Saracens kept a brave Newcastle Falcons side at bay to begin the defence of their Premiership crown with victory.

First-half tries from Jamie George and Alex Lewington in response to three Toby Flood penalties gave Mark McCall’s side a 17-9 half-time lead.

Mark Wilson crossed twice, either side of Saracens debutant Lewington’s second, to give the Falcons belief.

Yet with Sarries down to 14, Nick Tompkins’ score was enough for an extra point, denying the Falcons a bonus.

Newcastle were denied a try in bizarre circumstances during the first period when Vereniki Goneva picked up Owen Farrell’s missed drop goal in-goal, and scooted the length of the field.

However, referee Ian Tempest brought play back, claiming the Fiji winger had in fact grounded the ball behind the line.

Regardless of controversies, this was an impressive performance from Newcastle in spite of their 20th straight loss to Sarries, as they showed the same qualities which produced semi-final play-off rugby last season.

Dean Richards’ side disrupted rhythm, enjoyed success at the set-piece and showed flashes of their own quality in attack, but in the end the champions’ relentless style proved too much when they got the formula right.

George finished off a flowing move to the right when David Strettle dumped back infield, and debutant Lewington finished a break off beautifully when he raced through to score at the end.

Wilson’s smart tries, the first the product of sharpness at the ruck and thunderous power to steam straight through it and the second on the back of a short line-out, were both cancelled out almost immediately as Sarries roared forward.

Lewington got his second from a floated Farrell cut-out ball, and Brad Barritt’s offload put a try on a plate for Tompkins with time ticking away – cruelly snatching the losing bonus away in the process.

The only sour notes for McCall’s visitors were the departures of wing Sean Maitland with a finger injury and his opposite wideman Strettle after a blow to the head.

Newcastle director of rugby Dean Richards told BBC Radio 5 live:

“It was a tough game. I thought both sides were incredibly competitive and I thought at the end their experience on their bench probably told.

“We’ve got a lot of young boys coming off the bench who are a lot less experienced than they’ve got, but it’s one of those things. We’ll get better, those boys will get the experience and we’ll improve.”

Saracens director of rugby Mark McCall:

“We’re thrilled to get a win. It’s a difficult place to come and play.

“It was a rusty performance by us and there were a lot of areas where we were under par, but we had the odd passage where we were a lot more encouraging.

“To dig ourselves out of the situation we got into shows a lot about the experience and the resolve of the team.”

Newcastle: Hammersley; Goneva, Harris, Matavesi, Radwan; Flood, Takulua; Mavinga, McGuigan, Mulipola, Green, Witty, Wilson, Welch (capt), Chick.

Replacements: Socino, Brocklebank, Payne, Cavubati, Graham, Stuart, Hodgson, Tait.

Saracens: Goode; Strettle, Lozowski, Barritt (capt), Maitland; Farrell, Wigglesworth; Vunipola, George, Koch, Itoje, Skelton, Rhodes, Earl, Wray.

Replacements: Tolofua, Barrington, Figallo, Isiekwe, Vailanu, Whiteley, Tompkins, Lewington.

Referee: Ian Tempest.

A Myanmar court has sentenced two Reuters news agency journalists to seven years in prison for illegal possession of official documents, a ruling that comes as international criticism mounts over the military’s alleged human rights abuses against Rohingya Muslims.

Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo had pleaded not guilty to violating the colonial-era Official Secrets Act, punishable by up to 14 years in prison. They contended they were framed by police.

The verdict was postponed from a week ago because the presiding judge was ill.

The case has drawn worldwide attention as an example of how press freedom is suffering under the government of Nobel Peace laureate Aung San Suu Kyi.

Her taking power in 2016 had raised hopes for an accelerated transition to full democracy from military rule, but she has since disappointed many former admirers.

“What happened today threatens to undermine the rule of law and freedom of press that democracy requires,” said Kevin Krolicki, Reuters’ regional editor for Asia. He called the verdict “heartbreaking”.

Wa Lone, 32, and Kyaw Soe Oo, 28, both testified they suffered from harsh treatment during their initial interrogations.

Their several appeals for release on bail were rejected. Wa Lone’s wife, Pan Ei Mon, gave birth to the couple’s first child in Yangon on Aug. 10, but Wa Lone has not yet seen his daughter.

The two journalists had been reporting last year on the brutal crackdown by security forces on the Rohingya in Myanmar’s Rakhine state.

About 700,000 Rohingya fled to neighbouring Bangladesh to escape the violence targeting them after attacks by Rohingya figthers killed a dozen members of the security forces.

Investigators working for the UN’s top human rights body said last week that genocide charges should be brought against senior Myanmar military officers over the crackdown.

The accusation of genocide was rejected by Myanmar’s government, but is the most serious official recommendation for prosecution so far.

Also last week, Facebook banned Myanmar’s powerful military chief and 19 other individuals and organizations from its site to prevent the spread of hate and misinformation in connection with the Rohingya crisis.

Dozens of journalists and pro-democracy activists marched Saturday in Yangon, Myanmar’s biggest city, in support of the reporters.

But in the country at large, with an overwhelming Buddhist majority, there is widespread prejudice against the Rohingya, and in the government and military, there is near-xenophobic sensitivity to foreign criticism.

Myanmar’s courts are one of the country’s most conservative and nationalistic institutions, and the darkened political atmosphere had seemed unlikely to help the reporters’ cause.

This is a major step backward in Myanmar’s transition to democracy, cannot be squared with the rule of law or freedom of speech.

Stephen J Adler, Reuters Editor-in-Chief

The court earlier this year declined to stop the trial after an initial phase of presentation of evidence, even though a policeman called as a prosecution witness testified that his commander had ordered that documents be planted on the journalists.

After his testimony, the officer was jailed for a year for violating police regulations and his family was kicked out of police housing.

Other testimony by prosecution witnesses was contradictory, and the documents presented as evidence against the reporters appeared to be neither secret nor sensitive. The journalists testified they did not solicit or knowingly possess any secret documents.

UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Myanmar Knut Ostby said the UN was “disappointed by today’s court decision”.

“The United Nations has consistently called for the release of the Reuters journalists and urged the authorities to respect their right to pursue freedom of expression and information,” he said.

“Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo should be allowed to return to their families and continue their work as journalists.”

Fear the Walking Dead

type

TV Show

Genre

Drama, Horror

run date

08/23/15

performer

Alycia Debnam-Carey, Lennie James, Garret Dillahunt, Jenna Elfman

broadcaster

AMC

seasons

4

Spoiler alert: Read on only if you have already watched Sunday’s episode of Fear the Walking Dead, “Weak.”

The character of Strand was once again nowhere to be seen in the latest installment of Fear the Walking Dead. But the man who plays him was plenty busy. That’s because Colman Domingo became the first actor in the Walking Dead franchise to cross over into directing, as he helmed Sunday’s episode, titled “Weak.” We talked to Domingo about the transition (which took two years), the key moments from the episode, what to expect next, and where the hell Strand is. 

ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: You’re an actor, a writer, and a stage director, but what made you want to get into TV directing?
COLMAN DOMINGO: I’ve been offered to do some work as a film director for maybe the past 10 years, and each time I said no because I didn’t think I was ready for it. Being on a show like Fear the Walking Dead, I started to learn more about camera work, learn more about the way the crew operates, and had more of a stronger opinion on how I think a television director can operate in the healthiest way. The seeds were planted maybe two seasons ago, when Gale Anne Hurd came with me to see a production of Barbecue at the Geffen Playhouse that I directed, and she turned to me after the show and she said, “You should direct for our show.” And I thought, “I think you’re right. And I think I’m ready for it.”

So I began the process of about a year of unofficially shadowing a few directors just by watching, and then I officially shadowed director Andrew Bernstein for the final two episodes of last season, which I was also in heavily. And then everyone was on board with me directing an episode this season. It would be the first time anyone has directed from one of the franchises, and they thought, “Who else better to direct but someone who knows, loves, and respects the genre so much?”

So for the whole first half of the season, I was watching everything and asking questions — trying to really understand how to negotiate and really facilitate and be a really good leader. By the time we got to my episode, I was ready. But of course, the night before, I felt like I wanted to throw up and I thought, “What am I going to do? Am I going to ruin the show?” But everyone put in their absolute best and gave it their all. I think we all turned in our best work. And I hope I was a good, inspiring facilitator.

Was there any concern about actors you have worked alongside all of a sudden taking direction for you?
You know, I was worried about that, but then when I got my episode, it was wild because it was Jenna Elfman, Maggie Grace, Lennie James, and a few other newer actors like, you know, Mo Collins and Chill Mitchell, and then a friend of mine who I’ve known for a long time, Tonya Pinkins, and I was like, “Oh my God. Are you kidding me?”

But they’re such pros. They were so open, and they knew I would be able to dial in things that many other directors probably don’t understand as well. I understand what the actor’s process is, and I think actors need to always know that — that I’m not trying to manipulate you, but I’m on your side and I want what you want. I want you trust me. I want to make sure you’re seen in the best light and you’re going to give a performance that you’re proud of. That’s all I want. I think if you approach it that way, everyone receives it that way, so it was a great dance between all of us.

Were there any scenes you were especially focused on or worried about?
Yes. I thought my episode was going to be more character-based, and I think it is, yet I have enormous stunts. I have the stunts on the cow-catcher with the woman who had no legs and was attached to it. I thought, “How are we going to do this?” We have the stunts with Jenna and Maggie, the car chase and turning out. I thought the first thing we had to do was storyboard the heck out of it, so we did that. Then I had to make sure I got tested on everything, because you want to make sure that every stunt is tested.

And the one with the cow-catcher? I feel like we had 300 emails about that because of the safety of the human being. How are we going to get it? We’re driving in a very small lane. And how are we going to get the camera car to follow? There were a lot of variables that could go wrong at any moment. We actually made the impossible because we only had seven days to shoot instead of the normal eight days. One of our days was eaten up by pickups from another episode, and so we knew we had to be on our game even more so because we had less time.

How did you all do that scene with the walker in quicksand who then pulls off a limb getting out of there before attacking Al? Was that green screen, practical, or a mix?
That was all practical. Every ounce of that was practical. So this guy was in this coagulant that’s found in milkshakes or something, something really gross. So he’s in there. I gotta give it up to him. He was in there for hours. And working on the leg break, this man is cut off by the knee in real life, so we actually added that bottom part and then it was just a trick of make sure we’re getting the camera and making sure we get that moment, where it’s just so gross and it breaks apart and he goes over to Althea with all that slime. It was just a great dance because I love getting shots of under the trunk from the POV of Althea looking at the walker and all of that. I love this idea of this fight for their lives. And then the jack falling on his head. We did that practically, of course, but then special effects just killed it when it comes to the blood and guts and everything. None of that was there.

You were working a lot with Jenna Elfman in this episode. A lot of heads were turned when she was cast because everyone thought of her as a sitcom actress. What was it like working with her on this pretty big episode for her?
She’s an incredible dramatic actress. And I think a lot of comedians make the best dramatic actresses because they have a facility. They’re very vulnerable. They’re very open, like clowns. Clowns are open. The best of comedians are such open spirits. They’re big, open, wounded hearts, actually. She’s just someone who says, “Yes. Let’s do it. Let’s try it.” And there’s no ego about it. Her ego is out of the door. She’s not afraid to go bigger, go smaller, be silly, try something because she’s like, “Yeah. The whole point of it is trying something.” We have to try the things that may even be wrong to get to the right choice.

She was a dream to direct, actually, she and Maggie Grace. Working with them together was just incredible because Maggie is also very inquisitive and Maggie is very much a dramaturge, and she’s also diluting and interrogating every word because she wants every word to make so much sense with the arc of her character. And also Lennie James. I didn’t have to direct Lennie much. I would just give him a couple of thoughts and ideas and he’ll go with it. He’ll adjust quickly. Or if it’s something he’s not sure of, he’ll just take a pause and then, “Okay. Let me try it.” Very simple. I feel like I’ve been blessed to work with such pros. I didn’t get a lot of backhanded comments or anything like that. Everyone was game.

There’s a big moment for Al in this episode where she’s not going to go with June to go meet Morgan at the mile marker because she wants to get her SWAT van back. She starts to walk away. June starts to drive away and then Al sort of pumps the gun and goes with her. What makes her change her mind?
I love that moment. That’s actually one of my favorite moments of the episode. I’m glad you talked about it. And I hope you noticed that Sergio Leone-inspired shot that comes through the ankles after she raises the gun and looks at that rearview mirror, and then there’s a camera between Althea’s legs, an ankle shot. It’s such a beautiful shot, and it’s indicative of old Sergio Leone films that I wanted to make sure was in there, which is part of our Texas motif.

Anyway, I think the moment why she turns back is she can’t deny she’s just gone through a huge experience where she thinks she may need other people. She was in the fight with the walker. She had sort of a come-to-Jesus conversation with June. And now she’s about to walk off on her own again and she realizes as she’s walking there, she knows she’s just crossed over in some way. She’s just made a great comrade that demands her of her truth. Maybe they can make more of this together. I think everyone’s trying to find community in this episode, and this episode in particular, this is where Al says, “Okay. I think this is a good thing and I want to be a part of this and this is going to help us move forward.” And so she shoots the gun and heads back.

You mentioned Tonya Pinkins, who’s joined the cast here and is playing this mysterious woman who seems intent on sabotaging any of the good work of people. She’s poisoning the water, she’s got zombie Pervis, she turns poor Quinn into a walker at the end to do her bidding. What can you tell us about this character?
The character is called Filthy Woman. That’s the title of her character. We don’t know her name yet. So Filthy Woman is one of the most resourceful people in this apocalypse because she has found something that is working for her. For whatever reason it is, she’s doing some dastardly things like, you know, poisoning the water. She’s writing on people’s heads with this incredible penmanship. Maybe we’ll find out of why she’s doing this, why she’s taking this to task, why she’s living this way. Why is this her endgame?

Everyone’s finding something. Right now, Strand has found a bottle of wine or scotch to be his whole motivation for the rest of the apocalypse, and this Filthy Woman seems to have found hers. She’s claiming, “I’m not weak,” and she believes strength is in people who have let themselves go into this darkness in some way.

And I gotta ask you, what’s up with Strand? We haven’t seen this dude since the storm broke out. What’s he been doing? Besides a lot of drinking, I assume, because that what it seems like he’s always doing.
He’s been doing a lot of drinking, but I think he’s been reassessing. Strand is someone, as you’ve noticed, that each season he may take a moment to go away. Like the time that he was stabbed and in the hotel room and we didn’t see him for a few episodes. I think that Strand is a thinker, and he’s going to reassemble and come out again. He’s like a cat with nine lives. He’s working on his 20th right now? So I think he’s just reassessing everything and coming out brand-new again. He’s like a butterfly that goes back into his cocoon and then comes back again as a different butterfly.

What can you tell us about what’s coming up next on Fear the Walking Dead?
You’re going to start to see our cast reassemble again and sort of find each other. And as they find each other, there’s a large threat, and there are going to be even more challenges and complications with the cast. Some elements of them are coming back together, and then it’s going to be challenged another time.

So do you want to do this directing thing again?
This is absolutely something I’m going to do again. We actually just sealed the deal that I’m going to direct another episode next season. And also, I’m interested in directing for some other shows. We’ll see whether it’s AMC or some other wonderful networks that’ll have me along, but you know me: I like to stay busy, and if I can fill up my schedule with some other things I like to do, I’ll do it.

For more Fear the Walking Dead scoop, follow Dalton on Twitter @DaltonRoss.

Associated Press

Published 10:43 p.m. ET Sept. 2, 2018 | Updated 10:45 p.m. ET Sept. 2, 2018

ALAMEDA, Calif. (AP) — Jon Gruden didn’t mince words.

As excited as he was to coach Khalil Mack in his second stint with Oakland, Gruden believes the right move ultimately was to trade Mack to give the Raiders the draft picks and salary cap room needed to rebuild a depleted roster.

“It wasn’t my goal to trade Khalil when we got here,” Gruden said Sunday. “One of the reasons I’m here is because of him. Unfortunately, we had a standoff with a contract, and we could not come to terms. The Bears made us an offer of two first-round draft choices and here we are today.”

The Raiders made the blockbuster trade on Saturday, dealing one of the game’s most dominant defensive players to Chicago for first-round draft picks in 2019 and 2020, a sixth-rounder next year and a third-rounder in 2020. Oakland also included its second-round selection in 2020 and a conditional fifth-rounder that year in the trade.

Mack then immediately signed a six-year, $141 million extension with the Bears that guarantees $90 million. That’s the richest deal ever for a defensive player and nowhere near where the Raiders were willing to go after already committing $25 million a year to quarterback Derek Carr.

MORE NFL:

“It’s tough when you have two players that are the highest paid at their positions, so the economic part of it certainly weighs in,” Gruden said. “We’ve got free agents on our team that are going to be (up) next year; we’ve got to find a way to bring them back. So you’ve got to field a 53-man roster and there are some implications of having two players making that much money. That’s no mystery to anybody.”

The Bears were willing to commit that money in part because they have quarterback Mitchell Trubisky on a rookie deal. The Los Angeles Rams gave $87 million guaranteed to Aaron Donald this past week in what was the richest defensive contract for one day until Mack surpassed it, but they also have quarterback Jared Goff on a rookie contract.

The Raiders don’t have that luxury and have several holes to fill on a team that went 6-10 last year and has gotten little production from recent draft classes. Oakland has already cut ties with its second-round picks from 2015, ’16 and ’17 in Mario Edwards Jr., Jihad Ward and Obi Melifonwu and has only 11 of the 50 draft choices that general manager Reggie McKenzie made from 2012-17 on the 53-man roster.

That has contributed to the Raiders having the oldest roster in the league and the desire for more draft picks.

“We’re trying to hit on the draft,” Gruden said. “We’re trying to draft and develop. Obviously the last three draft classes we haven’t got a lot of production out of yet. I don’t think there’s anybody left from the ’13 draft. The ’15, ’16, ’17 (classes), not much production at all. With that being said, you have to fill holes.”

Gruden didn’t want to second-guess the approach the Raiders took with Mack after exercising the fifth-year option on his rookie deal worth $13.8 million.

The two sides traded offers before the start of the league year in March that were far apart and the Raiders made no more offers after that as Mack held out. Despite the wide gap, the Raiders did not look to trade Mack before the draft when they could have gotten help for this season.

When Donald got his big deal Friday, Oakland saw where the bar was set and made the deal rather than wait to see if Mack would eventually report.

“We would like to have the player stay here; he was under contract,” Gruden said. “We did not expect this to last as long as it did. But we’re going to be second-guessed until the cows come home on this. I understand that. But, bottom line is, we did do our due diligence, there was a standoff, and he got a great contract from the Bears — a great contract.”

Now the Raiders must move on with the season opener coming Sept. 10 against the Rams. There is a big hole on defense as the Raiders try to replace a player who is a two-time All-Pro and the 2016 NFL Defensive Player of the Year. Since entering the league, Mack leads all players with 185½ quarterback pressures and ranks second with 68 tackles for loss, according to SportRadar.

Oakland still has Bruce Irvin as a pass rusher on one side and rookie Arden Key showed promise this summer on the other side. The inside rush should be improved with rookies P.J. Hall and Maurice Hurst, but none of those players are at Mack’s level.

Mack also was a leader in the locker room and one of the most popular players, making his loss even bigger. But Gruden felt it was still time to move on, no matter how much he will be missed by his teammates.

“He’s a great player and a good teammate and a lot of these guys were very good friends with him,” he said. “It was tough but he’s been gone for some time. Like I said, we wish him the best. We have to build this football team. We have a lot of needs and we’ll address him as we see fit. But it’s never easy to say goodbye to anybody, especially a great player.”

If you love talking football, we have the perfect spot for you. Join our new Facebook Group, The Ruling Off the Field, to engage in friendly debate and conversation with fellow football fans and our NFL insiders.

