The English Premiership bursts back into the limelight today with Chelsea eyeing a third successive title.
The Blues cruised to a second straight crown in May, and their would-be challengers have been plotting their revenge for three long months.
Chelsea, like Manchester United, do not start their campaign until tomorrow, meaning the likes of Liverpool, Arsenal and Tottenham have the chance to flash their credentials and fire an early warning shot.
And the three teams newly promoted from The Championship -- Reading, Sheffield United and Watford -- will be out to send a message to those predicting a swift return that they intend to stick around.
The first match kicks off at Bramall Lane, where Sheffield United host FA Cup holders Liverpool, who gave themselves a boost on Sunday by beating Chelsea 2-1 to claim the FA Community Shield.
The 2005 European champions are already in their stride, having won the first leg of their Champions League qualifying tie with Maccabi Haifa, and, of course, put one over on Chelsea.
Reds boss Rafael Benitez reckons his pre-season purchase of Craig Bellamy, Jermaine Pennant and Mark Gonzalez has added the width and pace the team need to become serious title contenders.
But the Blades will be out to blunt Liverpool's new attacking threat and Neil Warnock, their livewire manager, will relish the chance to claim an early scalp.
Arsenal have gone through a rocky pre-season since they lost in the Champions League final to Barcelona, with legend Dennis Bergkamp retiring, Robert Pires and Sol Campbell departing, Jose Reyes and Ashley Cole itching to leave and the club moving to their new Emirates Stadium.
But that is nothing compared to the chaos at Aston Villa, their opponents today in the first competitive match at the 60,000-seater Emirates.
Villa have seen managers, chairmen and phantom player revolts come and go, leaving new boss Martin O'Neill on a hiding to nothing in his first game back in management after quitting Celtic in May last year.
If Arsenal turns on the style, with their only pre-season signing Tomas Rosicky set to make his home debut, then the size of O'Neill's task could become starkly visible.
Tottenham, who ran Arsenal mighty close in the race for the final Champions League spot, travel to Bolton looking to build on last season's progress under Martin Jol.
Newcastle kick off at home to Wigan who will be keen to repeat their excellent start to last season which kept the Latics in the Premiership on their top-flight debut.
Magpies boss Glenn Roeder has depleted resources in attack minus the retired legend Alan Shearer and the injured England goal machine Michael Owen and unable to attract a new top-class goalscorer to St James' Park.
Republic of Ireland winger Damien Duff is set to make his Newcastle competitive debut after leaving Chelsea, but the likes of Shola Ameobi and Albert Luque might not polish off his crosses as well as his former teammates.
Football League champions Reading, in their first season in the top flight, welcome Middlesbrough to the Madejski Stadium.
The Royals' only major signing, South Korea winger Seol Ki-hyeon, is set to make his Premiership debut, while Boro boss Gareth Southgate will be given his first managerial test after taking over from England boss Steve McClaren.
Watford, who won the Championship play-offs, are the bookmakers' favorites to finish bottom of the table.
However, Hornets boss Aidy Boothroyd stunned the critics by revolutionizing Watford's fortunes in his first full season at the club and he faces the prospect of an opening day trip to Everton.
Elsewhere, West Ham hosts Charlton in a London derby, with the Hammers having to make do without striker Dean Ashton, who broke an ankle in training while on England duty.
Blackburn plays Portsmouth, for whom David James and Sol Campbell could make their first competitive starts as Harry Redknapp attempts once more to conjure up a side able to keep the south coast club in the top flight.
Chelsea kicks off their campaign at home to Manchester City tomorrow, though Germany captain Michael Ballack, one of their two stellar new recruits alongside Ukraine striker Andriy Shevchenko, is ruled out with a hip injury.
Also tomorrow, Manchester United takes on Fulham, with Red Devils fans hoping they can improve on last season's second-placed finish.
A sumo star was born in Japan on Sunday when 24-year-old Takerufuji became the first wrestler in 110 years to win a top-division tournament on his debut, triumphing at the 15-day Spring Grand Sumo Tournament in Osaka despite injuring his ankle on the penultimate day. Takerufuji, whose injury had left him in a wheelchair outside the ring, shoved out the higher-ranked Gonoyama at the Edion Arena Osaka to the delight of the crowd, giving him an unassailable record of 13 wins and two losses to claim the Emperor’s Cup. “I did it just through willpower. I didn’t really know what was going
The US’ Ilia Malinin on Saturday produced six scintillating quadruple jumps, including a quadruple Axel, in the men’s free skate to capture his first figure skating world title. The 19-year-old nicknamed the “Quad god,” who is the only skater to land a quadruple Axel in competition, dazzled with an array of breathtakingly executed jumps starting with his quad Axel and including a quadruple Lutz in combination with a triple flip and a quadruple toe loop in combination with a triple toe. He added an unexpected triple-triple combination at the end to earn a world-record 227.79 in the free program for a championship
Shohei Ohtani’s interpreter is being criminally investigated by the IRS, and the attorney for his alleged bookmaker said Thursday that the ex-Los Angeles Dodgers employee placed bets on international soccer — but not baseball. The IRS confirmed Thursday that interpreter Ippei Mizuhara and Mathew Bowyer, the alleged illegal bookmaker, are under criminal investigation through the agency’s Los Angeles Field Office. IRS Criminal Investigation spokesperson Scott Villiard said he could not provide additional details. Mizuhara, 39, was fired by the Dodgers on Wednesday following reports from the Los Angeles Times and ESPN about his alleged ties to an illegal bookmaker and debts well
MLB on Friday announced a formal investigation into the scandal swirling around Shohei Ohtani and his former interpreter amid charges that the Los Angeles Dodgers superstar was the victim of “massive theft.” The Dodgers on Wednesday fired Ippei Mizuhara, Ohtani’s long-time interpreter and close friend, after Ohtani’s representatives alleged that the Japanese two-way star had been the victim of theft, which was reported to involve millions of dollars and link Mizuhara to a suspected illegal bookmaker in California. “Major League Baseball has been gathering information since we learned about the allegations involving Shohei Ohtani and Ippei Mizuhara from the news media,” MLB