Locked away in the Mineral County Jail for failing to take care of her traffic tickets, 27-year-old Kelly Coltrain asked to go to the hospital. Instead, as her condition worsened, she was handed a mop and told to clean up her own vomit. She died in her jail cell less than an hour later.

Despite being in a video-monitored cell, Mineral County Sheriff’s deputies did not recognize that Coltrain had suffered an apparent seizure and had not moved for more than six hours. When a deputy finally entered her cell and couldn’t wake her, he did not call for medical assistance or attempt to resuscitate her. Coltrain lay dead in her cell until the next morning when state officials arrived to investigate­­.

Details of Coltrain’s death 13 months ago came to light this week with the release of a 300-page report compiled by state investigators. The investigation found that Coltrain’s jailers violated multiple policies when they denied her medical care after she informed them she was dependent on drugs and suffered seizures when she went through withdrawals.

The investigators also asked the Mineral County District Attorney to consider criminal charges in the case, after finding evidence the Mineral County Sheriff’s Office may have violated state laws prohibiting inhumane treatment of prisoners and using one’s official authority for oppression.

To avoid a conflict of interest, the investigation was forwarded to Lyon County District Attorney Stephen Rye for review. Rye declined to press charges in the case.

“The review of the case, in our opinion, did not establish any willful or malicious acts by jail staff that would justify the filing of charges under the requirements of the statute,” Rye said.

Coltrain’s family feels otherwise.

On Wednesday, Coltrain’s mother, father and grandmother filed a wrongful death lawsuit, accusing the sheriff’s office of ignoring her life-threatening medical condition despite knowing that she was suffering withdrawals and had a history of seizures.

“(Jail staff) knew Kelly Coltrain had lain for days at the jail, in bed, buried beneath blankets, vomiting multiple times, refusing meals, trembling, shaking, and rarely moving,” lawyers Terri Keyser-Cooper and Kerry Doyle wrote in the lawsuit. “Defendants knew Kelly Coltrain was in medical distress.”

“Kelly Coltrain’s medical condition was treatable and her death preventable,” the lawyers wrote. “If Ms. Coltrain had received timely and appropriate medical care, she would not have died. Kelly Coltrain suffered a protracted, extensive, painful, unnecessary death as a result of defendants’ failures.”

RELATED:The Reno Gazette Journal’s investigation into jail deaths in Washoe County

‘The worst I have ever seen’

Keyser-Cooper, who has a decades-long career of successful civil rights lawsuits against Northern Nevada police agencies, said this case is “the worst I have ever seen in 33 years. I’ve never seen anything like this.”

Mineral County Sheriff Randy Adams referred questions to the county’s lawyer but did say he is in the process of updating the jail’s policies.

“Obviously it’s terribly unfortunate and it’s tragic,” Adams said. “That’s really all I can say.”

The county’s lawyer, Brett Ryman of Reno, also described Coltrain’s death as a tragedy, and said the sheriff has hired the Legal and Liability Risk Management Institute to update the jail’s policies and provide training for deputies. He declined to answer any specific questions about the investigation because of the family’s lawsuit.

“It’s just really difficult for a small rural county like this to handle what is just a massive problem,” Ryman said. “There are so many people addicted to substances who end up going through withdrawal in the jail.”

Mineral County is a tiny rural county southeast of Washoe County. Its population is just under 4,500.

Keyser-Cooper described Coltrain as a “successful student, a friendly outgoing girl, and an exceptionally talented soccer player,” who was close to her family. She developed depression and a drug addiction after a knee injury as a teenager living in Las Vegas, the lawsuit said.

RELATED: Death follows Washoe County Sheriff’s decision to award a $5.9 million no-bid contract to NaphCare

The day she was arrested

Although she was living in Texas, Coltrain had visited Reno and Lake Tahoe for a family reunion to celebrate her grandmother’s 75th birthday. 

After the celebration, Coltrain was pulled over for speeding outside Hawthorne on July 19, 2017, according to the investigation by the Nevada Division of Investigation. Because she had failed to take care of previous traffic violations in Clark County, the officer who stopped her decided to book her into the Mineral County Jail.

