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Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho has made a £35m move for Zenit St Petersburg’s Brazil forward Hulk, having missed out on top target Radamel Falcao. Hulk, 26, almost joined the Blues last summer but a deal could not be agreed with his then-club Porto, who were demanding £40m, and he joined Zenit instead. Full story: Daily Mirror What’s the story? Really? I’m baffled by this. Chelsea are prioritising a striker, understandable if it’s Cavani or Lewandowski....

Though India lost the previous series against England badly, there was a lot of exciting cricket witnessed. Except for the second Test match at Lord’s, the other four Test matches were closely fought encounters. The same kind of competitive cricket cannot be expected when one team is below par. Though it is premature to make assumptions, all and sundry know what is expected to take place in the current series....

The latest rendition of the Premier League guarantees to be a blockbuster one as the arrival of top-notch managers like Pep Guardiola and Antonio Conte along with the existing lot of Jurgen Klopp, Arsene Wenger and Jose Mourinho makes the league competitive than ever before. Chelsea have done well this transfer window to offload underperforming players. Loic Remy will soon leave the club whereas Alexander Pato and Falcao have returned to their parent clubs....

No matter what goes on between the lines or on the ice, fans, players, executives and owners care about one thing — getting the win. And if that happens, a lot of other things become a whole lot easier to overlook. That’s how it’s gone these days for three teams — the Rangers, Stars and Canadiens. Montreal and New York are riding impressive 9-1-0 streaks over their last 10 games going into Jan....

Ancelotti’s side are top of Group C and host the section’s bottom side Red Star Belgrade on Wednesday, the same day Paris Saint-Germain welcome Liverpool to the French capital. Napoli appear well-placed to reach the next round and will seal qualification with a win over Red Star if PSG do not beat Liverpool. And Ancelotti, a three-time Champions League winner, made his expectations clear at a pre-match news conference....

Archaeobotanists at the University of Glasgow in Scotland, UK, have identified more than 75 species of bryophytes (non-vascular plants that include mosses and liverworts) frozen alongside Ötzi approximately 5,300 years ago. The results have been published in PLOS ONE. “They were recovered as mostly small scraps from the ice around him, from his clothes and gear, and even from his alimentary tract,” James Dickson of the University of Glasgow, UK, said in a statement....

No play was possible on the opening day and further rain ensured only 35.2 overs were bowled on Friday, but that was all England’s collection of seamers needed to rip through the tourists. After captain Joe Root unsurprisingly opted to bowl first, Anderson took two early wickets and Cheteshwar Pujara was run out for one to leave India in the mire on 15-3 before the heavens opened again in London....

The 34-year-old wide receiver reportedly is done in Indianapolis after one season with the Colts. But Johnson insists he’s not done with pro football. “I am playing, there’s no question about that,” Johnson told NFL Media last week. “I know I can still play this game … people read into the stories too much. I’m not discouraged about what happened this past season, I’m just waiting for an opportunity.”...

Star quarterback Rodgers threw a second-down pass that was dropped by tight end Martellus Bennett, and was hit by Vikings linebacker Anthony Barr as he threw. Barr drove Rodgers into the turf onto his right shoulder in what was a legal hit, and the QB was carted away to the locker room. The Packers tweeted to say Rodgers was “questionable” to return and back-up Brett Hundley soon threw an interception to Xavier Rhodes, with the Vikings going ahead 7-0 early in the second quarter on a Jerick Mckinnon touchdown....

But that wasn’t the case in Thursday’s 34-27 loss to the Eagles. First, it was four plays from the 1, all incomplete passes, beginning and ending with short right misses to tight end Jimmy Graham, and a turnover on downs. Finally, it was two plays from the 7 — one 4-yard run and a rare Rodgers goal-line interception off a tipped pass. There has been a lot of finger-pointing to the play-calling by coach Matt LaFleur on the former series for letting Rodgers continue to throw the ball and not handing off once to running back Aaron Jones, who scored from three yards out early in the game....

Entering this Week 4 matchup, New England will be without starting QB Mac Jones after Jones suffered an ankle injury in the latter stages of the Patriots’ 37-26 loss to the Ravens in Week 3. In Jones’ place, backup QB and NFL journeyman Brian Hoyer gets the starting nod. Sunday will be Hoyer’s 40th career start (16-23 record in those games). Also on the injury front for New England, WR Jakobi Meyer’s status is uncertain after he failed to suit up last Sunday due to a knee injury....

Royal Parma Cricket Club are sitting pretty at the top of the table, while Padova Cricket Club are fourth and need to win both their games to stand a chance of qualifying for the semi-finals. Padova Cricket Club have had an interesting tournament so far. They lost both their games against Royal Roma Cricket Club, but won both their games against Kingsgrove Milan Cricket Club. They would want to have some consistency....

REPORTED BY: Jon Morosi of FOX Sports. THE DETAILS: The Padres have been interested in Desmond dating back to November, but the two sides still aren’t close to a deal as of yet. Desmond, who will be 30 next season, made $11 million in 2015 but is also tied to draft pick compensation. LAST SEASON: Desmond hit .233/.290/.384 with 19 home runs, 62 RBIs, 13 stolen bases and 69 runs scored in 156 games with the Nationals....

The cycle was the first of Kemp’s career and the first in franchise history. MORE: MLB active home run leaders | SN selects most beloved player for every MLB team | Memorable photos of Tony Gwynn Kemp started the game with a two-run homer in the first, added a single in the third, then connected on an RBI-double in the seventh. The triple in the ninth drove in Yangervis Solarte, giving Kemp four RBIs on the night....

An early signing period creates challenges for football. It is difficult to fit another signing period around the football season. Signing prospects before coaches are fired and hired will increase the number of releases requested. An early signing period has to be early enough to have advantages over the first week of February, but not so early that it accelerates recruiting in football. To accomplish this requires placing the early signing period at a good spot on the calendar, moving the existing regular signing period and making some changes to the NLI itself....

The Lung Flute currently has clearance for both diagnostic use (because it aids in the collection of sputum samples) and therapeutic use (because it facilitates effective airway clearance). How It Works According to the manufacturer, when you blow vigorously through the mouthpiece of the Lung Flute, your breath moves the reed inside, which causes airway vibrations deep within the lungs. These vibrations subsequently help loosen your secretions, making them easier to cough up as they pool in the back of your throat....

Manchester United are planning a £25m bid to sign Luka Modric, 27, from Real Madrid after coming to the realisation that they are unlikely to secure any of their primary transfer targets. What’s the story? Modric was one of five midfield targets I picked out or United instead of Thiago Alcantara. Does it make sense? Yes. Modric has the kind of elegance on the ball and ability to dribble, pass and score that United need to add dynamism to the one weakish area of their team....

The franchise-tagged Saints superstar was locked up to a long-term deal, both Graham and the team announced on Tuesday morning. Both sides were facing a 3 p.m. CT deadline to hammer out a multi-year contract. Otherwise, Graham would have played through his one-year tender for 2014 at around $7 million. That number would have been around $12 million had Graham won his grievance to be designated as a wideout instead....