Watford manager Javi Gracia credited Troy Deeney’s “special personality” as Watford came from behind to shock Tottenham and maintain their perfect start to the Premier League season.

Both sides began the match with 100% records but captain Deeney led the home side’s comeback with his second goal of the campaign before Craig Cathcart’s second-half header decided a tight encounter.

Tottenham had scored a fortuitous opener as Watford midfielder Abdoulaye Doucoure bundled into his own net but, after winning their first four league games for the first time in 30 years, it is the Hornets who join Liverpool and Chelsea on maximum points at the top of the table.

Gracia said of Deeney: “He has a special personality. I’ve already seen and said many times he is very important on and off the pitch, today he showed that again but it is no surprise for me.

“It had been an amazing start. We are in a good moment and trying to enjoy it, knowing we have won four games – but it is only four games.”

In a first half of limited chances, England midfielder Dele Alli had the earliest opportunity for either side with a looping header that only momentarily concerned the back-pedalling Ben Foster, before Deeney headed over for the Hornets from Daryl Janmaat’s inviting cross during a particularly quiet opening 20 minutes.

Harry Kane, in particular, cut a frustrated figure for Spurs and it took until first-half stoppage time for either side to manage a shot on target – Deeney’s weak long-range effort collected by Michel Vorm, stand-in for injured Spurs captain Hugo Lloris.

But the visitors found themselves ahead soon after the break, as Doucoure turned into his own net after Watford had failed to clear.

Deeney led the charge as the Hornets looked to respond and saw his cross diverted on to the crossbar by Spurs defender Toby Alderweireld moments before levelling from the resulting corner.

And it was another set-piece that allowed the Hornets to turn the game around on 76 minutes as defender Cathcart nestled a powerful header into the top corner of Vorm’s goal to ensure Watford’s best ever start to a Premier League season continues.

Gracia’s men mean business

Watford had already managed their best ever Premier League start by defeating Crystal Palace, Burnley and Brighton with relative ease, but they proved their position in the early league table was no fluke as they matched Tottenham stride for stride.

The Hornets, with six wins and just one defeat under manager Javi Gracia, boasted a home record second only to Liverpool heading into the weekend and demonstrated exactly why sides have found it so tough at Vicarage Road against a Spurs side buoyed by Monday’s 3-0 win at Manchester United.

They kept the visitors at arm’s length with few scares during a tight first half and were, on the balance of play, unfortunate to find themselves behind as Frenchman Doucoure deflected the ball beyond team-mate Foster.

Jose Holebas and Roberto Pereyra continued to display excellent understanding down the left flank, although it was skipper Deeney in particular who once again proved the inspiration to his side.

It was Deeney’s unrelenting work-rate and willingness to chase the ball down that led to his equalising goal, which gave the Hornets the belief they needed as the momentum swung their way.

It is early days but the table does not mislead. This continues to be a brilliant start from Gracia’s side.

“Four wins out of four is a huge achievement for a club of our size,” said Deeney.

“We’re not naive to think we’re going to go on and win the league, we’ve got a lot to work on but we have an added boost and confidence from this result,” he added.

Spurs fail to build on ‘massive’ win

Spurs manager Mauricio Pochettino declared his side’s impressive win over Manchester United “a massive victory”, as his men swept the Old Trafford club aside with an unforgiving second-half performance.

However, the visitors were unable to find their rhythm against Watford and failed to record a single shot on target in the opening 45 minutes – the first time that has happened to them in the Premier League since December 2017 against Manchester City.

And Pochettino’s side, who will begin a tough Champions League group stage against Barcelona, PSV Eindhoven and Inter Milan following the first international break of the season, simply could not find a way to break down the home side’s resolute defence as Christian Eriksen in particular was restricted to long-range attempts.

Tottenham made no signings during the summer transfer window, but Lucas Moura’s encouraging start to the new campaign – including two goals on Monday night – may make Pochettino feel like he did, because the Brazilian, enjoying his first consistent run in the team with Son Heung-min away on international duty, was again by far Spurs’ liveliest player.

