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The appointment of Frenchman Laurent Courtois as CF Montreal's new head coach is reportedly close to being announced by the team.

Negotiations are going well and only the contract remains to be finalized, The Athletic reported on Thursday.

• Also read: A Frenchman at the helm of CF Montreal?

• Also read: MLS: Djordje Mihailovic's return became official shortly

The 45-year-old is a driver for Columbus Crew 2, the MLS Next Pro subsidiary of the team of the same name. Courtois won the championship in the league's inaugural season in 2022 and led the group to the final last year. He particularly included the Quebecer Mohamed Farsi in his ranks.

The Lyon native came to Columbus in 2019, first as coach of the U17 team, then the U19 team. He also held similar positions at Olympique Lyonnais and Los Angeles Galaxy II.

As a player, Courtois played in the most important championships in France, England and Spain. In 2011 he made the leap to North America and played for Chivas USA and the Galaxy until 2014.

CF Montreal has been looking for a coach since breaking off its relationship with Hernan Losada in November. The Argentine only stayed in office for one season after Wilfried Nancy left for Columbus.

Still, according to The Athletic, Charlotte FC assistant coach Pa Modou Kah would have been a finalist for the position.

There is less and less time until the start of League 1 in 2024 and the teams are constantly strengthening. One of those who surprised in the last few hours was Sports Huancayo, Club that announced the signing of four foreign footballers in less than 24 hours. As is well known, Wilmar Valencia's team will also face the Copa Sudamericana this season.

Foreign reinforcement of Sport Huancayo

Through his social networks, “Rojo Matador” announced that his new players come from Colombia, Argentina and Brazil.

• Lucas Cano: Club Atlético Güemes (Second Argentine League)
• Gutieri Tomelin: Figueirense (Brazilian Serie C)
• Otavio Good Oliveira: FC Telavi (Georgia)
• Jhonier Viveros: Jaguares de Córdoba (BetPlay League of Colombia).

Rival of Sport Huancayo in the Copa Sudamericana

Sport Huancayo faces Roberto Mosquera's Universidad César Vallejo in the first phase of the Copa Sudamericana. The decisive match will be played at the Mansiche Stadium in the first week of March.

Games of the first phase of Conmebol Sudamericana 2024. Photo: Conmebol.

When does League 1 start in 2024?

During an interview for RPP, the manager of the Professional Football League, Jesús Gonzáles, assured that the start of League 1 2024 will take place on Friday January 26th.

Which teams will play in the first division next year?

Alliance Lima, University, Sporting Crystal, United Traders, Los Chankas, Melgar, Cesar Vallejo University, Cusco FC, Sport Huancayo, Sports Garcilaso, Scientists, ADT, UTC, Carlos Mannucci, Athletic Grau, Union Trade, Athletic Alliance of Sullana and Sport Boys.

Could a coaching change be on the horizon in Los Angeles?

Shams Charania and Jovan Buha of the Athletics reported Thursday that there is a “deepening separation” between Lakers players and head coach Darvin Ham, citing six sources with direct knowledge of the situation.

According to the report, the disruption is due to Ham's “extreme rotation and starting lineup adjustments of late, which resulted in an erratic rhythm for several players across the squad.”

The report cited a specific lineup change when Ham faced the Oklahoma City Thunder on Dec. 23 with LeBron James, Taurean Prince, Cam Reddish, Jarred Vanderbilt and Anthony Davis that was viewed internally as a “head-scratcher” by multiple parties. However, Los Angeles won that game thanks to a 40-point performance from James.

While the Lakers had a flawless season record en route to winning their first NBA Cup, it was otherwise a disappointing season. Los Angeles is just 11-18 in non-IST games and 17-18 overall, ranking 10th in the Western Conference standings. And those problems existed even though James and Davis missed just five games combined.

The Lakers have lost nine of 12 games since their IST title triumph, most recently at home on Wednesday against the Miami Heat without Jimmy Butler, who lost for the third time in a row. In this game, Los Angeles used its 10th starting lineup of the season.

After the 110-96 loss to Miami, James left Crypto.com Arena without speaking to the media, while Austin Reaves described the team's mood as “s***.”

“We lose. Every time you lose, the mood should go away, you know? When I go in.” [the locker room] And the mood wasn't bad after the tough stretch we had, then I would be worried. It really is,” Reaves told reporters via ESPN. “You know, I don't expect us to be happy with our performance.” So until we figure that out, the mood should be off. We have to win games.

Ham is in his second year as head coach of the Lakers. Last season, Los Angeles rebounded from a 2-10 start to finish 43-39 and reach the conference finals.

But the Lakers currently seem to be anything but a threat to reach the conference finals again.