While being booked, Coltrain initially refused to answer questions about her medical history and next of kin. But soon after she learned she wouldn’t be able to make bail, she informed Sgt. Jim Holland that she was dependent on drugs and had a history of seizures when she went through withdrawals, according to the investigative report.

After Coltrain came forward with her medical history, Holland did not follow a jail policy that requires inmates with a history of seizures to be cleared by a doctor before being held at the jail. Nor did jail staff follow medical protocol of carefully monitoring the vitals of a person undergoing withdrawals.

In fact, the jail had no on-site medical care, relying instead on the hospital across the street to attend to inmates’ medical needs and prescriptions.

RGJ INVESTIGATES: The stories that made a difference in Northern Nevada

Deputy denied her access to hospital

About four hours after she was booked into the jail, Coltrain told the night deputy she needed to go to the hospital right away for medication. Instead of following the jail’s medical care policy, he told Coltrain she couldn’t get help unless he determined her life was at risk.

“Unfortunately, since you’re DT’ing (referring to the detoxification process), I’m not going to take you over to the hospital right now just to get your fix,” Deputy Ray Gulcynski told Coltrain, according to the investigation report. “That’s not the way detention works, unfortunately. You are incarcerated with us, so … you don’t get to go to the hospital when you want. When we feel that your life is at risk… then you will go.”

Coltrain spent the next three days in her cell, eating almost nothing and drinking a little bit of water. She spent most of her time curled in the fetal position underneath blankets.

Early on July 22, 2017, her third day in the jail, Coltrain began vomiting, trembling and “making short, convulsive type movements,” according to the investigative report. A little after 5 p.m. that day, Holland brought Coltrain dinner and water and tried to talk her into eating a little bit of food. She ate a few bites.

Holland then brought her a new set of jail clothing to replace her soiled uniform and a mop, asking her to clean the vomit from her floor, according to the investigative report. Coltrain sat still for a few minutes until Holland returned and asked her again to mop.

According to video reviewed by the Reno Gazette Journal, Coltrain then began mopping her floor while still sitting on her bed. She was trembling during the process and stopped often to rest. A few minutes later, Holland returns to point out the spots she had missed. Coltrain wipes up the spots and Holland leaves with the mop.

Holland later told an investigator that he thought it was odd Coltrain didn’t get out of bed to mop the floor.

“Sgt. Holland advised he thought Coltrain was just ‘lazy’ and that she just didn’t want to stand up to clean the floor,” the report said. “Sgt. Holland advised he just wanted the floor to be cleaned and he didn’t care how it got done, just that it got cleaned up.”

This was the last time Coltrain was seen alive.

Hours pass before deputies realize she is dead — paramedics not called

Less than an hour later, Coltrain was shown on the video lying in the fetal position when her body suddenly goes rigid and her legs straighten. While on her stomach, her face slowly rises toward the back wall and her arm stretches out and hangs off the bed. Her head lowers back onto the mattress and for the next several minutes her body appears to go through periodic convulsions.

Coltrain then stops moving entirely about 6:26 p.m. The video shows her lying still in the same position until about 12:30 a.m. when Gulcynski arrives to move her to a different cell and finds her unresponsive.

According to the investigation report, the 20-minute section of video depicting Gulcynski entering her cell was missing entirely from the files the state obtained for its investigation from the sheriff’s office. But a Reno Gazette Journal reporter found the video in files provided by Keyser-Cooper.

The video shows Gulcynski walk into the cell and nudge Coltrain’s leg with the tip of his boot. When she didn’t respond he enters the cell, looks at her face, briefly touches her arm and then quickly exits the cell.

According to the investigative report, Gulcynski notified his supervisors that Coltrain appeared dead and was cold to the touch. The video then shows him re-enter the cell and check for a pulse on Coltrain’s neck before leaving again.

The sheriff’s office then left Coltrain’s body locked in the cell until a Washoe County forensic technician arrived at 5:48 a.m. to begin the investigation.

