Polls have opened in Sweden’s legislative elections on Sunday, with the far-right expected to win a record score as voters unhappy about immigration punish one of the few remaining left-wing governments in Europe.

Polling institutes have suggested the anti-immigration Sweden Democrats (SD) could win anywhere between 16 and 25 percent of the vote, which would give it significant influence, making it impossible to predict the make-up of the next government.

The party with roots in the neo-Nazi movement has called the arrival of almost 400,000 asylum seekers since 2012 a threat to Swedish culture, and claims they are straining Sweden’s generous welfare state. 

The traditionally two biggest parties, the Social Democrats and the conservative Moderates, were together predicted to win around 40 percent, down by 10 percentage points from the last elections in 2014.

Candidates from the eight parties campaigned down to the wire on Saturday, targeting in particular the 20 percent of the 7.5 million eligible voters believed to still be undecided.

Social Democratic Prime Minister Stefan Lofven has repeatedly called the legislative elections a “referendum on the future of the welfare state”.

But the far right has presented it as a vote on immigration and integration, after Sweden took in more than 160,000 asylum seekers in 2015 alone, a per capita record in Europe.

‘No racists on our streets’

On the eve of the election, Lofven condemned “the hateful forces” in Sweden.

He urged voters to “think about how they wanted to use their time on Earth”, calling on them to “stand on the right side of history”.

Moderates leader Ulf Kristersson meanwhile said that after the election, Sweden would need “a strong cross-bloc cooperation to isolate the forces… pushing for Sweden to withdraw from international cooperation”.

In southern Sweden, an SD stronghold, party leader Akesson campaigned among throngs of supporters as detractors booed him and shouted “No racists on our streets!”

“We’re now competing against the Social Democrats and Moderates to become the biggest party in the country,” he said, dismissing the protesters as “communists”.

Around 7.5 million Swedes are eligible to cast a ballot on Sunday. 

Polling stations opened across the country at 8am (06:00 GMT) and close at 8pm (18:00 GMT), with first estimates expected soon afterwards.

Final results are due before midnight (22:00 GMT), but the composition of the next government may not be known for weeks.

USA TODAY

Published 11:52 p.m. ET Sept. 8, 2018

Coaches make dozens of decisions in every game. Most of them aren’t that noticeable. Some of them very much are.

Some can change a game. Some are just thrilling to watch.

Each week this season, USA TODAY Sports will select four calls from across the nation that we think rank among the best for the Amway Coach’s Call of the Week. 

We let you, the fans, decide which call from the four below had the most impact. 

Voting ends at 4 p.m. Monday where we will narrow the field to two for voting on Facebook.

This week’s candidates:

Lance Leipold, Buffalo

Football can be a simple game. You get the ball in the hands of your best players in crunch time. The Bulls were tied on the road at Temple and faced a third-and-10 on the edge of field-goal range. They drew up a short crossing route for Anthony Johnson with the rest of the receivers running off the Owls defenders.

Johnson, a potential high NFL draft pick next year, made the catch, and then did the rest by breaking tackles to reach the end zone and secure a 36-29 upset win for Buffalo.

Mike MacIntyre, Colorado

Sometimes you have to gamble big.

With Colorado trailing by one at the Nebraska 40 with less than two minutes left, conventional wisdom says you play for the field goal. Nobody told that to the Buffaloes.

They instead called for a deep pass, and quarterback Steven Montez and wide receiver Laviska Shenault Jr. connected for a game-winning touchdown in a dramatic matchup between former Big 12 rivals.

Will Muschamp, South Carolina

Scoring against the Georgia defense isn’t easy. So sometimes you have to pull out some tricks from your back pocket.

South Carolina sent wide receiver Deebo Samuel on a jet sweep to the right. When the Bulldogs defense came forward, he calmly threw to Bryan Edwards for a touchdown to cut the Gamecocks’ deficit to 14-7 in the first quarter.

Charlie Strong, South Florida

The Bulls were on the verge of a rare win against a Power Five school, but needed a touchdown to put things away for good late in the fourth quarter.

Enter Blake Barnett.

The junior quarterback perfectly executed a zone read by pulling the ball from his running back while the Georgia Tech defense over-pursued.

All that was left for Barnett was to take the ball into the end zone for an easy score that moved South Florida to 2-0 on the season.

Northern Ireland manager Michael O’Neill was full of praise for his team’s performance after their defeat by Bosnia-Herzegovina.

The home side lost 2-1 in their Nations League opener at Windsor Park despite being on top for most of the game.

