The NBA is at a decisive moment. On the floor, for now, there is peace, the season has just begun and there will be no debates until spring. But in the offices the league is risking its future. Next year the television contract that allows ESPN and TNT to broadcast the games throughout the United States ends and there is a lot of money on the table. Very much. If for a decade both chains have been paying 2.5 billion euros per course, the new agreement could raise that figure to 8 billion, but it could also remain in half..

In the negotiations, already underway, there are many factors at play, such as the drop in cable subscribers in the US, the rise of streaming platforms – Netflix and Disney want to bid for the rights – or the bankruptcy of the Diamond Sports Group , the network that broadcasts the NBA at the regional level, but there is one thing that directly affects the competition: current stars rest too much.

Since the San Antonio Spurs of Duncan, Parker and Ginobili made it fashionable almost 20 years ago, the so-called load management, the management of the minutes on the court of the best, has been spreading to all franchises and today it is almost impossible for anyone to play all 82 games in the regular league. In fact, last year only 10 players did so.. Even if they are not injured, the majority of referees miss several matches each year – especially away from home – to stay at a figure between 50 and 70 played.. In recent years, Luka Doncic has always played around 65 games and LeBron James has played 55..

In just three games this season, idols like Devin Booker, Bradley Beal and Jimmy Butler have already been seen on their benches, dressed in street clothes, with no problems other than those indicated by the calculation program with which their coaches manage their fatigue.. Butler, in fact, was booed Sunday night by the Minnesota crowd and responded by blowing kisses to the stands.

The new fines

“Load management is part of the issue, yes,” Joe Dumars, executive vice president of the NBA, acknowledged a few days ago, in reference to the negotiation of the new broadcast rights contract.. Because every time a star misses a game the audience plummets and the televisions are already scalded.. Last month, to stop this practice, the American league announced new sanctions against the teams, but at the moment they do not work.

The $100,000 for the first offense, $250,000 for the second, and the $1 million penalty for each additional absence are little for franchises, and there are subterfuges.. Veterans are allowed to rest more and most teams turn to their medical team. The NBA, logically, can only punish the fouls of players who are not injured and the reports with “annoyances” as an excuse for rest have multiplied.. There is a lot of money on the table, but the season is sooo long.

Aurelien Tchouaméni has been able to say goodbye to the year 2023. The Frenchman, who played all 90 minutes of the classic against Barcelona, has suffered an incomplete stress fracture in the second metatarsal of his left foot.. The tests carried out by Madrid's medical services have confirmed an injury that will keep him off the playing fields for around two months..

He will surely miss seven games, Rayo, Braga, Valencia, Cádiz, Naples, Granada and Betis, and we will see if he can shorten the deadlines to reach the last three games of December: Unión Berlin, Villarreal and Alavés.

Tchouaméni was until now the fourth most used field player by Carlo Ancelotti, only surpassed by Rüdiger, Bellingham and Fede Valverde. He accumulates 1,019 minutes, improving last season's data, in which an injury made him the 12th most used by the Italian coach.. He suffered a couple of muscle injuries that separated him from the eleven at specific times and he did not achieve continuity, something that he had achieved in these first months of the course.

This Sunday, Olympique de Marseille fans attacked the bus where the Olympique de Lyon players were traveling, the team they were going to face at the Velodrome stadium.. Lyon's coach, Fabio Grosso, was injured when the vehicle's windows exploded, and was treated in the stadium's infirmary.

The match was scheduled to take place at 8:45 p.m., but the prefecture has decided to suspend it and the stadium, where there are around 60,000 people, is being evacuated, according to L'Equipe.. According to the match referee, the Olympique de Lyon players did not want to play after the incident.

The Minister of Sports, Amélie Oudéa-Castera, has condemned this attack on X (formerly Twitter) and applauds the decision to suspend the match. “It's disgusting. “These acts of hatred and stupidity, which have nothing to do with the values of sport, must be eradicated with determination,” he said..

“I give all my support to Olympique Lyon, to its coach, and to the fans who were excited to follow this match,” said the minister, who confirmed that there are seven people detained.

In the images published by the French press, the Italian coach is seen with wounds on his face and a bandage on his head, leaving the stadium infirmary.. He has been taken to the hospital. The second coach has also been injured.