No one on staff called for paramedics after finding Coltrain lying unresponsive and cold on her bed, according to the investigation. The lawsuit said the sheriff’s office had no policy for what to do after discovering an unresponsive inmate.

The Washoe County Medical Examiner labeled Coltrain’s death accidental, caused by “complications of drug use.” The toxicology results showed she had heroin in her system.

Investigator: Had deputies followed policy, she may not have been in danger

Gulcynski told investigators that he had periodically looked at Coltrain from the video monitor outside her cell but thought she was asleep. The sheriff’s policy requires deputies to physically check inmates under observation at least twice an hour if they are lying under blankets. That didn’t occur, according to the investigation.

Holland told investigators that Coltrain “never looked good,” but that he couldn’t “force medical attention” on inmates.

The state investigator assigned to the case, Detective Damon Earl, noted in his report that had Gulzynski and Holland adhered to some of the department policies in place, Coltrain may have not have been in as much danger.

“There were a limited number of times where Coltrain had actual contact with the staff,” Earl wrote. “This may be significant because had more contact been made with Coltrain, indicators of Kelly’s medical condition may have been observed. These indicators may have alerted staff therefore prompting medical attention to be rendered to Coltrain.”

At one point in his investigation, Earl timed his walk from the jail to the hospital across the street. It took “a little over two minutes.”

Ryman, Mineral County’s lawyer, said he couldn’t comment on the specifics of the investigation, including why no one called for emergency medical help when Coltrain was discovered unresponsive. He also wouldn’t comment on whether any disciplinary action was taken against either Gulcynski or Holland.

The lawsuit, however, said both men were disciplined but that Holland opted to retire early.

In June, the Mineral County Commission voted unanimously to buy Holland an additional year toward his service for a cost of $17,853. The buy-out allowed Holland to retire with a higher annual pension and health care benefits than if it had been denied.

District Attorney didn’t find ‘cruel, oppressive or malicious treatment’

In reviewing the case for criminal charges, Rye, the Lyon County District Attorney, said he couldn’t find evidence that the two jailers acted maliciously.

“Based on my review, they did not notice any signs warranting any medical intervention based on their training or experience,” Rye said. “They were provided information related to her, and it appeared to me that was taken into account in her housing and monitoring. The officers did not ignore information provided to them. And, based on the reports by NDI, it did not appear that they exhibited any cruel, oppressive or malicious treatment.”

Keyser-Cooper, however, believes policies and training are less than adequate at the Mineral County Jail. The lawsuit by Coltrain’s family seeks not only compensation for their loss, but also for Sheriff Adams to improve the conditions at the jail. Keyser-Cooper said the family won’t settle their lawsuit without that.

Ryman said such changes are already underway, but within the small county’s limited resources.

“The policies of the jail in regard to people who have addictions and are undergoing withdrawals have the full attention of the sheriff and the county, despite the fact of the lawsuit,” Ryman said. “Even outside the lawsuit, the sheriff will go forward with this kind of training. Everything will be done to the best ability of this small county. They don’t have the resources of someone like Washoe County.”

Read the Reno Gazette Journal’s investigation into jail deaths in Washoe County:

 

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Lewis Hamilton should not have won the Italian Grand Prix, but he did. And how important will that be when the final reckoning in this thrilling Formula 1 championship is made down the line?

Stealing victories from others when the odds are against you is a measure of all great drivers, and Hamilton again proved his standing in the pantheon with one of his best races.

Conducting the podium interviews, former Ferrari driver Felipe Massa, the veteran of many scraps with Hamilton, summed it up: “Lewis, I would say one of the best races for you. I raced a lot with you but the race you did today was just fantastic.”

While Hamilton celebrated, serenaded by the boos from the fanatical tifosi which he said had acted as motivation all weekend, Ferrari were left wondering how on earth a race they should have dominated got away from them – not for the first time this year.

This is becoming something of a theme for Vettel and Ferrari, and the way things are going it could cost them their best chance of winning a title for a decade.