“It's a little bit of everything right now,” Ham said after Wednesday's loss, via ESPN. “We are not efficient. This team played harder than us tonight, performed better than us tonight and is more physical than us tonight. We were overloaded tonight so it’s a little bit of everything right now.”

“If we continue on this train, it won’t be good for us.”

More than half of the teams in the National Hockey League (NHL) valued defenseman Tobias Björnfot off waivers, a former first-round pick, but the Vegas Golden Knights took the chance.

The Kings added the Swede's name to that list on Wednesday. The 22-year-old appeared to be out of head coach Todd McLellan's good graces, having played just one game at the NHL level this season.

After making his Bettman Tour debut in 2019 at the age of 18, Björnfot has only spent one full season in Los Angeles, from 2021 to 2022. The 22nd player selected in the 2019 auction has only amassed 15 points in 117 games, including just one goal.

However, most teams, including the Montreal Canadiens, have not yet decided to sign the young man. He will have the chance to start anew with a force in the West that has nevertheless lost some feathers of late.

The Golden Knights also recalled forward Grigori Denisenko and defenseman Lukas Cormier. The latter comes from New Brunswick and has never played in the NHL.

Sergio Ramos hasn't had a good time since returning to Sevilla. After being eliminated in the group stage of the Champions League, the historic former Real Madrid defender's team is going through a difficult time in the Spanish LaLiga and is locked in last place in the table. The 37-year-old central defender spoke to the media after the 2-0 defeat against Athletic Bilbao; However, he got into an argument with a fan in the middle of the show.

“Have a little respect, we’re talking. Have a little respect for people. And in front of the sign. Respect people. We talk. Respect people and shut up now, move on,” was the footballer’s harsh response to a fan

On the other hand, looking at the game, Ramos regretted the negative result and felt that they were wrong in front of the opponent's goal.

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“With the first three points it was a very good opportunity to start the year differently and it couldn’t be like that.” In the end it's annoying, but there is no other option, even if the speech sounds monotonous. We must suffer together and be united. Their goals were two specific plays, but we didn’t do well either,” he concluded.

Sevilla's next game

Sevilla will return to action this Sunday, January 7th, in the knockout rounds of the Copa del Rey. The Andalusian team will face Racing Ferrol at the A Malata Municipal Stadium.

LaLiga Santander table

Sevilla is in 16th place in LaLiga Santander with 16 units.

Belichick and Kraft are scheduled to meet on Monday

by Zack Cox | 7 hours ago | 4 min reading

Bill Belichick's fate will likely be decided in a season-ending meeting with Patriots owner Robert Kraft.

Three days before New England's season finale against the New York Jets at Gillette Stadium, ESPN's Mike Reiss shared new details about when that matchup will take place.

“That’s my understanding of what’s going to happen,” Reiss said on ESPN’s “Get Up” on Thursday. “Team owner Robert Kraft and team president Jonathan Kraft have a meeting with Bill Belichick, currently scheduled for Monday, and they will seek answers as to why things have turned so dramatic this season.”

Reiss described Kraft's level of disappointment in the Patriots' 2023 season as “extreme” but said the owner has not yet made a final decision on Belichick's future.

“Robert Kraft was obviously very disappointed with the way this season unfolded, and people close to him tell me that this disappointment was so great that he seriously considered leaving Belichick.” said Reiss. “But these people also tell me that no decision has been made at this point and that is why this final meeting will be so important.”

This meeting, Reiss said, will be Belichick's chance to convince Kraft that he can still bring the Patriots the playoff success that has eluded them since Tom Brady's departure. The Patriots haven't won a postseason game in five years and finished under .500 in three of their four post-Brady seasons. The current 4-12 squad has the most losses of any Patriots team since 1992, two years before Kraft purchased the franchise.

Belichick also serves as New England's de facto general manager, blaming him for the team's repeated draft failures, free agency failures and regrettable coaching hires.

“I think you just have to assume that Belichick wants to be here,” Reiss said. “So, start with this. And at that point he just has to explain to them: “Okay, here's what went wrong, here's my part in it, and here's my vision for how we can fix it.”

However, do we know that Belichick even wants to return for the 2024 season rather than chasing Don Shula's winning record with a new organization?

“We don't,” Reiss continued, “and part of that's because Bill Belichick doesn't tell anyone.” He's so laser-focused. … People might look at this as saying, “You've got to be kidding me.” “We need to have an end-of-season meeting to know where things stand?”

“In Bill Belichick’s world, that’s how it works. He's so focused on every week, every game, that the responsibility gives him the space to say, “Hey, we'll talk about the big picture after the season.”

Until then, Belichick brushed aside questions about his job security this week and said he was just focused on finishing the season with a win over the Jets. The Patriots have won 15 straight times against their longtime AFC East rival, with New York's last win in that series dating back to 2015.

This game ends Belichick's 24th season as head coach of the Patriots. The question of whether he will return for the 25th time could be answered the next day.

