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NFL

Up for grabs? QB tries to trademark 'Hail Murray'

TEMPE, Ariz. — Be careful using “Hail Murray.” It might cost you soon.

Arizona Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray has filed an application with the United States Patent and Trademark Office to trademark “Hail Murray,” the phrase that became popular after Murray’s 43-yard Hail Mary touchdown to DeAndre Hopkins to beat the Buffalo Bills in Week 10.

“The ‘Hail Murray’ deal, that’s just a coincidence,” Murray said Tuesday when asked about the play being dubbed that. “That’s never happened to me before, so that fact that it happened just fits the name I guess.”

The application is currently “awaiting examination,” according to the USPTO website.

Soccer

Dortmund's Haaland wins Golden Boy award

Borussia Dortmund forward Erling Haaland was named the 2020 Golden Boy on Saturday.

The Norweigan striker received 302 votes to finish atop the list of talented young players after a tremendous debut season in Germany’s top flight.

Barcelona’s Ansu Fati finished second, while Haaland’s teammate, Jadon Sancho, Bayern Munich left-back Alphonso Davies, and Rennes midfielder Eduardo Camavinga round out the top five.

# Player Team Votes
1 Erling Haaland Borussia Dortmund 302
2 Ansu Fati Barcelona 239
3 Alphonso Davies Bayern Munich 226
4 Jadon Sancho Borussia Dortmund 80
5 Eduardo Camavinga Rennes 50
6 Dejan Kulusevski Juventus 41
7 Phil Foden Manchester City 36
8 Dominik Szoboszlai RB Salzburg 13
9 Bukayo Saka Arsenal 13
10 Vinicius Junior Real Madrid 9

The award, presented by Italian outlet Tuttosport, is given annually to the top Under-21 player from one of Europe’s best leagues.

Haaland burst onto the scene with a tremendous start to the 2019-20 campaign at Red Bull Salzburg, which earned him a move to Dortmund in January. He ended the season as BVB’s second-highest scorer despite appearing in just 15 Bundesliga matches.

The 20-year-old leads all Dortmund scorers this season with a half-dozen goals in six league matches.

Haaland is the second Dortmund player to claim the honor after Mario Gotze was named Golden Boy in 2011.

Recent winners of the award include Kylian Mbappe (2017), Matthijs de Ligt (2018), and Joao Felix (2019).

NFL

Bengals to be without 3 position coaches vs. WFT

CINCINNATI — The Bengals will be without multiple assistants for COVID-19 reasons for the second straight week.

Wide receivers coach Bob Bicknell, cornerbacks coach Steve Jackson and safeties coach Robert Livingston will miss Sunday’s road game at Washington, the Bengals announced Friday.

Bicknell and Jackson were two of four coaches who missed the team’s Week 10 loss at Pittsburgh.

Livingston took over Jackson’s duties last week against the Steelers. Quality-control coach Jordan Kovacs will replace Livingston on game day, according to the team. Assistant Troy Walters will take over for Bicknell, and defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo will replace Jackson.

Soccer

Guardiola: I want Messi to finish career at Barcelona

Pep Guardiola has reiterated his desire for Lionel Messi to finish his career at Barcelona despite his continued links with a move to Manchester City.

“Lionel Messi is a Barcelona player,” the City manager stated during Friday’s press conference.

“I have a huge gratitude for what Barcelona did for me as a player in the academy and as a manager. I have said many times that I would like Leo to finish his career there.”

Messi’s relationship with Barcelona is strained after he wasn’t granted a transfer over the summer. He also complained on Wednesday he’s “tired” of being blamed for the club’s problems.

His irritation with his situation in Catalonia and Thursday’s news of Pep Guardiola signing a new two-year contract at the Etihad Stadium heightened speculation that the player and tactician could reunite at Manchester City.

Despite his apparent preference for Messi to remain loyal to Barcelona, Guardiola didn’t rule out the possibility of the 33-year-old leaving for another club when his Camp Nou deal expires at the end of the 2020-21 season.

“His contract finishes this year and I don’t know what will happen in his mind,” the former Barcelona and Bayern Munich boss said. “Right now he is a Barcelona player and the transfer market is in June and July.

“We have incredible games and targets and things we would like to achieve. That is the only thing in our mind. The rest I cannot say anything.”

Current Barcelona handler Ronald Koeman admitted earlier on Friday that he doesn’t know where Messi’s future lies.

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