Somehow, Ferrari and their drivers are squandering the advantage of the best car on the grid, and Hamilton heads off to the seven deciding long-haul races of the season with a 30-point lead, more than a clear victory.

Getting that back will not be easy for Vettel, even with what is arguably still the fastest car.

Ferrari’s home trip-ups

Getting a definitive read on the relative pace of the Ferrari and Mercedes at Monza on Sunday was virtually impossible. Ferrari were unquestionably the fastest in qualifying – hence their front-row lock-out – but they lined up the ‘wrong’ way around, and that would prove crucial.

In the race, Hamilton was unquestionably faster than Kimi Raikkonen, but Vettel’s car was damaged in the clash with his title rival on the first lap, the decisive moment of the race, and it cannot be known how quick he would have been.

But what can be said without question is it was Ferrari’s race to lose, and lose it they did.

How? The short answer is Vettel slid into Hamilton and spun at the second chicane on the first lap as the Mercedes passed him around the outside, damaging his car and consigning him to a fight back through the field. The long one is it was a combination of a series of small but important errors from driver and team.

First, Raikkonen’s pole. He won it partly because he was the last in the line of cars going for it in the final seconds of qualifying, so he got a slipstream from Vettel, who was behind Hamilton, who was behind his team-mate Valtteri Bottas.

The communication between Vettel and his engineer after Raikkonen had pipped him was illuminating. Initially celebrating, his engineer then said: “P2.” Vettel replied: “We’ll talk about it later.”

Vettel was asked both after qualifying and the race what had upset him, and each time he declined to comment. The assumption was he was annoyed the Ferraris had not been the other way around, giving him the best chance of the advantage of the tow. He also said he had not been happy with his lap.

So the Ferraris started one-two, but with their title contender second. Would they let Raikkonen beat him? “If he is on pole, I guess he is allowed to win,” Vettel replied.

If Ferrari discussed tactics before the race, and the best way to stay in front and keep Hamilton behind, it did not look like it as the first seconds of the race unfolded.

The drivers got away in grid order, but Vettel challenged Raikkonen into the first chicane as Hamilton was challenging him. All three were racing and what should have been Ferrari’s perfect race began to come apart.

Vettel said: “At the first chicane I tried to pass him [Raikkonen] on the outside and, it is his right, he opens the brakes and defends.

“Then I am a little bit left with late braking and going deep into Turn One. I have to give him room and he is coming back. I think he locked up a little bit and I got squeezed.

“Fortunately Lewis was not in a position to react immediately so I could get back. But I had a poor exit out of Turn Two and I would like to be closer.”

Vettel’s slow exit from the first chicane gave Hamilton the chance to attack him through Curva Grande into the second chicane. As Vettel initially went to the inside to try to pass Raikkonen, Hamilton saw an opportunity on the outside. And so began the moment that wrecked Vettel’s race.

“I wanted to get down the inside of [Raikkonen into] Turn Four,” Vettel said. “I think I had the space but again Kimi opened the brakes which it is absolutely fine for him to do.

“I could do the same but then the apex is coming very rapidly and it would have been a nasty one.

“I tried to get out of there. Lewis saw his chance around the outside but didn’t give me any room and turned in. His car at that point feels a lot better than mine with nobody in front, and I had nowhere to go.

“It was unfortunate for us to get spun around and have a lot of damage but it could have been him spun around and us carrying on.”

That’s one way of looking at the incident. Here’s Hamilton’s: “Kimi came across in front of him. He would have lost a little downforce. Obviously he went in a little bit deep.

“I gave him the right amount of space. I watched the replay just now. I was so proud of that manoeuvre. It felt great in the moment and it looked exactly as I experienced.”

FIA F1 director Charlie Whiting said: “It was clearly a racing incident – just one of those things. How it turned out was in the lap of the gods.” Or in the lap of the drivers involved, anyway.

Hamilton’s super drive

With Vettel out of the way, Hamilton was free to attack Raikkonen, and it was soon clear he had a pace advantage. He’d been asked to stay within a second and a second and a half of the Ferrari and had thought that would be impossible. But it wasn’t.