Goals either side of half-time won it for the Bosnians, with substitute Will Grigg grabbing a late consolation for O’Neill’s men.

“We were dominant from the first minute to the last,” said O’Neill.

“I’m disappointed to lose the game, of course, but there were a lot of positives to take from our performance.

“We gave away two poor goals which is out of character for us, but once again we showed a lot of spirit and created a lot of chances.

“We played some fantastic football, our movement was excellent and for the first 30 minutes the game was played almost entirely in their half.”

‘It was a clear penalty’

Northern Ireland had a strong claim for a penalty in the opening minute of the match when George Saville looked to have been brought down by Ervin Zukanovic in the area.

The referee waved play on but O’Neill is convinced a spot-kick should have been awarded.

“It was a clear penalty,” he continued.

“George did really well to link up with Steven Davis and make a great break into the box. He has taken it past the defender who committed himself and brought George down.

“I know it was very early in the match but it was a clear foul and the penalty should have been given.”

‘Bailey looked assured’

The second Bosnian goal came from a mix-up between home defender Craig Cathcart and debutant Northern Ireland goalkeeper Bailey Peacock-Farrell.

But O’Neill said he was happy with the keeper’s performance as well as that of the other young members of the squad.

“Bailey will be disappointed to concede two goals on his debut but I felt he looked assured and confident,” added O’Neill.

“Jamal Lewis was terrific and George Saville also looked great on what was only his third or fourth start for Northern Ireland.

“In fact, there wasn’t a performance from any of my players that I could be disappointed about.

“These games will help prepare us for the Euro qualifiers, but we’re still very much in this competition as well.”

Antakya, Turkey – Syrian government forces backed by their Russian allies have stepped up their bombardment of rebel-held territories in northwest Syria, killing at least six civilians, according to local activists.

The air raids and shelling on Saturday came a day after Russia rejected a Turkish call for a ceasefire in Syria’s Idlib province, where a major government assault aimed at recapturing the last rebel stronghold in the country is seemingly imminent.

The attacks targeted areas in southern Idlib province and in the north of neighbouring Hama province, in what is seen as the biggest escalation over the past week.

One hospital in the village of Hass in southern Idlib was destroyed by a barrel bomb dropped from a helicopter.

Local activists told Al Jazeera that six civilians died in the bombardment, including one child.

According to Abd al-Kareem al-Rahmoun, a representative of the White Helmets, a volunteer rescue group operating in rebel-held parts of Syria, the town of Qalaat al-Madiq in northern Hama province was targeted with more than 150 shells.

The shelling killed two men and wounded five others, including two children.

At least 26 people in rebel-held areas have been killed since the beginning of the month, the White Helmets said.

Rebel factions in northern Hama province responded to Saturday’s attacks with rocket fire and shelling of areas under government control, including the city of Salhab further west. According to the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), there were no reported casualties. 

On Friday, rebel shelling killed 10 people, including five children in the Christian-majority town of Maharda in western Hama province, SOHR reported. 

Mohamad Haj Ali, commander of the First Coastal Division, which is part of the moderate opposition formation al-Jabha al-Wataniya lil-Tahrir (NLF), told Al Jazeera that despite the escalation, the battle for Idlib has not started yet. 

“[The offensive was delayed] because of Turkish pressure on the Russians. We still hope for a diplomatic solution,” he said, adding, however, that he expects the offensive to be launched in the coming weeks.

If this happens, its first stage will target northern Latakia province and the area around the town of Jisr al-Shaghour in southern Idlib, he said.

In a separate development, clashes erupted between Syrian troops and Kurdish security forces known as Asayesh in the Kurdish-majority city of Qamishli in northern Hasakah province. 

At least 13 members of the government forces were killed and seven Asayesh fighters, according to SOHR. 

Although Qamishli is fully controlled by Kurdish forces, Damascus has retained control of a military base in its outskirts.

What next after Tehran summit?

In a summit on Friday in the Iranian capital, Turkey – which backs certain rebel groups in Idlib – and Assad allies Russia and Iran failed to reach an agreement on the fate of the province, which is home to about three million people, half of whom are internally displaced.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s proposal for a cessation of hostilities was rejected by his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin.

Naji Abu Hadhifa, a spokesperson for the NFL, told Al Jazeera that nothing has changed after the Tehran summit, which confirmed the armed opposition’s low expectations.

According to Hadhifa, the intensified bombardment of southern Idlib and northern Hama provinces is aimed at frightening the civilian population.

He added, though, that the armed opposition has stepped up preparations to deal with a large-scale government offensive, and even a feared chemical attack.

Hadhifa also accused Russia of trying to sow divisions within the opposition by “lying” that there are some factions who want reconciliation and are seeking to establish contact with the Syrian government or Moscow.

Earlier on Saturday, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu also downplayed the current escalation and said that Turkey is currently working hard to de-escalate the situation.

“The terrorist groups in Idlib were brought there by those who are now attacking them – from Aleppo, Homs, the south – through corridors. We warned them that this would be a problem in the future … and now they use it as an excuse,” said Cavusoglu, referring to the humanitarian corridors Russia established after reconciliation deals with rebel factions that allowed them to relocate to Idlib as advancing government forces moved into opposition-held territory.

Russia has justified its intention to launch an offensive on Idlib by citing the presence of “terrorists” in the province.

Cavusoglu also said that if fighting escalates, some two million people would head to the Turkish border, which would affect both Turkey and Europe.

The debate over the best division in college football has been settled. Believe it or not, there was once such a debate. The traditionalists were right. The contrarians were wrong.

In the defense of being contrarian, there was a case to be made for the Big Ten East. It wasn’t just because of Ohio State, though there was once a time when the Buckeyes dominated the headlines for reasons unrelated to deleted text messages. The list goes on: Ohio State was followed by Penn State, Michigan and Michigan State to give the division an amount of top-level depth unmatched by any other in the Football Bowl Subdivision.

That was wrong. Through two weeks, the best division in the country is the SEC West. And it’s not close.

First off, let’s give some credit to Ohio State for looking the part in topping Oregon State and Rutgers to start the year. Good teams beat bad teams; the Buckeyes destroyed a pair of bad teams. Penn State rebounded from a close call against Appalachian State to take care of business on Saturday night against Pittsburgh. Michigan’s offense improved against Western Michigan after an awful showing in a loss to Notre Dame. Michigan State could be worthy of its place in the top half of the Amway Coaches Poll. These are good teams.

More: Winners and losers of college football’s Week 2 headlined by a bad South Carolina loss

More: Clemson’s scare against Texas A&M illustrates some issues but nothing major to worry about

Now look at the SEC West. I can report that Alabama remains Alabama. If anything, sophomore quarterback Tua Tagovailoa makes the Crimson Tide more dangerous than ever. It’s safe to say that Alabama is one of the best teams in the country. It’s not a stretch.

LSU topped Miami (Fla.) in a neutral-site opener and kicked some sand in the face of its detractors. Mississippi State went to Kansas State and just beat the tar out of Bill Snyder and the Wildcats, validating a good part of the preseason hype surrounding Joe Moorhead’s first season. Auburn’s win against Washington in last week’s opener told us that the best team in the Pac-12 Conference – and very likely one of the top teams in the entire Football Bowl Subdivision – isn’t quite as good as the second-best team in the SEC.  

To hammer this point home, think about Clemson’s two-point win against Texas A&M. Clemson is very easily one of the elite programs in the FBS and one of the top contenders for this year’s national championship. Texas A&M is just getting started under Jimbo Fisher. At best, the Aggies are the fifth-best team in the SEC West, behind Alabama, Auburn, LSU and Mississippi State.

So the fifth-best team in this division took the nation’s No. 2 team to the wire and lost by less than a field goal. That pretty much says it all. Through two weeks, the debate isn’t really a debate at all: Every division is chasing the SEC West.

 

Sandra Harwitt, Special for USA TODAY Sports
Published 10:24 p.m. ET Sept. 8, 2018 | Updated 10:31 p.m. ET Sept. 8, 2018

NEW YORK — When Naomi Osaka started the year she was a talented 20-year-old ranked No. 68 on the WTA computer with a bright future ahead. 

No one knew that 2018 would be when the future became the present. But this is the year she sealed her reputation as a Grand Slam champion and a top-10 star.  

On Monday morning, when she awakes with the US Open trophy in her possession, she’ll weigh in as the No. 7 player in the world. She’s also the first Japanese citizen – man or woman – to win a Grand Slam title.  

And she did it by beating her childhood idol, Serena Williams, who won her first of 23 Grand Slam titles here in 1999, when Osaka was not quite 2 years old.

It’s a shame the spotlight was on Williams and not Osaka when the trophy was handed out and the boos at Arthur Ashe Stadium finally had abated, at Williams’ request. Many believe Osaka was robbed of a true celebration.

Whether it was because Williams always was her role model or not, Osaka istoo classy to say her first moment of glory in the sport was forever spoiled if that was how she felt. She also insisted she was mostly unaware of everything that was happening on the court, claiming it was too loud to follow.  

Osaka’s performance to earn a 6-2, 6-4 win over Williams was mature in play as well as composure. In seven matches played en route to the title she only dropped one set and a total of 34 games. 

During the second set of the final, Williams, obviously annoyed at herself for being outplayed by a Grand Slam final neophyte, lost her cool and childishly whined. The result of three outbursts – reactions to being called for violations on coaching, smashing a racket and verbal abuse of  chair umpire Carlos Ramos — resulted in Williams first losing a point and then a game.  

It would’ve been hard with all that taking place for Osaka to relish becoming a Grand Slam champion on court as it definitely was a pro-Williams crowd. 

The truth is, however, that Osaka isn’t the big celebration kind of player. Even if there were no histrionics in this final, she wouldn’t have been the champion with arms pumping in the air or doing a victory twirl. 

All Osaka would offer was a faint smile ahead of a hug at the net for the 36-year-old Williams.

In fact, she even brought her love of Williams into the classroom, saying, “When I was growing up, I did a whole report on her in third grade. I colored it and everything. 

“I said, ‘I want to be like her.’ ”  

More surprising, Osaka apologized to the fans for spoiling the moment for them – most had come to see Williams win a 24th Grand Slam trophy and tie the record held by Margaret Court – not to see a new Grand Slam champion crowned.  

“I know that everyone was cheering for her and I’m sorry it had to end like this,” she said. “I just wanted to say thank you for watching the match.” 

When asked in her post-championship news conference why she felt it necessary to apologize on court, she started to tear up.  

“Your question is making me emotional,” she said. “OK, because I know that, like, she really wanted to have the 24th Grand Slam, right? Everyone knows this. It’s on the commercials, it’s everywhere. Like, when I step onto the court, I feel like a different person. I’m not a Serena fan. I’m just a tennis player playing another tennis player.  

“But then when I hugged her at the net, I felt like a little kid again.” 

Osaka’s only other career title came at the Indian Wells tournament in March. She beat Williams in the Miami Open later that month, but that was just the fourth match in Williams’ return from maternity leave.

Osaka played as if experience was in her corner. Williams willingly acknowledged that her opponent outplayed her in every way in the final, which was an attitude more aligned to a 36-year-old playing in her 31st Grand Slam final. 

“I feel like she was really, really consistent,” Williams said. “I think her game is always super consistent. I felt like she played really well. She was so focused.  

“Honestly, there’s a lot I can learn from her from this match,” she added.  

A good place for Williams to start that process might be in learning that instead of blowing a fuse it’s advisable to keep one’s composure in difficult situations.  

 

Darren Till failed in his bid to become Britain’s second UFC world champion as Tyron Woodley produced a superb submission win in Texas.

The American welterweight champion started quickly, and floored Till with a right hand early in the second.

Woodley swarmed his rival with a ground and pound before locking in a d’arce choke, forcing a tap out with 41 seconds of the second remaining.

“Tyron was the better man,” said Till. “I’m gutted. I’ll be back stronger.”

“It just really, really hurts.”

‘This feel awesome’

After tapping out, Liverpudlian Till instantly got to his feet and shook Woodley’s hand in acknowledgement he had been second best in the biggest bout of his career.

The 25-year-old, who walked to the ring to cheers and the tune of Sweet Caroline, held his own in the opening five minutes when Woodley tried but failed to take him to ground.

But the second five-minute period belonged to the 36-year-old from Missouri as he married a sweet right hand with energy on the floor and an artful submission.

“He’s a tough kid,” said Woodley. “My coach told me I’ve got to be ready to go all the way in. I was just taking my time – I saw he wasn’t going away easy and took my time to get the job done.

“This feels pretty awesome. I don’t believe in ring rust, but I’ve been away for 14 months.”

UFC president Dana White had described the occasion as a “tipping point” for Till and insisted the he could become one of the organisation’s “big stars” if he were to win and join Michael Bisping as Britons to have held a UFC world title.

Till’s journey to the top had involved 17 wins and a draw, all of which followed a move to Brazil in 2012 as he sought a fresh start after being stabbed twice in the back in his home city.

But a first defeat follows a points win over Stephen Thompson at Liverpool’s Echo Arena where the majority of ringside media had Till beaten on the cards.

