Tanzania: Kabaddi 2021 - Tanzania Geared Up for World Showdown  

[Daily News] AFTER kabaddi was cleared to make its debut at the TAFISA World Sports for All Games in the Portuguese city of Lisbon this year, Tanzania team is also focused on the event.

Claws, tail and reptilian eyes: holiday tales from the bush  

Holidays are all fun and games - until an uninvited guest arrives.

Senators kick into overdrive to storm past Maple Leafs in season opener   -7%

Brady Tkachuk had a goal and two assists, Matt Murray made 20 saves in his Ottawa debut, and the Senators defeated the Toronto Maple Leafs 5-3 on Friday in their first game in more than 10 months.

Hopes for Tokyo's Summer Olympic Games Darken Due to Virus   3%

Organizers postponed the Olympic Games for one year last March. Nearly a year later, prospects are getting bleaker.

NFL Playoffs: What We Learned From the Wild Card Weekend  

Lamar Jackson finally won a playoff game, the Browns demolished the Steelers and Nickelodeon’s broadcast of a game for children offered a welcome distraction.

Donald Trumps American Carnage Comes to Washington   -16%

The New Yorker’s reporters and writers reflect on the convulsive end to the Trump years. And a game designer explains why the fiction of QAnon has been so appealing and so dangerous.

The Kentucky Wildcats' Took a Knee. Its State Was Taken Aback.   -40%

The Wildcats’ decision to kneel during the national anthem before a game at Florida has produced a backlash in their conservative state.

Why skat is the king of German card games   -10%

The game's rules can appear mysterious to the noninitiated, yet more Germans play it than football. It's also listed as a UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage asset.

Conspiracy! review to the heart of America's deep state   -14%

(Tim Sheinman; PC, Mac)
Sift through the evidence and unravel a plot to defraud US democracy in this timely immersive satire

According to Reuters, around half of those who voted for Donald Trump, the losing candidate in the recent US presidential election, believe that he is the victim of a complicated plot to deny him his rightful second term. Engendered by extreme partisanship and propagated by social media, the power of the conspiracy theory is, seemingly, at a historic high. A grim moment for democracy, then, but a serendipitous one for Tim Sheinman, the Brighton-based creator of Conspiracy!, a video game in which you must untangle the threads of sedition that run from the US deep state to the country’s highest seat of power.

The aim of the game, which features the voice of Jon Ronson, a journalist who has spent a career profiling the kinds of people who believe the kinds of outlandish theories put forward here, is disarmingly simple. You are presented with 20 Polaroid photographs, each one describing an event seemingly unrelated to the others: a flock of geese dropping dead from the sky; a fatal car accident involving a US senator; a curiously successful chain of mattress companies.

Antonio Conte's ambition questioned after Inter are pegged back by Roma | Nicky Bandini   16%

Another slip in the Serie A title race, another game in which the adventure of Inter’s opposition caused real problems

Ambition. The word ran through the pre-game press conferences of Paulo Fonseca and Antonio Conte like mozzarella in Roman supplì: the mouth-watering core ingredient that elevates all the rest. Both managers wanted their audiences to know this was a weekend that mattered, an occasion for which the recipe had to be just right.

Fonseca’s Roma were seeking validation for their rise to third in the table. They won only a single game against Serie A’s top four last season, his first at the club, and that against a Juventus side who had already sewn up the title. The Giallorossi were yet to demonstrate they had learned how to handle the big occasions in this campaign, collecting only two points, and conceding 13 times, in fixtures against Milan, Juventus, Atalanta and Napoli.

Israeli soccer: Inter Aliyah tops Shikma Chen   -17%

While Shikma Chen controlled the game early on, Inter raised the game in the second half to defeat league-leading Shikma Chen 2-0

Todd Cantwell seals victory for leaders Norwich over 10-man Cardiff   25%

No wonder Daniel Farke is loth to lose Emi Buendía or Todd Cantwell anytime soon. Cantwell capped a magical performance with a goal as Norwich City racked up a seventh victory in nine league games to open up an eight-point buffer to third-placed Bournemouth, who slipped up at home to Luton. Cardiff were outclassed but never gave up, pulling a goal back through Joe Ralls before Marlon Pack, who was walking a tightrope, was sent off.