Mercedes F1 boss Toto Wolff said: “In qualifying, we didn’t have the quickest car and today we did.” He believed this was down to Ferrari not being able to use in the race the engine mode that rivals can see gives them more power – especially electrical deployment – over one lap.

Hamilton tracked Raikkonen closely through the first stint, and now Ferrari had a quandary. They could not afford to let Mercedes stop Hamilton first, because his pace would almost certainly have meant he made up enough ground on his fresh tyres to be ahead after Ferrari’s stop. So they made sure they stopped first, on lap 21.

Raikkonen came out on fresh tyres. Impressively, on the Finn’s first flying lap on fresh rubber, Hamilton matched his pace. But then the Ferrari driver started gaining ground. He did not really need to, because he was already close enough to Hamilton to emerge ahead when the Briton stopped. He just needed to peg him where he was. But he kept pushing, setting a series of fast laps in the mid-one minute 23 seconds bracket, bringing the lead down by five seconds.

It looks like Raikkonen paid for this later in the race. Hamilton stopped seven laps after Raikkonen, and now the Ferrari was caught up behind the second Mercedes of Valtteri Bottas, running long to try to help his own race against Red Bull’s Max Verstappen, which also conveniently allowed him to hold up Raikkonen.

So Raikkonen’s tyres were now getting a double-whammy; worked hard in the initial laps after his stop, they were now being worked hard in the dirty air behind Bottas. And by lap 36, damage was visible on his left rear.

When Bottas pitted on lap 36, Raikkonen had spent six laps behind him, and now had Hamilton less than a second behind. Hamilton waited, turning the screw, watching Raikkonen struggle more and more, and on lap 45, with nine to go, he pounced, with another outside pass, this time at the first chicane.

It was a perfectly executed race by Mercedes – superb driving matched with intelligent team work. And very much not by Ferrari.

Are Ferrari throwing it away?

This was Hamilton’s third win in four races. All three of them have come when Mercedes did not look to have the fastest car, and two after incidents in which it could be argued Vettel or Ferrari made an error of judgement.

The one in Monza was not as big a mistake as crashing out of the lead in Germany in July, as Hamilton closed in the wet. In many ways, it is harsh to call it a mistake at all. As Whiting said, it was just one of those things. But it remains the case that he did slide into Hamilton, and spin, and damage his car, even if his recovery with so many aerodynamic parts not working was impressive.

This follows Vettel’s crash with Bottas at the start in France, being penalised for blocking Renault’s Carlos Sainz in qualifying in Austria, which earned him a grid penalty without which he probably would have won, and unsuccessful passing attempt on Bottas at a restart in Baku in April, which converted what would have been first or second into fourth.

The mistakes, errors of judgement, misfortune, whatever, are small. But they are all adding up. As are the questionable team decisions by Ferrari.

Hamilton said: “The heat is there, and the intensity is there. It is unavoidable for both of us.

“It is very difficult for people watching who are not in it to feel what we feel. The pressure is at its highest I can ever remember. That is the pressure you put on yourself because you want to succeed, the pressure of all your desires and fears, of all the people depending on you, which is a lot of people. It has been an incredible day.

“The pressure is so high, all I can do is focus on trying to deliver every weekend. I definitely feel I am extracting everything and more out of the car. The last three wins, knowing those weekends we have not had the upper hand and have been a step or two behind, to finish ahead by one step, that is an incredibly proud feeling for everyone in the team.

“That excitement is what is spurring us along. There are still seven races to go and we are not being complacent at all. We have to deliver results like this more often. Today could easily have been the other way around.

“You have to find the right balance of being aggressive and not making mistakes. Sometimes you overdo it and leave stuff on the table and today I did not want to walk away having left something on the table, and think: ‘If only I’d braked two metres later I could have passed him,’ and all these different things.