About the author

Zack Cox

@ZackCoxNESN

Co-host of the NESN Patriots Podcast. Former Celtics and Bruins defeat reporter. UNH product. Rugby guy.

Laurent Dubreuil kissed the Canada Cup winner's medal on Thursday, but the long-track speed skater is even more excited about the idea of ​​competing in his first world championships at home, the first in Quebec in more than 30 years.

“It's a dream come true. From the moment we started building the ice center [Intact Assurance]“It became possible and for me the center is one of the top three in the world,” said Dubreuil less than a month before the event.

From February 2nd to 4th, the Olympic medalist and world champion from Quebec will finally have the opportunity to perform both in front of his fans and alongside the elite of his sport.

Quebec had not hosted a long track speed skating World Cup since 1992.

And it's time for preparations at the Ice Center. Because even though the place is brand new – it officially opened two years ago – and, in the eyes of skaters like Dubreuil, state-of-the-art, it still needs an extra polish to be the best in the world.

Big crowds expected

The ice is beautiful, but it has to be even more beautiful. “It doesn’t have to be the fastest, but the skaters have to feel comfortable,” explains the champion.

Isabelle Gélinas, special events director for the Quebec Speed ​​​​Skating Federation, praises the “clarity” of the location. “People love the place,” she says.

There should be quite a few people there to cheer on the skaters all weekend long.

The organization hopes to attract between 2,000 and 3,000 spectators. “There are not many seats available, but we will add stands in the middle of the ring,” explains Ms. Gélinas.

“The big goal”

Volunteers also responded, and in large numbers. In fact, the organization has already hired more than 250 employees, which means it is fully booked in this regard.

“We even have a waiting list. We are delighted!” says manager Renée Thibault.

However, the person most enchanted by the organization of this event is Laurent Dubreuil. But the 1,000-meter silver medalist in Beijing two years ago isn't adding pressure to the idea of ​​running in front of a crowd dedicated to his cause.

“At the point where I am in my career, it doesn’t matter if I don’t win a medal in Quebec,” he assures, adding: “But that remains the big goal!”

–In collaboration with Jessica Lapinski

Barranquilla has stopped hosting the 2027 Pan American Games! After a series of mismanagement measures by the government Panama Sports recently announced that the 20th edition of this sporting event will not take place Colombia. This plunges the country into uncertainty and raises the question of who is responsible for this situation. For this reason, we invite you to join us in discovering those primarily responsible for this sad situation.

What happened to the 2027 Pan American Games?

Panam Sports, the organization responsible for the organization Pan American Gamesreported that its executive committee had decided to withdraw from the city Barranquilla, Colombiathe seat of the twentieth edition.

In an official statement, the company explained the reasons that led it to this decision: “On October 19, at a meeting in Santiago de Chile and after receiving an official letter from the Colombian authorities dated October 25, Barranquilla requested an extension of time to be able to honor the contract. The proposal was accepted by Panam Sports, with new dates: December 30, 2023 and January 30, 2024“, says the official statement

“However, Given the zero response once the new deadline has passed“The Executive Committee of Panam Sports took the unwavering decision on January 3, 2024 to withdraw the right to be the host city of the continental event in 2027,” he concluded.

Pan American Games 2027: Who would be to blame for the loss of the venue?

After the organizer's statement, the answer follows Ministry of Sportsone of those responsible for the situation, told public opinion and pointed out that the initial information was incorrect.

Full statement from the Colombian Ministry of Sports on the discontinuation of Barranquilla as a host city for the 2027 Pan American Games. Photo: Image taken by the Colombian government

This clarification states that in the conversation between Neven Ilic, President of Panam Sports, and Astrid Bibiana Rodríguez, Minister of Sports, an agreement was reached for the full payment of eight million dollars in January 2024. This refutes the first known information about the payout in two parts of $4 million, which was stated in the statement by the organizers of the Pan American Games.

On the other hand, Jaime Pumarejo, former mayor of BarranquillaHe is also responsible for the unfortunate incident, as he was the one who requested the extension despite being warned for non-compliance with the contractual clauses.

In addition, the current mayor of Barranquilla, Alejandro Charexplained that President Gustavo Petro had approved the payment of $4 million, corresponding to the first installment, before the end of 2023.

In his words: “$4 million was supposed to have been transferred to the state treasury on December 30, but this did not happena process that is of course strange, but that did not happen when I already had the President's order.”

What are the Pan American Games?

Come on Pan American Games It is a sporting event that brings together athletes from America in competitions in various disciplines, similar to the Olympic Games, but with a focus on our continent.

Which countries are participating in the Pan American Games?

Various countries in America take part in the Pan American Games. The list may vary, but generally includes countries in North America, Central America, South America and the Caribbean: