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Behind John Smoltz, Tom Glavine, Greg Maddux, Chipper Jones and Andruw Jones, not to mention Hall of Fame manager Bobby Cox, Atlanta won 14 division titles from 1991 to 2005. A generation raised at Fulton County Stadium and Turner Field enjoyed watching one of MLB’s most loaded squads of the past 30 years. Now, the kids of those fans could experience another star-studded Braves team rise to the upper ranks of the league and stick there for a long time....

Both stars missed their side’s last La Liga match against Espanyol, as Portugal captain Ronaldo had flu while Wales talisman Bale suffered a thigh injury, reports Efe. Real Madrid head coach Zinedine Zidane said Ronaldo and Bale will appear against Villarreal. Brazilian holding midfielder Casemiro, who sustained an injury against Espanyol, and Portuguese defender Pepe worked out inside the club, according to Real Madrid’s official website. Zidane called up players from Real Madrid Castilla like Enzo Zidan, Martin Odegaard and Alex Craninx....

‘Guardiola has made Aguero world class’ The Portugal captain explained just how little pressure he felt ahead of his country’s biggest ever international game, by joking he woke up beside three blondes the morning of the final. The 31-year-old was forced off during the final after picking up a knee injury, but his team-mates went on to secure their first ever major trophy. And not only did Ronaldo direct traffic from the touchline, he also helped his team by relieving pressure with his ’nothing to lose’ mentality....

Portuguese superstar Cristiano Ronaldo will have to wait another two years to see if he will grace a major final for only the second time after Spain edged his side 4-2 on penalties in their Euro 2012 semi-final here on Wednesday. However, many will question what happened in the penalty shootout as he stood like a spare part – a disconsolate one at that – as Cesc Fabregas put away the winning penalty leaving him as Portugal’s fifth penalty taker superfluous to proceedings....

Madrid were stunned recently amid reports that Ronaldo wanted to quit the Santiago Bernabeu due to his unhappiness at scrutiny of his tax affairs in Spain. Ronaldo shows off new twins Ronaldo has denied defrauding Spanish tax authorities out of €14.7million in image rights. Manchester United and Paris Saint-Germain have been credited as reported interested parties in signing the 32-year-old, but Arbeloa is hopeful that Madrid’s standing in global football will convince Ronaldo to remain....

Ronaldo was far from a certain starter for the Euro 2020 qualifier at Estadio Algarve after being substituted in Juventus’ last two matches. Juve boss Maurizio Sarri attributed the early withdrawal against Milan last weekend to a bruised knee, but the 34-year-old played 83 minutes against Lithuania and showed no signs of fatigue. Asked how Ronaldo was feeling when substituted late on, Santos told RTP: “He’s fine. I had no doubt about that, as I said before the match....

WATCH: Ronaldo’s message to Syria The Portuguese sensation left Portugal as a teenager when he completed a move from Sporting CP to Manchester United back in 2003. Ronaldo would go on to make the move to Real Madrid in 2009, with whom he has since won one Primera Division title as well as two Champions League trophies. The 31-year-old was crowned the 2016 Ballon d’Or winner earlier in December after an impressive year that has seen him score 42 goals in 44 appearances for Madrid....

Having played alongside — and against — a massive list of stars throughout a storied career, the Argentine knows a thing or two about who he’d like to line up beside as his choices show. Former Real Madrid team-mate Cristiano Ronaldo leads the line in a 4-3-3 formation, with Neymar on the left and Di Maria himself on the right side of the forward line. As such, there was no space for national compatriot Lionel Messi, who has to make do with a spot on the bench!...

Ronaldo, 32, has been linked with a shock move from Madrid, with Paris Saint-Germain and his former club Manchester United reportedly interested. But United manager Jose Mourinho said on Saturday his team never considered a move for Ronaldo, labelling it “mission impossible”. Morientes, who won three Champions Leagues and two LaLiga titles at Madrid, has no doubt Ronaldo will stay at the European champions. “I haven’t heard Cristiano saying he wants to leave,” he said at the Star Sixes tournament....

The 32-year-old beat Madrid team-mate Pepe and Sporting CP goalkeeper Rui Patricio to the prestigious individual award at the Quinas de Ouro gala on Monday. Ronaldo led Madrid to Champions League glory as they beat Atletico Madrid in the final, with the forward netting the decisive spot-kick in the shootout in Milan after scoring 16 times en route to the decider to become the competition’s top scorer. Man City charged for player protest...