Related: Championship at halfway: miracles at Swansea and a Rooney-led revival

Alabama rolls over Ohio State to win college football national championship   17%

DeVonta Smith was uncoverable, Najee Harris unstoppable and Mac Jones impeccable. With a performance that was both surgical and explosive, No. 1 Alabama won the College Football Playoff national championship game 52-24 against No. 3 Ohio State on Monday night.

Mega Millions grows to $750 million, Powerball stands at $550 million  

It’s only the second time both of the national lottery games have topped $500 million.

Manchester United v Liverpool: match preview   20%

Five days after reaching the Premier League summit comes the truest test of Manchester United’s ability to stay there. Ole Gunnar Solskjær’s side are unbeaten in 15 away league games since losing at Liverpool almost exactly one year ago and will go six points clear of them should they inflict a first home league defeat on the champions since April 2017. Liverpool have dipped in recent weeks but will have no better incentive to rediscover their verve than puncturing the optimism of their great rivals in Klopp’s 200th league game in charge of Liverpool. Andy Hunter

Sunday 4.30pm Sky Sports Premier League

Steam to enter China officially in 2021, raising concerns about censorship as content purge continues  

Steam, the world’s most popular online video game platform developed by US firm Valve Corp, will launch a China-only version this year with a local partner amid China’s continued crackdown on foreign games and game platforms.Without disclosing a specific launch date, Valve’s Chinese partner Perfect World said on Thursday it will launch an official version of Steam in mainland China early this year. The company also said that it will trial the service of the new platform as part of its esports…

Grown-Ups Loved the N.F.L. on Nickelodeon. But What About Children?   6%

The cable channel aired a slime-filled version of the Bears-Saints wild-card game on Sunday, to the delight of many adults. But the goal was to convert children into football fans.

No practice, no problem: James Harden explodes for triple-double in Nets debut   -3%

• Harden logs 32 points, 14 assists and 12 rebounds in Nets debut
• Kevin Durant finishes with season-high 42 points in 122-115 win

James Harden delivered 32 points and a triple-double in his Brooklyn debut, Kevin Durant scored a season-high 42 points in his first game back with his former teammate, and the Nets showed off their potent potential in a 122-115 victory over the Orlando Magic on Saturday night.

Related: Brooklyn Nets' Kyrie Irving loses nearly $1m for Covid protocol violations

Soccer: Inter Aliyah finished first half with draw against Bnei Yehud   -4%

In final game of the season’s first half, Inter failed to convert its many chances and was left to rue leaving the field with just a point

Video games have replaced music as the most important aspect of youth culture | Sean Monahan   -20%

The global video gaming industry took in an estimated $180bn in 2020 – more than sports and movies worldwide

It would be incorrect to say video games went mainstream in 2020. They’ve been mainstream for decades. But their place in pop culture feels far more central – to gamers and non-gamers alike – than ever before. In part, this is due to desperate marketers hunting for eyeballs in a Covid landscape of cancelled events. Coachella wasn’t happening, but Animal Crossing was open was for business. Politicians eager to “Rock the Vote” looked to video games to reach young voters. (See: Joe and Kamala’s virtual HQ and AOC streaming herself playing Among Us.) The time-honored tradition of older politicians trying to seem young and hip at a music venue has been replaced by older politicians trying to seem young and hip playing a video game. Yes, quarantine was part of this. But, like so many trends during the pandemic, Covid didn’t spark this particular trajectory so much as intensify it. Long before the lockdowns, video games had triumphed as the most popular form of entertainment among young people.

Related: Refreshingly modern dinosaurs and a cyberpunk cat: our games picks for 2021

Iran shows military might in desert missile and drone exercise (VIDEO)   3%

Tehran has kicked off its latest war game deep in the Iranian desert, showcasing the country’s surface-to-air missiles and cutting-edge drone technology.
Read Full Article at RT.com

Game thread recap: Red Wings top Hurricanes, 4-2   -15%

Detroit Red Wings game score, live updates and analysis as they host Carolina Hurricanes at Little Caesars Arena

Given his recent struggles on the pitch, who is going to opt for big Laffs now?   -7%

I hope Kyle Lafferty has something set up after agreeing to terminate his contract with Reggina just six months after joining the Italian Serie B side, otherwise I would be concerned about his future employment in the professional game.

