The Belgium international is the Premier League’s top scorer with 16 this season, including a superb four-goal haul in the 6-3 home win over Bournemouth last time out. WATCH: Memphis nets first goal for Lyon Koeman said he was unsure whether agent Mino Raiola’s reported claim that Lukaku will sign a new deal was accurate, but welcomed the development. Lukaku has been linked with a return to former club Chelsea, but Koeman hopes Everton can prove they are on the rise in order to keep their star striker....

RUMOURS: Everton to swap Barkley Barkley, 23, has long been touted as England’s next Steven Gerrard or Frank Lampard, having come through Everton’s youth academy, and has been linked with a move to Tottenham. However, Koeman is desperate to see more from Barkley, who was lucky not to be sent off for a rash challenge on Jordan Henderson in his side’s Merseyside derby loss on Monday. “First of all I don’t like to say because every word I say about Ross is used by the media in a negative or positive way,” the Dutchman told UK newspapers....

The Gunners have lifted the FA Cup on two occasions in recent years, but their Premier League title drought has now reached the 13-year mark. Giroud: We all hope Wenger signs Another attempt at ending that barren run is being pieced together at present, with Arsenal currently sat eight points adrift of leaders Chelsea in fourth. Every effort will be made to close that gap over the coming months, but Koscielny has called for less emphasis to be placed on a title drought at the Emirates Stadium and more credit to be given to Wenger for keeping the club in contention while building for the future....

The eldest Kardashian sister has always promoted a healthy lifestyle and is famous for her brand Poosh, but now the reality TV star is branching out into a new business venture—nutritional supplements. The mom-of-three, 43, has launched a new business called Lemme which she described on Instagram as the “cleanest gummy vitamins and supplements.” However, during an interview promoting the business with the WSJ, Kardashian shared a rather harsh parenting revelation about her son’s diet....

Bach had recently joined others in criticizing Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva’s entourage after the 15-year-old, at the center of a doping scandal, performed poorly this week, the Associated Press reported. Reacting to Bach, the Kremlin’s Dmitry Peskov, said, “Everyone knows that in elite sports the coach’s toughness is key to the students’ victories.” Valieva headed into the free skate event amidst controversy over testing positive for the banned substance trimetazidine....

Steve Mills told a crowd at a J.P Morgan speaker event on Wednesday that the former star center for the Knicks threatened the team before they traded him. He threatened to go back and play in Europe rather than re-signing in New York. “When he walked into our office, my office, and (general manager) Scott (Perry) was sitting there with me and point blank said, ‘Guys, I don’t want to be here, I’m not going to re-sign with the Knicks and I’m going to give you seven days to trade me or I’m going back to Europe,’” Mills recounted....

Kuhn is a unique role player, however, and there more than a few fantasy owners out there who might have used him in a fit of bye-week desperation. Hey, Kuhn has scored a TD once every 11.8 touches for his career, and it's fun to belt out "Kuuhhhnnnn!" when he plunges into the end zone.MORE OFFSEASON ANALYSIS: Redskins land Jackson | Ball ready to roll | Join Fantasy Source Kuhn also is a player owners have to pay attention to....

“We don’t want to show to be political, but it is undeniable that its very existence is seen as a political act,” Nanjiani said. “We really wanted to make a show that was entertaining, moving, funny—all the things that we like and stuff we watched. We didn’t want it to feel like a medicine show, you know?” The first season tells eight different stories about the immigrant experience in the United States....

When Trump announced U.S. troops would be withdrawn from Syria’s north east last week, seemingly giving the green light for a Turkish invasion, he was accused of betraying the Kurds—a longtime American ally in staving off ISIS in the region—and a number of experts and analysts warning that the move would give the minority group no choice but to negotiate with Russia and Assad. Now with Turkey’s Operation Peace Spring intensifying and its incursion going far deeper into Syrian territory than anticipated, the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) have done exactly that, stating it had no other choice when faced with possible extermination and after America turned its back....

It now is up to Busch and NASCAR to write the next act of this soap opera. If, or more likely when, stockcar racing’s overlords decide the time is right, Busch will be reinstated. For now we know: — Busch will not face criminal charges in an domestic violence incident in which he made inappropriate physical contact with former girlfriend Patricia Driscoll. — Busch has agreed to NASCAR’s reinstatement terms....

