dalic’s team can get the better of France and coach Didier Deschamps. Receiving trophies is nothing new for Deschamps....

Croatia came from behind to win 2-1 in the semi-final clash in Moscow, with Mario Mandzukic claiming the winner in the 109th minute after Ivan Perisic had earlier cancelled out Kieran Trippier’s free-kick opener. Dalic’s side were clearly exhausted, but they managed to fight on to the end of two hours of gripping football to take the country of just over four million people into the final for the first time....

Zlatko Dalic’s side demolished a ragged Argentina 3-0 during the group stage of the 2018 World Cup and, with pressure and expectation building around Messi’s final bid for glory on this stage, they will hope to pick at any lingering mental scars. A 4-1 win against Canada in their second group match remains Croatia’s only win at this tournament, having drawn with fellow surprise semifinalists Morocco and Belgium during the round-robin phase before overcoming Japan and Brazil on penalties....

Quite a final minute for the Green Bay Packers. Mason Crosby kicked a 27-yard field goal as time expired to cap an 81-yard drive set up by Kevin King’s interception with 1:07 left, and the Packers outlasted the San Francisco 49ers for a 33-30 win on Monday night. The final drive was extended after 49ers cornerback Richard Sherman was flagged for illegal contact on third-and-15 that wiped out a sack of Aaron Rodgers with 43 seconds left....

Westgate is offering a number of two-way bets with one Super Bowl-related side and one side pertaining to NBA, college basketball, golf, soccer and NHL events happening over the weekend. By playing several of these, you’ll have multiple games or players to keep track of on Super Bowl Sunday. MORE: NFL live odds page | Public betting percentages Props: QBs | TDs | Penalties | Weird, novelty | Multi-sport | Most-bet props...

A California federal judge has denied a motion by the mega-publisher/developer to strike down a lawsuit filed against them by a group of retired National Football League players, who allege that Electronic Arts applied their likenesses in Madden NFL 09’s “historic teams” without sanction. The ruling ensures the continuation of the case - filed in 2010 by a group purporting to represent more than 6000 retired NFL players - which accuses Electronic Arts of intentionally using recognizable player likeliness in a “calculated and underhanded attempt” to defer paying them....

Coutinho joined Barca in January, taking the number 14 vacated by Javier Mascherano, but has now switched to the more famous number seven jersey, last worn by Arda Turan. The squad number has been worn by some of Barca’s most illustrious stars, including Luis Figo, Henrik Larsson and David Villa, while Pedro donned it before Turan’s arrival in 2015. Coutinho settled in quickly at Camp Nou following his arrival from Liverpool, scoring eight goals as Barca cruised to the LaLiga title....

The coveted college free agent on Sunday announced he’ll sign with the Devils following a weekslong courting process, the team announced. His two-year contract is entry level, worth the maximum $925,000. MORE: Wisconsin’s Tony Granato ‘perfect choice’ as U.S. Olympic coach There was no shortage of interest in Butcher, 22, a fifth-round pick by the Avalanche in 2013 who developed into a top prospect during his four years at the University of Denver, where he starred on and captained last year’s national championship team....

A research study from the University of Chicago found that nursing homes with the highest proportion of non-White residents experienced 3.3 times more COVID-19 deaths than predominantly White nursing homes. “Focusing limited available resources on facilities with high proportions of non-White residents is needed to support nursing homes during potential future outbreaks,” the researchers wrote. The study was published in JAMA Network Open in February 2021. Why Is There a Gap?...

Tokyo, Osaka and other prefectures are navigating COVID-19 states of emergency set to continue until June 20, while Japanese polls show that the majority of residents want the Olympic Games to be canceled or delayed again. Despite the increasing pressure, the International Olympic Committee reported that over 80% of the athletes and staff will be vaccinated and reside in a bubble during their time in Japan. For more reporting from the Associated Press, see below....

In Ukraine, COVID-19 vaccination rates are low; only about 34% of the population is fully vaccinated. Now, hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians—some possibly ill with COVID-19—have been forced to flee to other countries. “We were looking at just getting vaccination programs going [in Ukraine] amid a lot of misinformation and disinformation campaigns about effectiveness and the safety,” Timothy Erickson, MD, an emergency physician at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston who is currently coordinating with the World Health Organization (WHO) on Ukraine, told Verywell....

Experts say that determining which cities and states have had the best response to COVID-19 thus far is tough and unfair. There are many factors at play, and different metrics could be used to measure success. “How do we say better or worse?” Jagdish Khubchandani, PhD, professor of public health at New Mexico State University, tells Verywell. “Based on deaths? Cases? Long-term impairments?” A Look at the Numbers The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has a tracker that shows COVID-19 data, such as cases and deaths in each state (along with data from New York City), from January 21, 2020, to the present....

Eva Velasquez, CEO of the Identity Theft Resource Center, recited that figure during a presentation titled “$60 Billion and Counting: The Consequences of Unchecked Pandemic Unemployment Fraud.” She said that identify theft increased during the pandemic and, rather than slowing down, “if anything, we’re seeing it increase.” The Identity Theft Resource Center describes itself as a “nonprofit organization established to empower and guide consumers, victims, business and government to minimize risk and mitigate the impact of identity compromise and crime....

One group particularly pleased with the Cowboys victory was the Cowboys’ cheerleading squad. The most famous dance team in the NFL celebrated their team’s 24-20 victory with an impromptu dance party in the locker room. MORE: Cowboy cheerleader photos | Retro cheerleaders | End the “Romo isn’t clutch” narrative The Cowboys will travel to Green Bay to take on the Packers next Sunday at 1:05 p.m. ET. A video posted by Brittney Schram (@schraminator) on Jan 1, 2015 at 5:03pm PST

Erasing a 21-0 deficit seems like quite the accomplishment on the surface. But the Rams’ three-touchdown lead midway through the second quarter of their eventual 34-31 loss to the Cowboys not only was fluky, but it woke up the sleeping giant that was Dallas’ offense. MORE: Week 3 scoreboard, highlights | Super Bowl odds update | Fantasy pickups St. Louis took advantage of a soft, conservative defensive approach and nickeled and dimed its way down the field on the game’s first drive — we’ll give credit for that....

Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott says he made “a bad decision” last week when he visited a marijuana dispensary in Seattle, only hours before his preseason debut. “It was a bad decision,” Elliott told reporters Monday (via the Fort Worth Star-Telegram), the first time he addressed the subject since TMZ posted the story. “Just seen it walking around. I was curious. Didn’t really think about it before I went in what the repercussions could have been....

Jones, for one, doesn’t think they will find anything on his cell phone, going by comments he made Wednesday on 105.3 The Fan. “They’re gonna be a little surprised at how little I use that phone,” he said. Until recently, Jones only had a simple flip phone, which he said is the biggest reason for such little use. “For a long time, me and all the drug dealers in Dallas had that flip phone,” he said....