FA Cup: Giroud and Ramsey surprised by Preston commitment

Arsenal were comfortably second best at Preston North End in the first half - and Olivier Giroud was shocked by the hosts' intensity.

Olivier Giroud and Aaron Ramsey conceded Arsenal were taken aback by Preston North End's desire and intensity in the first half of their FA Cup third-round meeting at Deepdale on Saturday.

FA Cup: Rooney hits out at Evans shirt 'snub' coverage

Omnisport - Manchester United captain Wayne Rooney is far from happy that his record-equalling goal has been overshadowed by shirt-swapping nonsense.

Wayne Rooney has taken a swipe at media coverage of his shirt swap with Reading's George Evans following Manchester United's FA Cup win over Reading.

 

Yahoo Sport UK horse racing Lucky 15 – Monday’s top selections

Each day we will mark your card, providing a preview of the day’s racing and offering what the experts feel will be the value bets of the day.

Take a look at our Lucky 15 selections (four singles, six doubles, four trebles and a four-fold) for the British meetings on Monday, January 9, 2017.

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LUCKY 15 SELECTIONS

 

Real question for Jim Caldwell: Does he get a new contract?

The Lions have confirmed that head coach Jim Caldwell will be back next season, and that’s no surprise: Playoff teams rarely fire their head coaches, and when they do it’s usually a team that has fallen short of expectations (like in John Fox’s last year with the Broncos, when a Super Bowl contender lost its first playoff game), not a team that has exceeded expectations like this year’s Lions.

What the Lions haven’t said, however, is what the status of Caldwell’s contract is.

Caldwell is wrapping up his third season on a four-year deal he signed in 2014. If the Lions announce this offseason that they’ve signed him to a long-term contract extension, then case closed: Caldwell is the Lions’ guy, and G.M. Bob Quinn believes the right coach is in place for the long run.

But if the Lions either make Caldwell coach next year in the final year of his contract (which is rare in the NFL) or give him only a token one-year extension, that’s a sure sign that Caldwell is coaching for his job in 2017. Only a long-term extension can give Caldwell any real job security beyond next season.

Of course, Caldwell and his team have the opportunity to make all this moot in the coming weeks: If the Lions get to the Super Bowl, they’d certainly extend Caldwell in the offseason. If the Lions lose in Seattle on Saturday, Caldwell will still coach the team in 2017, but he may be out of work a year from now.

http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2017/01/04/real-question-for-jim-caldwell-does-he-get-a-new-contract/