Busch, with the spotlight on him after allegations of domestic assault became public Friday, drove his way to a seventh-place finish Sunday in the Quicken Loans 500 at Phoenix International Raceway. MORE: Kurt facing another crossroads | Haas won’t remove him from car | Custody battle delayed allegations Few should have been surprised. Busch is a great talent — he won the 2004 Cup title — and he seems rejuvenated with a new crew chief the last two weeks in veteran Tony Gibson....

Busch was cited for speeding Tuesday by the North Carolina State Highway Patrol, and according to a copy of the citation posted by WSOC in Charlotte, Busch was going 60 mph in a 45-mph zone. According to the citation, Busch thought it was a 55-mph zone and had a “disrespectful attitude” during the stop at 7:45 p.m. on N.C. Highway 73 in Denver, N.C. MORE: Keselowski causes wrecks at Talladega | Johnson wreck | Earnhardt mistake | Winners & Losers...

MORE: See all the changes to the schedule Busch will have to get used to a number of notable changes, including a road course at Charlotte for the first cutoff race in the Playoffs, Indianapolis Motor Speedway as the venue for the final race before the Playoffs and Las Vegas Motor Speedway for the first event in the 10-race postseason. Gone from the Playoffs are Chicagoland and New Hampshire, to be replaced by Las Vegas and Richmond....

There was no caution, though, until the car slowly moved down toward the apron and spun into the inside wall, bringing out a yellow that pushed some drivers off the lead lap at Texas Motor Speedway. MORE: Harvick wins AAA Texas 500 from the pole One of the drivers who was affected was Kyle Larson, who had pitted under green five laps before Wallace’s spin. Larson immediately sounded off about the sequence on his radio....

Trouble was one thing Larson couldn’t afford. Anything but a strong run at Dover would put him in danger of being eliminated from the Chase for the Sprint Cup. MORE: Harvick’s problem | Chase scenarios | These guys need a break Larson’s car had an electrical failure on Lap 36 and needed to be pushed into his pit. Crewmen replaced ignition parts and his car’s battery. And in the process, Larson went a lap down on the leaders....

Some would say Pitts, at 6-6, 246 pounds, is a luxury pick for a team that doesn’t have glaring needs at more critical positions that get targeted in top 10, led by quarterback, offensive tackle, wide receiver and edge rusher. Some would say his dominant playmaking is an absolute necessity for a pro offense to jump to the next level of versatile explosiveness in the passing game. Pitts is coming off a massive final season with the Florida Gators....

Rittenhouse, best known for being acquitted of charges in the deadly shooting of two people at a 2020 protest against police brutality and racism in Kenosha, Wisconsin, had been set to be a featured speaker at a right-wing “Rally Against Censorship” event in Conroe, Texas, this month. However, Southern Star Brewing Company on Friday abruptly pulled out of hosting the event, explaining that it was an “apolitical organization” that doesn’t “do rallies....

Kenosha County Judge Bruce Schroeder made the decision after Rittenhouse requested it be returned to him so he could destroy it himself. The Wisconsin State Crime Lab destroyed the rifle on February 25, WISN-TV reported Friday. The rifle was a reminder of the controversial murder trial Rittenhouse faced late last year after the now 19-year-old used the AR-15 to fatally shoot Anthony Huber and Joseph Rosenbaum and to wound Gaige Grosskreutz at a “Black Lives Matter” protest in 2020....

The 12-person jury in the highly divisive case must now decide on whether they share with the defense’s view that Rittenhouse only killed Joseph Rosenbaum and Anthony Huber in self-defense while being attacked by an angry mob. The prosecution’s argument is that the defendant was a “chaos tourist” who traveled to the Wisconsin city to instigate violence and had no legal right to kill his unarmed victims. The question of whether Rittenhouse was acting in self-defense that night in Kenosha is the main focal point of the trial, with Rittenhouse facing life in jail if he is found guilty of the most serious charges against him of first-degree reckless homicide and first-degree intentional homicide....

The Wednesday filing from Mark Richards requests the return of the Smith & Wesson M&P 15 semiautomatic rifle and other items police have possessed since Rittenhouse turned himself in after the shootings to police in Antioch, Illinois, where he lived at the time, according to the Kenosha News. If Rittenhouse had been found guilty of a felony in lieu of being acquitted on all charges in November, the state would have been responsible for disposing of the weapon, the newspaper reported....