data-mm-id=”_y8mmt19cf”>As our sportless world marches on, fans around the world are delving deep into the archives to find more sports to talk about. One such nugget emerged on the internet a few days ago when an old Stephen A. Smith report was dredged up about how the Toronto Raptors came quite close to trading Tracy McGrady and a first-round pick to the Philadelphia 76ers in 1999 for Larry Hughes. They backed out after Smith broke the news. Smith himself confirmed it was all true on Saturday afternoon, opening up the wonderful world of all-time NBA what-ifs. Yes this is true https://t.co/40WiC5p09I— Stephen A Smith (@stephenasmith) April 4, 2020Oh, man. Imagine the sauce in Philly with AI and T-Mac handling the ball? What an absurd tandem. McGrady was coming off his sophomore season in the league and was still in the process of figuring it out, averaging only nine points per game in the 1998-99 season. Iverson, on the other hand, led the league in scoring that year with 26.8 points per game, but missed nearly half the season due to injury. McGrady wouldn't turn into the McGrady we all came to know and love until the 2000 season when he averaged 25 points per contest following his trade to Orlando. Following that path of development, if McGrady ended up in Philadelphia, he and Iverson would have combined to average 57 points per game in the 2000-01 season, the same year Iverson won MVP and the Sixers went to the Finals. Imagine if Iverson's running mate was Tracy McGrady instead of… *checks notes* Aaron McKie? It's no sure thing that star pairing would have been able to overcome Shaq in his physical prime and an up-and-coming Kobe Bryant, but it would have been far closer than 4-1. Now, all things would not remain equal in this alternate universe, even though it's fun to imagine so. To say Iverson dominated the ball during his time in Philadelphia would be a bit of an understatement, shall we say. His my-way-or-the-highway attitude may have rubbed McGrady the wrong way, although one would think if Iverson could co-exist with Larry Brown, he could definitely do so with another star player. We never really got the chance to see if prime Iverson would have been willing to defer if he had a teammate worth deferring to. Knowing what we do know, the early years of that partnership might've been rocky. But if McGrady stuck around long enough for Iverson to realize he can't do it by himself, it would have been a back court for the ages. And definitely one of the biggest trade heists of all time. McGrady and a first for Larry Hughes would absolutely match Billy King selling his soul to Danny Ainge in 2012.
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Inter have made it clear that Eriksen is one of their primary targets, especially after it became clear that Real Madrid wouldn’t be pursuing him in the same manner as they have been doing across the last few years.
Eriksen’s future with Spurs has looked questionable for longer than most of us can remember, and now, it finally looks like we’re getting c…
Alan Browne, Kevin Long and James Collins all scored their first international goals as Republic of Ireland eased to a 3-1 friendly win over Bulgaria.
In a match where all the goals came in the second half, Browne put Ireland ahead when he slotted into an empty net after Ronan Curtis initial shot was spilled.
Bulgaria equalised through Ivelin Popov s spot-kick after John Egan, who captained Ireland for the first time, gave away a penalty.
But a Long header and a close-range finish from Collins gave the hosts a comfortable victory in Dublin.
The result means Ireland remain unbeaten in Mick McCarthy s second stint as manager.
A night to remember for our five debutants
— FAIreland (@FAIreland)
McCarthy made 10 changes from the…
Leicester City claimed a slice of Premier League history when they crushed an abject Southampton 9-0 at St Mary s on Friday.
Ryan Bertrand s red card for a challenge in the build-up to Ben Chilwell s 10th-minute opener put Ralph Hasenhuttl s Saints at a disadvantage, but the collapse that followed was humiliating.
Ayoze Perez and Jamie Vardy both netted hat-tricks, with Youri Tielemans and James Maddison also getting in on the act as Brendan Rodgers Foxes ran riot.
Here, with some help from Opta, we look some of the remarkable statistics thrown up on a stormy English night when it rained goals.
20 Leicester have earned 20 points from their opening 10 Premier League games of 2019-20; one more than at the same stage of their title-winning 2015-16 campaig…
Thomas Tuchel insisted Chelsea are trying their very best to tie the impressive Antonio Rudiger to a new contract, while also hailing the evergreen Thiago Silva.
Rudiger joined from Roma in July 2017 and has been an integral part of the Blues backline under Tuchel, starting the most games since the German s arrival last January (50) and ranking first for minutes played (4,575).
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Italy boss Roberto Mancini handed first call-ups to Atalanta captain Rafael Toloi and Spezia midfielder Matteo Ricci as he selected a 38-man squad for the three upcoming World Cup qualifiers.
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The 30-year-old has been summoned at the first opportunity by head coach Mancini, who has observed the centre-back as a prominent member of the Atalanta team that has caught the eye in Serie A and the Champions League.
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The last time Cristiano Ronaldo played at Old Trafford, Manchester United abandoned tradition.
In every home game, certainly in the last decade, United and opposition players have walked out of the tunnel in the corner of the Stretford End to the sound of music, usually This Is The One by The Stone Roses. The handshake formalities follow, as does the Champions League theme on those European nights. Then, stadium announcer Alan Keegan reads out the line-ups, always starting with the visitors .
Not so in March 2013. As the first 22 began to get into position, United s team was read out first, in the usual numerical order. Real Madrid s followed, starting from goalkeeper Diego Lopez and number two, Raphael Varane, until it jumped from six, Sami Khedira straight to 10, Mesut…
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Denmark and Northern Ireland will face each other in UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying Group H this week. The match between Kasper Hjulmand’s side and Michael O’Neill’s team will be held at the Parken Stadium in Copenhagen and is scheduled to kick off at 7:45pm UK time on Friday.
Denmark
Denmark have progressed a lot as a team on the pitch in recent years and are now a force to be reckoned with, especially in European football. The Danes qualified for the 2022 Qatar World Cup amid huge expectations and hype, but they could not really make an impact at the tournament. Kasper Hjulmand s side drew with Tunisia, lost to France and went down to Australia and finished at the bottom of Group D and got knock…
Liverpool have completed the signing of Thiago Alcantara from Bayern Munich in a deal worth up to £25million (€27.5m).
Thiago was rumoured to be a target of Jurgen Klopp s before the transfer window opened, with the Reds boss aiming to add more creativity to his midfield unit.
The Premier League champions have now got their man, with the 29-year-old – whose deal at Bayern was due to expire in June 2021 – signing a four-year contract at Anfield.
Stats Perform News understands Liverpool will pay an initial £20m (€22m), with an additional £5m (€5.5m) in bonuses.
The moment you’ve all been waiting for…
— Liverpool FC (@LFC)
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After being appointed by Oldham Athletic, Paul Scholes becomes the latest former Manchester United star to have played under Alex Ferguson and gone on to become a manager.
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Real Madrid would be negligent if they failed to bring Sergio Ramos back to the club one day, according to former team-mate Toni Kroos.
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Ramos won LaLiga five times with Madrid and helped Los Blancos to four Champions League titles, among an array of other major honours.
But the Spain international will start a new adventure next season after Madrid withdrew their offer of a one-year deal on reduced terms, as confirmed by the long-serving defender.
Kroos spent seven seasons playing in the same side as Ramos and believes the 35-year-old will return to the Santiago Bernabeu in the future.
I am sure we …