That display, added to this disappointment, may prompt questions about whether he should step up from welterweight to prevent the need to cut a 6ft frame down to 170lbs.

Meanwhile, Woodley quashed views he may be past his peak. He reduced Till to landing just one strike in over nine minutes and has now defended the title he claimed in 2016 four times, this one his first stoppage win as a champion.

Analysis – ‘Till will be better for this’

Former UFC world title challenger Dan Hardy on BBC Radio 5 live sports extra:

This will be great motivation for Till to go back and work on things. It took someone as dangerous as Till to draw that kind of performance from Woodley. We will see more of Till in the future, but for now the king of the welterweight division is Tyron Woodley.

My question is: does Till move up to middleweight so he doesn’t have to force himself down in weight so much? We’ve seen fighters do that and look even better.

I will go as far as to say Till will look better at middleweight. But this is all about Woodley tonight.

Till says he wants to be one of the greatest of all time – and sometimes you need a loss like this.

Magomedsharipov wins again

Elsewhere on the American Airlines Center card, Englishman Craig White spent the majority of his welterweight bout defending on his back as American Diego Sanchez took a unanimous decision.

But London fighter Darren Stewart found success with a superb elbow to the head which ended his middleweight contest with Charles Byrd in round two.

Russian featherweight Zabit Magomedsharipov produced an eye-catching knee-bar from behind to force Brandon Davis into a submission and with it, landed a 12th win in a row.

And Brazilian Jessica Andrade produced a devastating right hand to secure a first-round knockout in her strawweight contest with Karolina Kowalkiewicz.

Serena Williams accused the umpire of sexism in docking her a game in the US Open final and said she had not been cheating.

Naomi Osaka’s 6-2 6-4 victory was overshadowed by Williams’ extraordinary outbursts in the second set.

She received a code violation for coaching, a penalty point for racquet abuse and a game penalty for calling the umpire a “liar” and a “thief”.

Afterwards the American said it was “sexist” to have been penalised a game.

“He’s never taken a game from a man because they said ‘thief’,” the 36-year-old former world number one added.

“But I’ve seen other men call other umpires several things.

“I’m here fighting for women’s rights and for women’s equality and for all kinds of stuff.”

The issues began when Williams’ coach Patrick Mouratoglou made a hand gesture towards her early in the second set at New York’s Flushing Meadows.

On-court coaching is allowed in WTA events but not in Grand Slams with the rules saying “communication of any kind” between player and coach is banned.

Williams denied she received coaching saying she would “never cheat to win and would rather lose” and demanded an apology from the umpire Carlos Ramos.

Mouratoglou, however, later admitted coaching.

Three games later Osaka was awarded a point when Williams was given another code violation for smashing her racquet.

Williams was furious, walking up to Ramos, shouting and pointing at him as the crowd started booing in support of the American in a toxic atmosphere.

At the next change of ends, Williams continued to rant, calling Ramos a “liar”, telling him to “say you are sorry” and describing him as a “thief” for awarding a point to Osaka.

“For me, it blows my mind,” the 23-time Grand Slam champion said. “But I’m going to continue to fight for women and to fight for us to have equal.

“This is just an example for the next person that has emotions, that wants to express themselves and wants to be a strong woman.

“They’re going to be allowed to do that because of today. Maybe it didn’t work out for me, but it’s going to work out for the next person.”

‘I was not being coached’

After the match Mouratoglou admitted he was coaching but added: “I don’t think she looked at me”. He also said Osaka’s coach was doing the same and that “everyone does it”.

In her post-match news conference Williams said she was she “was not being coached” and that she “did not understand” why Mouratoglou would say he was doing so.

“I just texted Patrick, like, ‘what is he talking about?’ Because we don’t have signals,” she said.

“We have never discussed signals. I don’t even call for on-court coaching [in WTA events].

“I’m trying to figure out why he would say that. I don’t understand. I want to clarify myself what he’s talking about.”

‘I didn’t know what was going on’

Before Williams’ outbursts Osaka had dominated the first set in her first Grand Slam final, against a player she describes as her idol.

Throughout the second set she stayed composed in a difficult atmosphere to become Japan’s first major winner.

Afterwards, the 20-year-old said she “didn’t know what was going on” between Williams and the umpire.

“I was just trying to focus,” said Osaka, who was seeded 20th.

“Since it was my first Grand Slam final, I did not want to get overwhelmed.

“Serena came to the bench and told me she had a point penalty and when she got the game penalty I didn’t know that either.

“I was just trying to focus on myself at that time.”