After a successful debut on Football Night in America, Steve Kornacki will return to the NFL playoff Big Board for the remainder of the season for NBC. He won’t be needed for over at the political desk for any recounts or vote tallies. Instead, we’ll get to see the man in khakis tell us how the New England Patriots, Arizona Cardinals, and other bubble teams can make the playoffs for four more weeks. He won’t be tallying suburban exit numbers in Atlanta or discussing the importance of Maricopa County. No. He’ll be on TV tonight to talk about another 2020 logjam… the NFL playoff picture. Yes, it’s that time of year again. Late enough in the season to start talking about the playoffs, but early enough for virtually every team to have a path to the postseason. Is there a way for the 0-12 Jets to get in? [Checks notes] No. 0 percent chance. The 1-11 Jaguars can’t get in either. But every other NFL team has a shot. So NBC tapped Kornacki to help viewers wade through these playoff waters. “I’ve been a fan of the game since I was kid and SNF has been must-see TV for me since it started back in ‘06,” said Kornacki. “Truly a thrill to get this chance, especially as the season reaches its most exciting point. I spent the last year using the Big Board to map out all of the various roads to 270 and I can’t wait to put it to use breaking down all of the paths to the playoffs.” What’s the path look like for the Dallas Cowboys, Vegas Raiders, Chicago Bears and other NFL frauds? We’ll find out with help from the man in the coveted GAP khakis. Kornacki grew up a football fan, but also a sports fan in general. In a 2011 essay for in which Kornacki came out as gay, he wrote about his love of sports and how it, at times, conflicted with his identity. He opens with a scene from his sophomore year in High School. He was at a basketball game, wondering why he wasn’t looking at cheerleaders the same way as the guys around him. “I was the All-American kid, or so I told myself,” he wrote. “I just didn’t fit the stereotypes of gay men. I was an ESPN addict as far back as elementary school.” He also describes an early memory driving around Provincetown. “I remember seeing drag queens and men dressed in skimpy attire and thinking to myself: Get me out of here so I can watch a baseball game.” Tony Dungy, a Hall of Fame coach and NBC contributor who has made homophobic comments before, will also be a part of the regular NBC broadcast crew. But as long as there’s a touch screen around, Kornacki can make the complex feel digestible. The longtime sports fan will get his shot to engage and entertain football junkies on NBC’s Football Night in America.
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Pep Guardiola indicated Manchester City are already focusing on next season after accepting there is no longer a title race in the Premier League.
Guardiola claimed his 100th league win as City boss on Sunday, as goals from Sergio Aguero and Kevin De Bruyne secured a 2-0 triumph over resilient Sheffield United.
The win took City back to within a point of Leicester City, though they are still 14 behind runaway leaders Liverpool, who overcame Wolves 1-0 at Anfield.
With the gap so large, Guardiola has accepted City are no longer realistic contenders for the title, which they have won for the last two seasons, and instead said the main focus is on ensuring they improve ahead of the 2020-21 season while targeting success in the cup competitions.
No. It s unr…
Best Odds: 13/8
Bookmaker:
Looking to make a return to winning ways on Saturday night, Aston Villa will host a struggling Newcastle from behind closed doors in this weekend s only Premier League showdown.
Aston Villa
Starting with the hosts, while Aston Villa might have put in a spirited display when they returned from an extended break earlier in the week, it was a controversial night at the Etihad on Wednesday. Eventually falling to a 2-0 defeat against a resurging Manchester City, Dean Smith s side will be desperate to refind some stability as they look to play catchup. Still holding at least a pair of games in hand over the teams above them in the table, there is no doubt that the former Brentford boss should be smelling a real chance on Saturday night. How…
Chelsea chief executive Peter Kenyon has warned that any summer signings will have to be financed by the sale of players if the club is to break free of the financial muscle provided by owner Roman Abramovich.
On Friday the Premier League giants, who have suffered managerial upheaval in the past two years, announced losses of 65.7 million pounds (95.7 million US) for the year to June 2008.
In a statement released Friday on the club s website Chelsea confirmed it had achieved record group turnover and reduced losses for a third successive season .
That was offset by the fact 23.1 million (33.6 million US) had been paid in compensation to former first team managers Jose Mourinho and Avram Grant and five coaching staff.
