Petra Kvitova admitted she was worried about the air quality in Melbourne ahead of the Australian Open, particularly as an asthma sufferer. The year’s first major has been impacted by poor air quality in Victoria’s capital after bushfires ravaged Australia in recent months. Organizers have faced criticism during the qualifying rounds, although air quality has been rated as “good” in Melbourne since Thursday. MORE: O’Shannessy says data, AI future of tennis “I’ve been a bit worried about it. Now I’m very happy that, as I mentioned, the sky, it’s there again clearly,” last year’s runner-up told a news conference Saturday in Australia (Friday in the U.S.). “Of course everybody knows that…

One more round of the 2020 NFL playoffs before Super Bowl 54, one more chance to nail multiple NFL game predictions in a given week. The arrival of the conference championship round of the postseason leaves us three picks to make this year, including the big game in South Florida. We hope to end the season on a high note, and we’re already trending in that direction with the luck we had in the divisional round. The Packers, 49ers and Chiefs delivered victories as favorites, with the Ravens’ loss to the Titans being the only upset. Based on the opening point spreads for the NFC and AFC championship games, more upsets…

One of the two coaches in the 2020 national championship game is among the highest-paid college football coaches, and there are also plenty of well-rewarded coaches with on-field results that aren’t quite as impressive. In terms of conferences, though, there’s not many surprises to be had. All of the top-10 coach salaries come from the Power 5. USA Today publishes a database of coach salaries from most FBS schools (some private schools are exempt from providing contract data), offering a glimpse into the financials of the very lucrative college football industry, though of course it’s not quite as lucrative for the players on the field. Here’s a list of the highest-paid college…

Winnipeg Jets forward Mathieu Perreault harshly criticized the NHL’s Department of Player Safety on Thursday for not penalizing an elbow to the face he received from Vancouver Canucks forward Jake Virtanen on Tuesday. “Player safety, my ass,” Perreault told reporters via Sportsnet. “This is literally an elbow to the face to a guy that didn’t have the puck. I see him coming and I brace for a hit. It was a late hit, I didn’t even have the puck and he flicks his elbow to my face and they’re not going to do anything about it.” MORE: Coyotes’ Rick Tocchet replaces fired Gerard Gallant as Pacific Division coach at NHL…

How will Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal side cope without Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang against Sheffield United? The Gunners come into this game after a 1-1 draw away against Crystal Palace last time out, a game in which Aubameyang opened the scoring only to get sent off less than ten minutes after Jordan Ayew pulled Palace back into the game. Sheffield United manager Chris Wilder conceded his side were ‘not great’ in the 1-0 victory over West Ham in their last league game and he will want to see an improvement at the Emirates. A win for Arsenal could see the Gunners climb to eighth and above north London rivals Tottenham whereas another three…

Chelsea gave the likes of Manchester United an opportunity to close the gap on them in fourth as they suffering a gut-wrenching 1-0 defeat at Newcastle. Isaac Hayden’s stoppage-time header gave Steve Bruce’s men the unlikely win in a game that lacked clear-cut chances and quality in general. The Blues will now be hoping for nearest rivals for the coveted Champions League spots, Man United, to drop points when they face Liverpool on Sunday. The game made a tepid start with the most notable moment Jetro Willems going off injured, adding to Newcastle’s growing list of casualties. But in a weird sense this setback sprung them into life and they…

Erling Haaland enjoyed a debut to remember as he scored a 20-minute hat-trick to lead new club Borussia Dortmund to an incredible victory at Augsburg. The 19-year-old €20million signing started on the bench but was thrown into the action after 56 minutes with his side trailing 3-1. The Norwegian took just three minutes to open his account, slotting home after being played through on goal by Jadon Sancho. England international Sancho then pulled Dortmund level two minutes later, before Haaland capitalised on good work by Thorgan Hazard to double his tally with a simple finish. And the Norwegian’s treble was complete 11 minutes from time, when he tucked home a…

Leeds United missed the chance to go top of the Championship table after suffering a 1-0 defeat to Queens Park Rangers on Saturday afternoon. After Fulham claimed all three points at home to Middlesbrough on Friday night, the Whites knew they could push away from the dreaded Play-Off places and leapfrog West Bromwich Albion before their game with Stoke City on Monday. However, Marcelo Bielsa’s men made the worst possible start at the Kiyan Prince Foundation Stadium as Nakhi Wells opened the scoring in the 20th minute as he tapped home after Ebere Eze’s free-kick was deflected into his path. The Leeds players protested furiously as replays showed the ball…

Crystal Palace delivered the final nail in the coffin of Man City’s unconvincing title bid by snatching a 2-2 draw at the Etihad Stadium in the dying moments. Sergio Aguero scored twice to complete a stunning turnaround after Palace spent much of the game in front, but the Eagles weren’t done yet. With time running out, Wilfried Zaha’s cross was deflected in by Fernandinho to leave the champions 13 points behind Liverpool having played two games more. There was also heartbreak for Chelsea, who suffered a stoppage-time defeat at Newcastle in the evening kick-off. Isaac Hayden got on the end of a cross from the left to head past Kepa…

The highly rated 21-year-old will not be a part of the group that will attempt to qualify for the Tokyo games U.S. women’s national team manager Vlatko Andonovski has said he is looking for more consistency from Mallory Pugh, who was one of the more surprising cuts from his Olympic qualifying roster on Friday. Pugh has been considered one of the top prospects in the USWNT pipeline since making her national team debut in 2016 at age 17, and she has already amassed 62 caps while scoring 18 goals. Though she was a part of the World Cup roster last summer, the 21-year-old was left off Andonovski’s 20-player squad that will attempt to qualify for…