In addition to stoning the team bus, three vehicles carrying Lyon fans were also attacked and there were some minor injuries, according to the aforementioned newspaper.

Both teams played this Sunday the tenth matchday of the French league. Paris, which will celebrate the Olympic Games next summer and has just hosted the Rugby World Cup, tries to project a good image, of respect and safety, in its sporting events..

A month ago, however, there was already controversy after racist chants were heard in the Parc des Princes, Paris Saint Germain's stadium, during their match against Olympique de Marseille.

They won the quarterfinals by one point, the semifinals by another and again by a single point they won the decisive match this Saturday. South Africa has beaten New Zealand (11-12) and retains its title as rugby world champion. He achieves this with a team that has grown in each tie, that has been imposing itself in an agonizing but unstoppable way against France, England and, finally, the All Blacks.

The two best teams in the southern hemisphere came out this Saturday willing to avoid risks. His priority, to get the ball as soon as possible, with his foot, to the opposite field. From the exchange of kicks to the exchange of setbacks. New Zealand was left behind for ten minutes due to the expulsion of Frizell and South Africa lost its heeler MBonambi due to injury.

It didn't take long for flyhalf Pollard to leave his mark. He scored the first shot with sticks (0-3, min. 2) to give peace of mind to your colleagues. The very high defense of the Springboks left the All Blacks without the ball or spaces, their attack made them retreat, their dominance translated into points (Pollard 0-6, min. 12).

New Zealand had been the most dangerous team in the rival 22 in the previous matches. In his first foray this Saturday he came close to trying but settled for Mounga's close shot (3-6, min. 17). It took Pollard a minute to respond with his telescopic leg (3-9, min. 18).

Pollard catches a ball against Telea Franck Fife AFP

New Zealand also appeared almost infallible in their throw-in and yet they have not been up to expectations at the start. He was also penalized for his indiscipline. Their captain, Cane, was gone for ten minutes for hitting an opponent's face with his head during a tackle.. And the referee bunker made the exclusion final after reviewing the play. The All Blacks were left with fourteen for the rest of the final.

Although they recovered precisely by stealing throw-ins, the worst symptom for them was the lack of good balls. They played drowned. South Africa controlled the rucks, the pace and the scoreboard. I was looking, by hand or foot, for the back of the black rear. Another exchange of kicks between Pollard and Mounga left the score at half-time at 6-12. In essence, a fact. No team, in the previous nine finals, had come back from the locker room.

Despite the differences in style, the All Blacks and Springboks agree on the solidity of their defense. A firmness that they maintained in the first half and that was on the verge of breaking when South Africa came close to scoring in the restart.

The Springboks played the game they had planned. A lot of pressure in the contacts, high kicks from Pollard to make his predators come to the hunt and the threat of his wings. When the final was going to the All Blacks, with a yellow card to the South African Kolisi they glimpsed an opportunity.

Fourteen against fourteen the oceanicians looked strong. With the imposing Savea ahead, they began to break the lead line, determinedly seeking the try. Twice they stayed one meter away. In another, finally with rhythm, the connection between the midfielders Smith and Mounga ended in a mark canceled due to a forward ball. Suffering, as usual, South Africa resisted. The combat on their line of marking was fierce, with each contact a pyramid of twisted bodies grew.

Beauden Barrett poses for New Zealand Anne's essay – Christine Poujoulat AFP

Percussion by percussion, even playing against fifteen, New Zealand found the light. Beauden Barrett doubled down the sideline against an overwhelming Telea, picked up his pass and placed it. Mounga could not transform (11-12, min. 59). The encounters two inches above the ground were brutal. New Zealand, focused on its offensives; South Africa, intent on picking up every lost ball.

The green and gold team is used to playing two games in one. The second begins when his forwards from the bench appear on the grass. Neither with them, nor with numerical superiority, has South Africa managed to stop this match. Contested in a hurry, the final suddenly favored an already unleashed New Zealand. With initiative and speed he led to Kolbe's expulsion and a distant and cornered penalty shot in which Jordie Barret came close to the comeback.

The All Blacks, in keeping with their legend, tried to play every ball, desperately advancing against the defense and against the clock.. In the last minute, a scrum decided the World Cup. South Africa introduced it, they barely maintained it, with it they closed the conquest of a fourth title that New Zealand has also deserved.