“Naturally I love that wheel-to-wheel battle we had, and the one with Kimi. That is what I love most about racing. It is the single most amazing feeling. Every now and again you have it in F1 and when you do it is the greatest feeling.”

Dan Kilbridge, GolfWeek
Published 7:41 p.m. ET Sept. 2, 2018 | Updated 9:01 p.m. ET Sept. 2, 2018

NORTON, Mass. — A two-hole stretch explains why Tiger Woods looked so frustrated with himself Sunday during Round 3 of the Dell Technologies Championship.

Those holes also explain why Woods spent an hour and 10 minutes on the practice green after shooting a 3-under 68.

The par-3 11th played as the second-hardest hole on the day at TPC Boston. The par-4 12th was the most difficult.

That wasn’t clear when Woods took on the one-two punch because he stuck it to 11 feet at No. 11 and eight feet at No. 12.

Birdying difficult holes like that is when a player can make up ground on the field, and Woods was in position to do exactly that. His birdie try at 11 would have put him just three shots off the lead. He missed the putt.

His shorter try at 12 lipped out, which has happened too many times to count over the past two tournaments. The dejection he felt at that moment was easy to see.

More: Ancer takes 1-shot lead over DeChambeau at TPC Boston

More: Tracker: Woods makes another run Sunday at the Dell Technologies

Woods still played both holes under the day’s scoring average. It was just maddening in the same way it would be to make miraculous time driving to the airport only to realize you forgot your wallet at home.

“To not birdie 11 and 12 after beautiful 5 irons like that, yeah, it’s frustrating,” caddie Joe LaCava said. “Because not many guys are hitting it that close from 204 and 220 (yards), I got news for you.”

Woods hitting shots like that with regularity is still the bigger picture here. This will be his third consecutive tournament where he’s clearly feeling the swing. He should have another solid finish this week, entering Monday’s final round six shots off the lead tied for 16th.

The frustration comes from knowing he has left more than six shots out there through three rounds and could easily be on top of the leaderboard. It’s not evident in his post-round press conferences, but it’s pretty clear on course.

Once it’s over, he can sit back and look at the big picture.

“I think in general here, in the last probably month and a half, I’ve really turned the corner,” Woods said. “I’ve really hit some good shots and I’ve really played well from tee to green. And it’s just a matter of getting one little hot stretch with the putter and get it rolling and get the momentum on my side.”

Woods had plenty of momentum on the front nine Sunday, with three birdies and no bogeys. He carried that onto the back with that two-hole stretch and just couldn’t take advantage of those perfect 5 irons.

Finally Woods succumbed and made a bad bogey at 13, a three-putt from 23 feet.

He took a look at the leaderboard before his birdie try and knew he was only five shots off the lead, with a chance to get closer. He got a little too aggressive trying to make it happen and missed the 5-foot comebacker.

It ended a streak of 32 consecutive bogey-free holes this week and, seemingly, a chance to win the tournament.

But no one went low on the back nine after Woods’ round ended, so there’s still an outside shot when he tees it up with Brooks Koepka at 12:15 p.m., ET for the final round.

“I’ve got to make a bunch of birdies, get off to a quick start and just get rolling early,” Woods said. “Kind of what Bryson (DeChambeau) did today. Got off to a quick start, birdied the first two. That’s basically what I need to do (Monday).”

DeChambeau shot 8-under 63 while paired with Woods Sunday and ranks third overall this week in strokes gained putting.

With that game plan in mind Woods headed to the practice green with LaCava and business partner/confidant Rob McNamara. He rolled putt after putt, with McNamara filming every so often so Woods could review.

It’s not like Woods hasn’t putted well at TPC Boston. He’s 25th in strokes gained and looks very comfortable with the new TaylorMade Juno prototype that’s been in the bag. Confidence isn’t an issue.

“He thinks he’s gonna make every 10-footer he looks at, and that’s just not the case,” LaCava said. “(I try to tell him), don’t be so hard on yourself.”

Woods knows his game is in a good spot moving into next week’s BMW Championship and, results pending, the Tour Championship at East Lake.