Ronaldo, 33, opted against adding to his 154 caps after Russia 2018, instead preferring to settle at Juventus. But the superstar forward, who has scored 15 goals in 24 games for Juve, said he would be back in Portugal colours in 2019. “In 2019 I intend to be back at the disposal of the coaching staff,” Ronaldo told Record. Ronaldo said he had come to an agreement to skip Portugal’s matches in the second half of 2018 to give him the best chance of making a good start to life at Juventus, the club he joined from Real Madrid....

Carew, 70, was playing golf Sept. 20 in Corona, Calif., when he was stricken with the kind of coronary his wife, Rhonda, says is called “the widow-maker.” MORE: Classic covers of Hall of Famers on Sporting News He since has had a device that helps his heart beat implanted and is now home and rehabbing, according to the story. “I am thankful to the wonderful team of doctors and caring nurses that have given me a second chance at life,” Carew said....

White told the Atlanta Journal Constitution that he will only sign with a team with a chance to go to the Super Bowl — otherwise, he’ll retire after 11 seasons, all with the Falcons. He wasn’t diplomatic about why. He also never even hinted that he’s willing to do anything and everything to squeeze out one more season, that he’s ready to leave everything on the field and empty his tank, and collect one more year of salary by any means necessary....

In other words, Novak Djokovic (152) and Rafael Nadal (89) combined are still 57 short of Roger Federer’s indoor wins. That’s how much of a master of controlled conditions the Swiss is. This rather large statistical gap in wins recorded on indoor court surfaces would come as a surprise to many. While Nadal is known to struggle in quick indoor conditions, Djokovic has had his own share of monumental successes on the surface - and so would’ve been expected to be close to Roger Federer....

The gritty and relentless game of Djokovic matches up superbly against Federer’s serene all-court game. The Serb has ruffled the Swiss maestro’s feathers on quite a few occasions, upending his title ambitions at the biggest of tournaments on the tour. One of only 8 players to have met Federer at each of the Grand Slams (the others being Tomas Berdych, Stan Wawrinka, Juan Martin del Potro, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Tommy Robredo, Mikhail Youzhny, and Nicolas Keifer), Djokovic is the only player to defeat Federer at all the four Grand Slam tournaments....

The Swiss great, a four-time Olympian, says “at the end of the day my heart decided I would love to play at the Olympic Games again.” Federer made the announcement in Tokyo during at an exhibition event for his Japanese uniform supplier. Federer will turn 39 shortly after the Olympic tournament. He had previously planned his schedule up to Wimbledon, which ends two weeks before the Tokyo Games. He will need a wild-card exemption because he has not played Davis Cup games to be eligible....

No, it was worse than that. MORE: Watch the full conference | Howard Stern writer crashes presser | NFL partners with hotline It was so bad, the NFL shouldn’t have held it in the first place. He’d have been better off staying in hiding in the proverbial undisclosed location. As low as his credibility had sunk before stepping (late) in front of the cameras in that New York hotel ballroom, it was somewhere beneath the parking-garage level by the time he was abruptly hustled away....

Goodell said he has asked the league’s competition committee to consider a rule that would automatically eject a player who is called for two personal fouls in a game. MORE: Goodell dabs, everyone cringes | Goodell would ’encourage son’ to play football The most obvious recent example that would fall under the new policy is the incident during the Panthers-Giants game earlier this season in which wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr....

“Well, listen, if he wants to resume his career in the NFL, then obviously it’s going to take a team to make that decision, but I welcome that (and) support a club making that decision and encourage them to do that,” Goodell told ESPN’s Mike Greenberg for the network’s “Return to Sports” special, which features interviews with six league commissioners. MORE: Colin Kaepernick kneeling timeline Goodell also said he would welcome input from Kaepernick if he were to decide not to return to football and instead consult with the league on social justice issues....

Factor 5 is best known for Star Wars: Rogue Squadron and its two sequels, and its first attempt to resurrect Pilotwings came immediately after the final game in that trilogy. This take on the franchise would have been completely different from any other that ever saw release. Pilotwings would be reimagined as a gritty action game set during the Cold War. Given that the original title and its Nintendo 64 follow-up — not to mention Pilotwings Resort — are among the most colorful games in Nintendo’s back catalogue, this would surely have caused some controversy among fans....