Since they lost against Ireland in the first phase, these very seasoned Springboks have been an example of conviction. They have suffered many minutes of adverse scores, they have squeezed their rivals with comebacks in extremis. This Saturday, their collective play and the 12 points from Pollard have put them ahead from the beginning. With strength and experience they have endured. South Africa has competed in eight World Cups, winning four. He has never lost the final. If his style can be discussed as a matter of taste, there is no room to dispute his winning legacy.

When no one expected it, Ferrari appeared at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez for Charles Leclerc to sign his fourth pole of 2023, with Carlos Sainz second, just 67 thousandths behind.. In his initial attempt at Q3, the Monegasque stopped the clock at 1:17.166, already unapproachable for his opponents, including Max Verstappen, who does not seem to be bothered too much by these tickles.. Given the precedents of Leclerc, as fast on Saturdays as he is irregular in the race, Mad Max limits itself to following the news of each weekend, observing everything dispassionately..

Fernando Alonso, for his part, was swallowed up again by the melancholy of someone who cannot combine two decent weekends. Eliminated in Q2, with no real option to get among the 10 chosen, the two-time champion made Aston Martin's gloomy omens come true. And he still had to see some of his rivals rubbing shoulders with the favorites. Too tough for the Spaniard, whose first Q2 attempt, on used tyres, was hampered between turns 4, 5 and 6 by Alexander Albon.

Before, in the decisive part of Q1, he had attacked the curb of Turn 3 so vehemently that the matter ended in a spin, the second of his weekend.. The yellow flags, curiously, were an extra help for Alonso, tenth in the table and besieged by opponents, some renowned, like Lando Norris, and others more modest, like the Haas.. In the net of that first sieve, Lance Stroll would be trapped again, whose painful record against Alonso on Saturdays increases to 2-17.

“I didn't expect it at all”

The double winner of the 24 Hours of Le Mans will still have to wait a few more hours to find out the final decision of the FIA, which has launched an investigation for obstructing a rival in the pit lane.. Verstappen, top favorite for victory from third place on the grid, and George Russell are also in the same position.. Red Bull knows very well its options in the long runs, Ferrari's weak point: “I didn't expect it at all, but we have gained a lot with the tires,” said Leclerc, who has only been able to translate five of his 22 pole positions into victories.. Behind the '16' car, the first six were compressed into a narrow margin of 28 hundredths.

The Scuderia had gone unnoticed during the last free session of the morning, when the intense traffic cut short its chances of going for the fastest lap.. Sainz's attempts, always focused and professional, did not work in Q3 either.

One of the entertainers of the weekend, without a doubt, is Daniel Ricciardo. The Australian had been giving his body joy since Q1, confirming the tremendous evolution of the AlphaTauri. At more than 2,200 meters above sea level, the relevance of aerodynamics was reduced to its minimum, so the performance of the tires or the gross power of the engine would make the difference.. Under these parameters the presence of Guanyu Zhou, Valtteri Bottas and Albon in the top-10 must be interpreted.

Far from Alfa Romeo and Ricciardo

At the critical point on Saturday, Alonso understood, and suffered firsthand, the poor performance of his car one lap away, too far from Alfa Romeo and Ricciardo.. Without the option of repeating any of his miracles, the Oviedo fell to thirteenth place, behind Pierre Gasly's Alpine and Nico Hulkenberg's Haas. Names considered unimportant, until not so long ago, at the Silverstone factory.

In any case, we will have to wait several hours to know the official starting order, since throughout the early morning the marshals will collect the testimonies of Logan Sargeant and Yuki Tsunoda, calling for their overtaking with yellow flags.

Football talents are like great tenors. They sing with an orchestra or sing a cappella. In this way, the classic Bellingham won, capable of changing the setting of Montjuïc and the calamities of Madrid, which was not very intense and poorly designed in its presentation.. Like a two in the chest that comes out of nowhere, their first blow came to tie against a better Barça thanks to the spirit of footballers who bite the future in bites, Gavi and Fermín. Like an apparition in the place of the chosen ones, the Englishman once again haggled with logic in the outcome. The first classic of this 20-year-old prodigy was like a small chronicle of his brief and already great history in Madrid, in just a dozen games. You can't say so much in such a short time.. You can't score so much in so few games.. It is impossible to know how far he will go, but the faces of his rivals, from Xavi to Ter Stegen, respond in two ways: disbelief and fear.. [Narrative and statistics (1-2)]

This appearance that the classic confirms, with very few precedents, speaks of Madrid's success with his signing to the same extent that it indicates an early and dangerous dependency, and which was evident in his erratic play, at least during the first hour, in the who did not know how to respond to Barcelona. You have to ask Ancelotti about that, who left Camavinga on the bench and, once the Frenchman entered the field, he showed more energy than a good part of his teammates.