Dark world and anti-religiosity in 'Divergent' dystopian flick   -5%

The Movie, a.k.a. the next 'Hunger Games,’ has hit the big screen. But its dark message is different.

Experts call for calm on Pfizer vaccine supply after pre-order 'guessing game'   -1%

Play the long game: Vaccine industry experts say it's understandable that Australia is struggling to secure more Pfizer doses, but the government could not have done much differently.

Tencent vs Huawei: Chinas gaming giants have the upper hand in fight over revenue sharing on app stores   -10%

The recent public spat between Chinese internet giant Tencent Holdings and telecommunications equipment maker Huawei Technologies Co has highlighted a shift in the balance of power between game developers and distribution channels, as players increasingly focus their interest on a small number of popular games.The dispute spilled into public view on January 1 when Huawei announced it had removed Tencent’s mobile games from its app store, the Huawei AppGallery. The move shocked netizens as…

Hockey Night in Canada: Free live streams on desktop & app   26%

CBC Sports will provide a free live stream of Hockey Night in Canada games, including the Toronto Maple Leafs vs. the Ottawa Senators on Saturday at 7 p.m. ET, followed by the Vancouver Canucks vs. the Calgary Flames at 10 p.m.

Devin Booker Is Coming Into His Own With the Suns   50%

Booker, the 24-year-old Phoenix Suns guard, learned to lead while his team was losing dozens of games a year. Now the Suns are winning, and that comes with new demands.

East Africa: Madagascar to Host 2023 Indian Ocean Games After Maldives Withdraws  

[Seychelles News Agency] Madagascar will host the 11th edition of the Indian Ocean Islands Games in 2023 after the withdrawal of Maldives, said the president of International Games Council, Seychellois Antonio Gopal.

How West Bloomfield football finally exacted revenge on Belleville to make state finals   -1%

Fittingly, Saturday's game between West Bloomfield football and Belleville came down to one play in double-overtime deciding who moves on to state.

Derby fall to Rotherham in Wayne Rooney's first game in full charge   -12%

Wayne Rooney made no excuses after his first game as permanent Derby manager ended in a poor home defeat to Rotherham. Jamie Lindsay fired home four minutes from time as Rotherham clinched a vital win over one of their Championship relegation rivals. The Scot’s strike meant Derby dropped down to second bottom, behind their opponents on goal difference.

Related: Todd Cantwell seals victory for leaders Norwich over 10-man Cardiff

Amalie Arena presses pause on allowing fans for Raptors, Lightning  

Vinik Sports Group, which owns Amalie Arena, announced Saturday that the organization will no longer admit fans to Toronto Raptors games in Tampa as "COVID-19 numbers across west central Florida have risen sharply in recent days."

Rams vs. Packers matchups: Jared Goff gets chance to step up again   -25%

Breaking down the on-field matchups between the Rams and Green Bay Packers heading into Saturday's divisional-round playoff game.

Tokyo Olympics: The most unpopular Games ever?  

In less than 200 days, the rescheduled Tokyo Olympics are due to get underway, but among the Japanese public, fears over the virus and the spiralling cost of the Games mean most would rather see the event postponed or cancelled altogether.

NBA faces sobering reality as it starts to postpone games over COVID-19 protocols   -40%

The NBA delayed the Dallas Mavericks-New Orleans game scheduled for Monday and the Chicago Bulls-Boston Celtics game set for Tuesday due to COVID-19 protocols.

Game thread recap: Michigan loses to Minnesota, 75-57   1%

Michigan basketball game score, live updates and analysis as they visit Minnesota Golden Gophers

'If they're having a go at you, it's because you're good'   1%

Interaction with the crowd is a part of the game, as long as it doesn't go over the top.

Tom Brady leads Buccaneers past Washington for 1st playoff victory since 2002 season   -13%

Brady threw for 381 yards and two touchdowns to lead the Tampa Bay Buccaneers past Washington 31-23 in their NFC wild-card game Saturday night for their first playoff victory since 2002.