He could not, however, prevent the end of their 100% record, and Pochettino’s side, who began the day knowing a big enough win could take them top of the table, must make do with fifth place for now, a point behind champions Manchester City.

“We need to show more respect to this competition. It’s difficult for me to understand after four years of us being contenders,” said Pochettino.

“Today, from the beginning, we needed to go there like a lion. If you want to win you need to show that character,” he added.

“Maybe you cannot play so well but you need to win this type of game if you want to be a contender at the end.”

Man of the match – Troy Deeney (Watford)

Watford finally beat Tottenham – the stats

• This was Watford’s first league win over Tottenham since May 1987, ending a run of 12 league games without a victory over Spurs.
• Watford have won each of their opening four league games of a season for just the second time since 1988-89 and this is the first time they have done so in the Premier League.
• Since Gracia took over as Watford manager in January, no side has won more home Premier League games than the Hornets’ seven – which is level with Arsenal, Liverpool, Man City, Man Utd and Tottenham.
• Watford’s run of four consecutive Premier League wins at Vicarage Road is their best home run in the top-flight since December 1986 (also four straight wins).
• Deeney became the fourth player to score in 100 matches for Watford in all competitions, after Tommy Barnett, Ross Jenkins and Luther Blissett.
• Holebas has been directly involved in five Premier League goals so far this season – more than any other player in the competition.
• This was the first time that Tottenham have lost a game they had been leading in the Premier League since November 2016, ending a run of 48 league matches without defeat when taking the lead at any stage.

What’s next?

After the international break, Tottenham return to Premier League action against Liverpool on Saturday, 15 September (12:30 BST) while Watford host Manchester United later that day (17:30 BST).

A Texas doctor has apologized for his comments to a medical journal that his female physicians are paid less because they don’t work as hard.

“I sincerely apologize to all female physicians for my comments and the pain they have caused,” Dr. Gary Tigges said in a statement Sunday.

He earlier told the Dallas Morning News that his comments in the two-page feature published in the September issue of Dallas Medical Journal were taken out of context and that he did not know they would be made public.

“Yes, there is a pay gap,” Tigges wrote in the feature addressing a report that women physicians’ salaries are about two-thirds of their male colleagues. “Female physicians do not work as hard and do not see as many patients as male physicians.

“This is because they choose to, or they simply don’t want to be rushed, or they don’t want to work the long hours. Most of the time, their priority is something else,” he wrote. “Family, social, whatever.” 

The comments appeared in the journal’s “Women in Medicine Issue.” Tigges, 53, who practices internal medicine at Plano Internal Medicine Associates in Plano, Texas, was one of eight responses published. 

“Nothing needs to be ‘done’ about this unless female physicians actually want to work harder and put in the hours,” he wrote in his response. “If not, they should be paid less. That is fair.”

His comments sparked outrage on Facebook, Twitter and Yelp, prompting dozens of angry retorts. He has since deleted his Twitter account and the website of the practice he founded in 1996 is no longer accessible. The practice’s Yelp page has been overrun with critical comments.

Even though they have made up roughly half of medical student graduates for years, female doctors make less than their male peers — no matter where they live or their specialty.

The pay gap for female doctors in the U.S. is growing wider, according to a recent survey by Doximity, a social networking service for health care professionals. Women earned an average of 27.7 percent less — an average of $105,000 a year — than their male counterparts in 2017, the survey found.

In April, another Medscape’s latest Physician Compensation Report found that a sizable gender pay gap exists for primary care physicians and an even bigger one, 36 percent, for specialists.

A number of possible causes have been cited including specialty choice, years of experience, number of hours worked, choices made to balance work and family and the lack of role models and mentors. Yet, researchers find these disparities even when controlling for these factors. Minority female doctors face even greater barriers.

Women make up more than one third of physicians and nearly half of all physicians-in-training. 

Tigges told the Dallas Morning News he regretted the comments, which he wrote in response to an email from the Dallas County Medical Society. He told the newspaper he did not know they would be published. 

He based the comments on data showing that women often earn less because they see fewer patients or work fewer hours due to family or other obligations. 