It was probably necessary to combat the initial intensity of the young Barça players.. The Rolling Stones' language doesn't really identify them. Gavi and Fermín is not 'rock', it is 'heavy metal'. Irreverent and metallic, they played football and percussion where Madrid believed they were superior, although the Barça goal came to the beat of a ballad danced in the area by Gündogan amidst the madridistas' stumbles.. The Austrian Alaba is not even up to a waltz.

But Madrid's worst mistake was not the one made in their area right after the start.. The most serious error was its lack of definition. It was not a Madrid to run, something that neither Valverde nor Rodrygo did, nor was it a Madrid to have possession, because it lacked the intensity in the disputes to then highlight Kroos and Bellingham. On the contrary, physical disputes revealed time and again the German's Achilles heel, for which running backwards is an ordeal.. The young Fermín squeezed him without the respect that must be had for the hierarchy. On a soccer field, seats are not left for the elderly.

The doubts accumulated in the white navel without Tchouaméni being able to order a stop and put criteria into the release of the ball.. Madrid was only able to stretch on the wings through Carvajal, the only one who decided to play the classic from the beginning, and Vinicius, faced in every action with his duality: dribbling and anger. It is the 'yin and yang' of this talent. The Brazilian knows it, Ancelotti knows it, who took him off the field by the hand when he was substituted, and his rivals know it.. Xavi's caresses on the sideline were superfluous.

ARAUJO BEFORE VINICIUS

The Barça coach repeated the maneuver, taking Araujo to the right to stop Vinicius. Nobody has done it better. He repeated. This meant overtaking Cancelo, although in reality Barça started with three centre-backs, with the inclusion of a good Íñigo Martínez as a starter on the left, and Cancelo and Balde one step ahead. In this way he counterbalanced the gaps that the Portuguese has in defense. Despite Koundé's absence, he had no problems in the first hour of play, with a single shot from Carvajal and a soft shot from Kroos. The outcome would be something else.

Quite the opposite of what was happening in Kepa's area, with shots from Fermín, one of them hitting the post, and the dangerous arrivals, vertically or diagonally, from Joao Félix. He is a different footballer than the Atlético player, as if he had loosened his chains, although some were probably in his head. Barça is their last train in the high speed of football. If you don't take it, the stops remain.

Íñigo Martínez found the wood again in a shot from Fermín's center and the rebound showed Kepa's reflexes. Under sticks is a cat. It doesn't fly the same way on departures.. The action took place as soon as the second half began, in which Madrid started with another intention and intensity. They must have heard something in the locker room.. He returned to the field, however, without changes, but Mendy's injury made Ancelotti turn to Camavinga.

TO THE EXCHANGE OF BLOWS

The more intensity, the more ball, the more ball, the more Modric, also on the pitch. The first effect was the recovery of the inside game, where Valverde and Bellingham move.. English does not need to be lubricated. Geniuses go from zero to 100, because quality is an instant. He received from the inside, looked and reduced Ter Stegen to his human condition from a distance. The German's vision may have been hindered when the ball came out, but the power was brutal, seasoned, furthermore, with a perverse effect.

Xavi needed something more to counteract Madrid's entry into the classic. Another game began, without the atmosphere of the Camp Nou and not poisoned by the decisions of a pragmatic and intelligent Gil Manzano, who avoided anything in the areas that was not very clear..

The coach had not wanted to risk with those returning from injuries, key players like De Jong, Raphinha or Lewandowski. He called the last two, in addition to Lamine Yamal. In a possible exchange of blows, he needed hitters, but, today, no one hits like Bellingham, a guy who knows nothing about our miseries, nor about Negreira nor about “sociological Madridism”, and who is willing to play like a great tenor, with orchestra or a cappella. Welcome.