The figure does not account for compe…
George Burley will lose his job as manager of Scotland before the end of this week, local media predicted on Monday after it emerged that his bosses are to discuss his future in the wake of a 3-0 friendly defeat by Wales.
The Scottish Football Association (SFA) decided against dismissing Burley last month following a review of the national squad s failure to reach the World Cup qualifying play-offs.
But the manager s future will be discussed again this week at an emergency meeting of the SFA s top four officials: chief executive Gordon Smith, president George Peat and vice-presidents Campbell Ogilvie and Alan McRae.
The SFA chiefs had not been due to meet again until December but the talks have been brought forward after Scotland s Tartan Army of travelling fans…
Italy coach Antonio Conte urged his players not to take their opposition for granted ahead of the visit of Bulgaria in UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying.
Conte s charges scraped a narrow 1-0 victory over Malta to end a run of three consecutive draws in Group H, and they sit one point clear of second-placed Croatia in the automatic spots.
Bulgaria’s hopes of qualifying are remote they are five points behind Norway in third, the play-off spot but Conte warned against complacency after bottom side Malta proved a stern test for his side.
The table says that we are now on top and that our group is very balanced,” said Conte, after the win over Malta.
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After struggling for game time at Paris Saint-Germain, Clement Chantome has signed for Ligue 1 rivals Bordeaux.
Bordeaux have swooped to sign midfielder Clement Chantome from Ligue 1 champions Paris Saint-Germain.
Chantome has risen through the youth ranks at PSG and his departure brings an end to his 15-year association with the captial club.
The 27-year-old has won every major domestic honour with the Parisian giants and made 28 appearances in their 2012-13 title-winning campaign.
Chantome has slipped down the pecking order under Laurent Blanc and spent last season on loan at Toulouse.
Bordeaux, who sit seventh in Ligue 1, have now given Chantome the possibility of playing regular first-team football.
A statement from PSG read: The…
Argentina attacker Angel Di Maria revealed he was close to announcing his international retirement after the Copa America Centenario final loss.
Lionel Messi quit internationals, a decision he has since reversed, in the wake of the penalty shoot-out loss to Chile in June.
Reports suggested numerous players, including Di Maria, were considering doing likewise.
The Paris Saint-Germain star said he was close to international retirement after a third straight final defeat, following on from the 2014 World Cup and 2015 Copa America.
When Messi retired, I thought about doing the same, Di Maria told TyC Sports.
You can lose a final, but three in a row, that s something different. I thought about leaving the national team, but my wife and my father stop…
Chelsea striker Diego Costa has hailed Eden Hazard s ability to win a match by himself .
Hazard is enjoying an excellent season after an underwhelming 2015-16 campaign scoring nine goals in 17 Premier League games.
And Costa has been extremely impressed with his team-mate s fine performances.
Eden is just incredible, he told Chelsea s official website.
He is the sort of player who is able to win a match by himself. He is extraordinary.
There are very few people like him. He is very confident in what he does and he is transmitting that confidence to us.
Costa himself has been equally impressive, but he is adamant he is not in the form of his life just yet.
I have been better than I am now, he added.
And that gives me…
Luciano Spalletti apologised to Napoli supporters for missing the chance to seal the Scudetto in front of their home fans on Sunday.
The Partenopei seemed on course to secure their first league title in 33 years after Mathias Olivera headed Napoli into the lead in the second half against Salernitana at Stadio Diego Armando Maradona.
Lazio s 3-1 defeat earlier in the day at Inter meant a win would have been enough for Napoli, yet just as celebrations were starting in and around the stadium, Boulaye Dia snatched a 1-1 draw for Salernitana with a stunning 84th-minute equaliser.
Napoli could still clinch the title as soon as Wednesday if Lazio fail to beat Sassuolo, but Spalletti acknowledged his side had let their supporters down with the late concession.
Th…
FIFA will have to act
I have always struggled to understand crowd violence at football matches and I have never managed to get into the warped mind of those who think it is an enjoyable and acceptable part of the game and of life.
Idiots
I struggle even more to understand the absolute idiots in the crowd at the Ukraine against England World Cup qualifier on Saturday who threw a barrage of lit flares onto the pitch into the England penalty area.
Ukraine needed to win the game to have a chance of making the play-offs for the World Cup finals. It was a crucial game for them. Ukraine are also pencilled in to be the joint hosts of Euro 2012 although UEFA are looking into the suitability of the country to do so.
Mindless
It is against this backgr…