“My response sounds terrible and horrible and doesn’t reflect what I was really trying to say,” Tigges said. “I’m not saying female physicians should be paid less, but they earn less because of other factors.”

Gabriela Zandomeni, a Dallas physician who chairs the committee that publishes the Dallas Medical Journal, said the committee chose to publish Tigges’ perspective because it’s widely held, the Washington Post reported.

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Peter Prengaman, Associated Press
Published 10:16 p.m. ET Sept. 2, 2018

After a week of turmoil and questions, this was Jose Mourinho’s day.

Two first-half goals from Romelu Lukaku were enough for 10-man Manchester United to beat Burnley 2-0 at Turf Moor, avoid a third successive Premier League defeat and quell the intense speculation that had been building around Mourinho’s future after two years as manager.

“I am delighted with the result,” he said in his post-match media conference. “But I think some of you must be disappointed. [For you] it would be much better if we lose.”

He was adamant it was about the team and not him, because “the manager does not play”.

But from the moment 20 minutes before kick-off when a plane flew over Turf Moor, trailing a banner reading ‘Ed Woodward – a specialist in failure!’, until 20 minutes after the full-time whistle when he won a jocular argument with his media officer about which of two questions he should answer in his news conference, this was Mourinho’s day.

The Portuguese said it had not been “a sad week” at United following Monday’s 3-0 home defeat by Tottenham. He also said he had not read the newspapers.

Mourinho would also have needed to avoid the radio and TV to miss the discussion about his future, fuelled, in part, by his relationship with United’s executive vice-chairman Woodward.

Expressly against Mourinho’s own wishes, moves to sell France forward Anthony Martial and buy an additional central defender were blocked before the transfer window closed on 9 August.

Such is Woodward’s close relationship with the Glazer family, who own United, Mourinho cannot win an internal power battle.

However, he has a few allies, not least a secretive fans’ group ‘A Voice from the Terrace’ who paid for the plane and the banner which criticised what they view as five years of bad decisions by Woodward, who effectively replaced David Gill as chief executive in 2013.

In the absence of a director of football, they hold Woodward responsible for Mourinho not getting his way this summer.

Asked about the banner, which flew as his team were warming up and he was in the tunnel, Mourinho said: “I didn’t see planes. I am not looking to the sky unless I am asking the guy for help.

“Ed Woodward won this afternoon. Ed Woodward won 2-0.”

The fans are on Jose’s side too

The 2,433 United fans at Turf Moor first sang Mourinho’s name as the teams warmed up. They repeated it as their 55-year-old manager walked out of the tunnel in the corner of the stadium and across the field to the visitors’ dugout.

Thereafter, barely five minutes went by without Mourinho hearing his name being chanted.

Occasionally, he responded with a wave. Sometimes he was too engrossed in the game to notice.

But at the end, he walked straight to his left, directly to those same fans, right up to the very edge of the seats they had spent the previous two hours not sitting on and started applauding.

As he walked down the length of the away support he kept applauding. It took him about as long as he spent standing in front of the Stretford End on Monday after the 3-0 loss to Tottenham and cost him a coat, which was handed to one lucky fan.

Ultimately, supporters do not decide the fate of managers. But they can certainly make it hard to remove them.

Mourinho said: “I feel a bit sorry we didn’t score a couple of goals in front of them because it would be magic.”

And finally

Mourinho was asked two questions at the same time. He wanted to answer one about starting midfielder Marouane Fellaini, but his press officer signalled him to deal with the other one instead.

“You are killing me,” he laughed. “It is the only question anyone is going to ask where I can say ‘it was my decision’.”

The media officer relented and when Mourinho had finished eulogising over the Belgian, he went back to the question she wanted to take from an Italian journalist who, it transpired, wanted to talk about United’s Champions League opponents Juventus.

“After Liverpool they have probably spent more than anyone this summer,” he said.

Asked whether he had considered bringing Juve’s Cristiano Ronaldo back to Old Trafford this summer once it became obvious he would be leaving Real Madrid, Mourinho thought about whether he should answer for a moment, before eventually settling on this: “Cristiano was never on my table to say yes or no to come to us.”

In this instance, Woodward was not mentioned.