Injuries the past two years, most notably a serious neck injury that caused him to miss most of last season, forced Ray’s hand. “The more I thought about it, physically I just don’t think I can perform at a standard necessary to play anymore,” Ray, 39, said during a conference call (via the CBC). “Every time I had that competitor inside of me saying, ‘Hey you can still do it, there’s a lot left to accomplish....
A new addition to Lego’s Ultimate Collector Series, the Imperial Star Destroyer includes working details like swiveling guns, a tilting radar dish and Imperial minifigures. It even includes a scale version of the Tantive IV itself, which looks minuscule in comparison to the immense new Lego set. On its stand, the new Devastator Lego set measures 17 inches high, 26 inches wide and 43 inches in length, making it the second longest Lego set ever released — appropriately, the new Devastator is shorter than the discontinued Lego Executor, a recreation of Darth Vader’s immense flagship introduced in The Empire Strikes Back....
The champions are in danger of relegation and sit just one point above the bottom three ahead of Sunday’s crunch clash away to 17th-placed Swansea City. Mahrez, last season’s PFA Player of the Year, has only scored three goals and assisted two in 22 top-flight appearances this season. Mayweather to meet Leicester players Vardy, meanwhile, only has five goals in 21 outings, having netted 24 times when Leicester won the title, and under-pressure Ranieri has spoken to the star duo in a bid to get them back on track....
The Foxes will begin the campaign with an away match against Arsenal and conclude it nine months later against Tottenham at Wembley Stadium. With the burden of being defending champions off their shoulders, Craig Shakespeare’s men will hope to continue the run of fine form they enjoyed at the back end of the 2016-17 season. Their full league fixture list for 2017-18 is below. LEICESTER’S 2017-18 FIXTURES
The 21-year-old has signed a five-year contract with the Foxes, which will keep him at the club until 2023. He is Leicester’s third signing of the summer, joining Portuguese full-back Ricardo Pereira and Northern Irish centre-back Jonny Evans. Maddison becomes the record sale for a Championship club, eclipsing Britt Assombalonga’s £17.1m ($22.5m) move from Nottingham Forest to Middlesbrough last summer. Maddsion moves to Leicester having spent two full seasons at Norwich....
The 34-year-old Englishman will face heavy-handed Mexican Mauricio Lara at Nottingham Arena on Saturday, February 18. Wood charted an unlikely route to become a world champion, while Lara also sprung an unforgettable shock win on U.K. soil to put himself in the title picture. There have been a few bumps in the road, with Wood and Lara originally slated to meet last September, but fight fans have a mouthwatering prospect to look forward to once again....
The two biggest opponents of the fight, Top Rank CEO Bob Arum and boxing legend Oscar De La Hoya, have been vocal in their opposition of the fight. Leonard Ellerbe, CEO of Mayweather Promotions, thinks he knows why Arum and De La Hoya — also CEO of Golden Boy Promotions — have been so adamant that the fight not go on. MORE: Five fights that defined Mayweather’s career After Thursday’s news conference featuring the fighters on the main card and undercard, Ellerbe said he feels Arum and De La Hoya oppose the match because their own high-profile boxers, Manny Pacquiao and Canelo Alvarez, respectively, didn’t get the opportunity to face the UFC lightweight champion....
FOR A FOREIGN CORRESPONDENT, SOUTH AFRICA UNDER apartheid was one of the last great stories. It had everything: violence, intransigence, English speakers and a surprise ending. Most of all, it had what we all yearn for in our confused world–moral certainty. Its color-coded cast was neatly sorted into villains and heroes, making the story easy to follow for a remote audience. But beneath the reader-friendly version, there lurked another South Africa, one complex and shaded gray, one best ignored, since it took too long to explain....
This latest sale debated in Congress specifically concentrated on C-130 military transport airplanes. Egypt already possesses a fleet of those airframes previously obtained from the U.S. However, like all military hardware, those airplanes have a shelf life and need constant refurbishment and replacement. It is therefore logical to be looking at our partners in the U.S. for that, especially given the central role the C-130 plays in our common interests....
Funny, but at such moments an image from childhood would often pop into my head–that of a sweet-tempered man flickering on our black-and-white television screen. His name was Fred Rogers–Mister Rogers, to us–and each episode of his quiet, thoughtful show, “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood,” began with a simple song that is now etched into the brains of most Americans under 50. “It’s a beautiful day in the neighborhood/It’s a beautiful day for a neighbor/Would you be mine?...
