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  Juventus midfielder Paul Pogba says he is "sad, shocked and heartbroken" after being banned from football for four years for a doping offence. The France international, 30, was  provisionally suspended in September  after a drugs test found elevated levels of testosterone in his system. "Everything I have built in my professional career has been taken away from me," he said in a statement. The former Manchester United player added he would appeal. Pogba was randomly tested after Juventus' first match of the season on 20 August. The positive test was confirmed by Italy's national anti-doping tribunal in a  second sample in October,  and the anti-doping prosecutor's office requested a four-year suspension. Juventus told the BBC they received notification from the anti-doping tribunal on Thursday morning. Pogba said he believed the verdict was "incorrect" and he would "never knowingly or deliberately" dope. "When I am free of lega...

 BOSTON -- The Celtics won their ninth straight game on Tuesday night, earning a 117-99 win over the Philadelphia 76ers at TD Garden. They did so despite hitting just five 3-pointers on the evening. Yes, the Celtics won a game when their 3-ball wasn't falling. Scary. Like it or not, the Celtics are a 3-point team in a 3-point league. They lead the NBA at 42.6 shots from downtown per game, and Joe Mazzulla would probably like them to shoot even more. (So long as they're open looks, that is.) And Boston is nearly unstoppable when its long-range attack is on, touting a 41-3 record entering Tuesday's game when shooting 32 percent or better from beyond the arc. when they shot just 2-for-11 from downtown on Tuesday night, it felt like they were lucky to own a two-point edge at halftime. The Celtics hit only three triples in the second half and finished 5-for-22 overall, but that didn't stop them from blowing the game open against Philadelphia. With the 76ers going switch-happ...

  Pokemon Let's Go Johto seems to have missed its window, and I am officially giving up I am officially retiring from rooting for a new Pokemon Let's Go game. The writing has been on the wall for a while now. The last best chance we had was an appearance at today's Pokemon Presents, but that has now passed us by. Let's Go Johto is right there, but it seems to be just out of reach. Pokemon has a rich tapestry of spin-offs, but it doesn't seem like Let's Go will be getting any more threads spun. The biggest drawback to a future Let's Go is its name. While I see it as a darling recreation of Gen 1 with a warmer aesthetic and fun reinvention of different characters and challenges, it was always designed as a companion to Pokemon Go. Once the biggest trend in the world, PoGo is now just another mobile game relying on whales to get by. Though the Pokemon name still does some heavy lifting, it's no more deserving of a Nintendo Switch game than that guy trying t...

 He  original  Shōgun  was a rare phenomenon. More than 1,200 pages and 400,000 words in length, it proved stunningly successful, staying on the best-seller list for more than 30 weeks and selling millions of copies. The 1975 novel presented a fictionalized account of a real event: the arrival of an English pilot, William Adams, to Japan in 1600. Clavell reimagined the story, giving his hero (whom he renamed John Blackthorne), a starring role in the archipelago’s turbulent domestic politics in the months leading up to the climactic battle of Sekigahara, which brought more than a century of constant warfare to a final end. Some historians criticized Shōgun as a text rife with errors and national stereotypes. But others like Henry Smith championed the book, arguing that it conveyed “more information about Japan to more people than all the combined writings of scholars, journalists, and novelists since the Pacific War.” Five years after its publication and millions of d...

" MoNiCa Lewinsky" dons cream pantsuits, fiery red dresses and chic shades in a new campaign with Reformation and Vote.org, which launched Monday morning.   The Los Angeles-based fashion brand’s “You’ve Got the Power” campaign spotlights the writer and activist in Ref’ s new workwear collection,  which includes blazers, skirts, dresses and more — all while reminding shoppers of the importance of democracy and their individual vote. “It’s pretty simple: Voting is using our voice to be heard and it’s the most defining — and powerful–aspect of democracy,” Lewinsky tells  Variety . “Voting is always important, but the stakes are especially high this year with voter frustration and apathy threatening to meaningfully impact turnout. I’m excited and grateful to be working with Reformation to remind people to register, use their voice and vote! A Ref woman is an empowered woman – and an empowered woman uses her voice.” Alongside the new collection and campaign imagery, Ref worked...

  Real Madrid   and   Alphonso Davies   have reached a verbal agreement for the Bayern Munich left-back to join in 2024 or 2025. The  La Liga  club — led by chief scout Juni Calafat and director general Jose Angel Sanchez — have been in contact with Davies’ camp for some time and have asked him since the beginning of the talks not to renew his contract with Bayern, which expires in 2025, so he can join them. There have been several meetings in recent weeks, including one in person in Madrid in mid-February, which have accelerated the process further. There are two options on the table with Real open to doing a deal for a below-market price this summer — much like Toni Kroos’ move in 2014 — or the following year when Davies’ contract ends, like  David Alaba  in 2021. Despite preliminary interest from rivals  Barcelona  as well as clubs in England, who have been monitoring the situation, Davies’ preference at this stage is to move to M...

  NFL “Thursday Night Football” analyst and former Seattle Seahawks cornerback Richard Sherman was arrested early Saturday on suspicion of driving under the influence, authorities said. Sherman, 35, was arrested in King County, Washington, which underlies greater Seattle, at 3:48 a.m., according to jail records. The former player was arrested by Washington State Patrol, trooper Rick Johnson said, adding that details would be revealed if charges are formally filed in the case. The Super Bowl veteran was booked into King County Correctional Facility at 4:51 a.m. based on a law enforcement allegation of driving under the influence, those records show. No bond or bail was listed, and it appeared Sherman was still behind bars Saturday night. Washington  state law defines DUI  as “driving while under the influence of intoxicating liquor, cannabis, or any drug,” including having a blood alcohol level of 0.08 or greater or having more than 5 nanograms of active THC per milliliter...

 The story behind the glitzy stretch of highway that became the destination for America’s most sublime—and most sordid—aspirations In 1829, a group of explorers  by Spanish merchant Antonio Armijo moved west toward Alta California through the arid Mojave Desert—the ancestral lands of the Southern Paiute people. A young scout named Rafael Rivera discovered a particularly verdant area full of grassland irrigated by a natural spring; this lushness soon inspired the place’s name: “The Meadows,” or “Las Vegas.”  Though a couple dozen Mormon missionaries arrived here in 1855—largely failing to convert the Paiute population—the oasis remained something of a secret until four years later, when prospectors came to the valley. They found gold and silver, and the ensuing rush sparked a population boom, with miners arriving in droves to dig by day before chancing their new fortunes away in the saloons and bordellos at night. At the turn of the 20th century, the oasis town became a...

  Bubba Wallace said his mental state is the best it has been in his NASCAR career. Throughout the offseason, he’s found himself rewatching his 2014 Truck Series races. Wallace, who has been public about his battles with self-doubt throughout his career, is developing an appreciation and an awareness for where he is in the sport. And on the heels of his first career playoff berth, Wallace has a refreshed mind-set this season. He’s trying to focus more on his bigger goals and dreams and not sweat the little things. But maintaining that mental repose isn’t nearly as easy when you’re climbing into a Cup car every Sunday. So Wallace, now 30, tries to picture himself hopping into his truck 10 years ago at Daytona. The wide-eyed driver was taken aback by the track’s size — even though at that point, Martinsville’s half-mile bullring might as well have been a superspeedway.  type="text/javascript"> atOptions = { 'key' : 'c16f0f7cb1079724ef03617ecb05a4e8', ...