Author: The Guardian

The Atlanta Falcons agreed to a four-year contract with Kirk Cousins ​​on Monday, adding a proven starting quarterback to their offensive arsenal. Cousins’ agent, Mike McCartney, confirmed the move on social media on Monday. According to ESPN, the deal is worth $180 million, $100 million of which is guaranteed.Elsewhere, the Philadelphia Eagles agreed to terms with former New York Giants running back Saquon Barkley and New York Jets defensive end Bryce Huff, according to multiple reports. Barkley will sign a three-year deal with $26 million guaranteed for a total of $37.75 million, while Huff signed a three-year deal worth $51…

Ireland used to take pride in begrudgery – a venerable tradition of belittling success – but Cillian Murphy’s win at the Oscars has ruined that legacy by uniting the country in delight.The actor’s triumph in Los Angeles prompted a wave of tributes from Michael D Higgins, the president of Ireland, as well as the government, artists, academics, commentators and childhood friends, with no dissenter.The Oppenheimer star was lauded for his talent, grace and humility after becoming the first Irish-born actor to win a best actor Academy award – and doing so without acquiring delusions of grandeur.It helped that before the…

For a tennis player, there are few experiences more valuable than staring at the best players and seeing exactly how their levels have dropped. For Emma Raducanu, that opportunity came in front of Aryna Sabalenka, now a multiple Grand Slam champion and hungry for more.Against Sabalenka, Raducanu displayed her strength and resilience in both sets before being guided by Sabalenka’s immense power, the weight of her shots and her intent to dominate every ball The second seed went into fourth place Indian Wells and had a hard-fought 6-3, 7-5 win.Raducanu, who started the week defending most of her remaining points…

Key eventsShow key events onlyPlease turn on JavaScript to use this featureThat’s me done for the evening. Thanks for reading and for your emails and tweets. Cheers!ShareEddie Howe is the next to talk to the cameras. Strange game. Frustrating one, as we conceded from their first attack. We were really good in spells, but unfortunately not good enough overall. We didn’t defend well enough. A familiar feeling. It’s been a tough period for us. We left feeling deflated and disappointed. Gordon was in a pain at half-time. All I can say is that it’s a knee injury. We don’t know…

You don’t come across many tall figures in the weighing rooms of British racecourses, but when the Cheltenham Festival got underway on Tuesday, two riders who were (relatively) 223cm (6ft 4in) tall Teachers will walk side by side.Jack Andrews, 25, from Warwickshire, shot to fame last year when he appeared at the festival as the world’s tallest jockey, but this week a rival for the title – Thomas Costello from County Clare, Ireland.The pair will not compete against each other on the first day of the festival, but may be persuaded to stand back-to-back to see who is the tallest…

A sheriff’s deputy in southern California shot and killed a 15-year-old boy who was holding a gardening tool, officials said.The San Bernardino county sheriff’s department was responding to a 911 call on Saturday from a family reporting that a boy, identified as Ryan Gainer, was attacking his family at their home in Apple Valley, east of Los Angeles. The department said he was holding a 5ft gardening tool and approaching the first deputy who arrived at the scene when the deputy shot him. Gainer was later taken to a hospital where he died.A lawyer for the family said Gainer was…

Felipe Massa launched a lawsuit at London’s High Court on Monday against Formula One, its governing body the FIA ​​and the sport’s former supremo Bernie Ecclestone, Lewis Hamilton’s first The Formula One World Championship is the subject of legal action.Massa believes he is the rightful winner of the 2008 title, which he lost to Hamilton by a single point.Renault ordered Nelson Piquet Jr. to crash another car at the Singapore Grand Prix, giving Fernando Alonso the win. Ferrari’s Felipe Felipe Massa was in the lead at the time of Piquet’s smash and finished 13th, but lost the title in the…

Speaking as a Methodist minister – not a vicar – I have always tried my hardest to accommodate wedding photographers and speak to them before the service starts, to make sure things go well (Wedding photographer at centre of row with vicars calls for truce, 4 March). Nearly all have been responsive and cooperative, although I did have to walk away and count to 10 when a videographer, against my express warnings, pulled out the wiring on the PA system to improve his audio feed, thus rendering the service inaudible to half the congregation.Like all Christians, I would condemn any bullying…

Attendance numbers for this year’s Cheltenham Festival, which opens on Tuesday, are likely to be lower than last year’s disappointing figures, circuit general manager Ian Renton said on Monday.Speaking to Racing TV’s Nick Luck, Renton admitted “we’re going to be down a bit” from last year, which saw attendances fall 14% from the 2022 four-day record of 280,267.Possible reasons for last year’s sharp drop include the cost of living crisis and strikes by rail workers and teachers, but while Renton said 12 months ago that he was “completely confident” figures would rebound this year, the latest drop remains disappointing.The festival…

Kansas Republicans were condemned as “vile and wrong” after attendees at a fundraising event beat and kicked a martial arts dummy wearing a Joe Biden mask.Dinah Sykes, the Democratic minority leader in the state senate, told the Kansas Reflector, a nonprofit news site: “Political violence of any kind is vile and wrong, and we cannot afford to brush it under the rug when others encourage it.”Footage posted to social media showed attendees at the Johnson county Republican event kicking and beating the dummy, which was wearing a Biden mask and a T-shirt displaying the slogan “Let’s go Brandon”, a rightwing…