Now a tourist mecca hosting 1.6 million overnights a year, Key West provided a surreal setting for Powell’s diplomatic theater. The cruise ship Ecstasy had just docked, according to signs around town, and middle-aged tourists in Bermuda shorts packed the streets, the imitation trolleys and the T-shirt emporiums. But down at the “Little White House,” the West Indian-style residence that was Harry Truman’s favorite hideaway, the statesmen-at least those on view-were clad in suits and ties....
Sept. 12, 2001 Dear Students: On Sept. 11, 2001, many Americans lost mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers and friends in a national tragedy. Those who knew them are feeling a great loss, and you may be feeling sorrow, fear and confusion as well. The feelings and thoughts that surround this tragedy are as plentiful as they are conflicting. I want to reassure you that there are many people-including your family, your teachers, and your school counselors-who are there to listen to you....
But mess with cat freedom is exactly what our town council has done. They’ve passed an ordinance requiring all residents to keep their cats on leashes – or to keep them permanently confined to the house. Actually the ordinance doesn’t use those words, but it does require cat owners to prevent cats from straying even one foot off their owner’s property. So unless you have a cat who can be reasoned with or who is willing to accept the concept of “fence,” that’s the way things work out....
Emotional The emotions associated with a diagnosis of leukemia can’t be described in one, two, or even a dozen words. Many people experience widely fluctuating emotions, sometimes in a single day. Although some people are surprised at the variety and depth of feelings, there is no right or wrong way to feel at any one time. Ups and Downs Few people, even those who have lived with other types of cancer, fully understand the roller coaster ride of leukemia....
Relax, TED-sters (that means you, Goldie Hawn, Murray Gell-Mann, Richard Branson, Forest Whitaker, Paul Simon, the Google guys and more than 1,000 other A-listers from all sorts of weird lists). Over the course of a few days, my inner cynic was beaten to a pulp by a rush of impressive presentations and a bounty of great conversations over meals and in hallway encounters. It isn’t often you get to have a conversation with Jeff Bezos and Daryl Hannah—at the same time....
The Poland international enjoyed another prolific campaign as he helped Carlo Ancelotti’s side to preserve their domestic dominance with another title triumph. ‘Costa should ditch Bayern for Juve’ He was to finish the season with 43 goals in all competitions, with that personal best return achieved in just 47 appearances. Lewandowski was, however, to see his 30-goal tally in the Bundesliga beaten by a solitary effort from Borussia Dortmund’s Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang....
‘Donnarumma has cost AC Milan €100m’ The accolade went to Borussia Dortmund’s Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, who struck twice in a 4-3 win over Werder Bremen on the last day of the campaign to take his tally to 31. That was one more than Lewandowski, who drew a blank in a 4-1 home victory over Freiburg. The 28-year-old Poland international was not impressed after Carlo Ancelotti’s side, who had already sealed the Bundesliga title, seemingly failed to support his individual aspirations....
In bungalows packed with as many as 50 boys at a time, counselors–all teenagers themselves–made and accepted bets of up to $4 apiece on the outcome of the matches, D.J. says. Those who refused to participate, he claims, were confined to their bunks. If the campers were injured, “they [the counselors] told us to say we had fallen out of bed” or had been “hit in the face with a basketball,” D....
As he prepares to go 12 championship rounds with Emanuel Navarrete, Wilson is drawing on the help of those already familiar with the crafty Mexican. The Queenslander will face Navarrete for the vacant WBO super-featherweight title in Glendale, Arizona on February 3 (Feb. 4 in Australia). In what will be his first professional bout outside Australia, Wilson knows he’s facing his toughest challenge yet. MORE: Aussie fighters left out of pocket and angry a week before Christmas as Dubai event falls apart...
I had the privilege of leading Tunisia as prime minister for more than three years. It was a challenging but rewarding time. In my efforts to help build a sustainable democracy in Tunisia, I knew that reliable neighbors were essential. I was particularly concerned about the state of Libya, our neighbor. I knew then, and I feel even more strongly now, that a stable and prosperous Libya is important for the Libyan people and the broader region....