After yet another solid round in which he played better than he scored, Woods spent Sunday afternoon on the practice green trying to figure out how to take it to the next level.

That’s a frustrating process.

 

 

 

 

To this day, I cannot remember a game in which Spurs have not played well, and still won.

Everybody enjoys watching Tottenham because they play lovely football and are great on the eye, but too many times they are unable to grind out a result. They don’t have that other ingredient.

Against Watford at Vicarage Road on Sunday, it was a day to decide that if you’re not going to win – and Spurs were not great – at least don’t get beaten.

‘You have to mix it up’

Tottenham eased past Manchester United at Old Trafford in their previous game, but they struggled to kick on against Watford and lost their 100% winning start to the season.

They looked secure in the first half, and defensively it was a good idea to go three at the back against a very hard-working and physical Hornets front two of Troy Deeney and Andre Gray.

Spurs commanded a lot of the game but somehow got into cruise control mode, looking like they were having an easy day at the office. The best teams at the minute, like Liverpool and Manchester City, put you to the sword.

You have to give credit to Watford but there were spells in the game where Spurs had so much control that they should have caused more problems. They didn’t and managed just two shots on target all game – both long-range strikes from Christian Eriksen.

Spurs have the personnel but sometimes you have to mix it up, go a little more direct. Once they go a goal down, their mentality changes to ‘oh, let’s give it a go now, see if anything happens’.

They were going quite direct early on. I liked it and I don’t think it was a negative. Sometimes away from home you feel the opposition will be on to you early on so, if they are, it is good to keep turning their defenders and getting balls in behind – it will pin them back.

Dele Alli was making some good runs and missed with a header and Kieran Trippier, who had more touches on the ball (112) than any other player on the pitch, was bursting down the right, and it was pushing Watford back.

But they allowed Watford to get themselves back into the game. Mousa Dembele was poor, playing risky balls and giving it away in key areas. That encourages the home crowd.

‘Spurs still show signs of immaturity’

Mauricio Pochettino and his team have to figure out a way to nullify negative situations and that is the biggest problem they have got as a team. They have great players with a great brand of football but they cannot do the ugly side.

It’s not a new problem for Spurs; this has been going on for years.

There is more than one way to skin a cat but this team has only got one. If they are playing well and it all clicks, like at times against United last Monday, then they will beat anybody – that is why they beat Real Madrid in the Champions League last season.

When it does not click, or they go through a rough 15-20 minutes as they did against Juventus at home last season, they have not found a formula to look at each other and go, ‘right let’s get compact, let’s dig in for 10 minutes and get through this period’.

They are still showing signs of immaturity in thinking they can just outplay everybody.

Football is not like that because people start to figure you out and make life difficult – as Harry Kane found out at Vicarage Road.

Is everything OK with Kane?

Despite scoring six goals and winning the Golden Boot, I was not 100% happy with Kane’s performances at the World Cup. In many of the games, it was not the Harry Kane I know.

When I see Kane at his best, he is not just scoring goals – that is the easy part for him. He is dominating back fours, he is taking the ball in and firing four or five shots off in a game with his left and right foot.

I cannot remember the last time he did that. He is not striking shots from long range anymore. And you cannot put it down to tiredness – for 45 minutes against United he gave Phil Jones and Chris Smalling an absolutely torrid time.

Against Watford, he was waiting for something to land on his plate. He had one opportunity late and headed over the crossbar. On his best form, he makes things happen.

‘Spurs need to win something’

The Champions League draw took place last week and Spurs are in a tough group alongside Barcelona, PSV Eindhoven and Inter Milan.

I don’t think Spurs are capable of winning the Champions League just yet but hopefully they can win a trophy.

Yes, they lack the depth of squad that Liverpool or Manchester City have at their disposal, but last year we could see that they do have the ability to compete on all fronts, getting to the semi-final of the FA Cup and last 16 of the Champions League, while finishing third in the league.

Plus, if you look at the Real Madrid squad who won the Champions League under Zinedine Zidane for the past three years, they did not actually use that many players. You could guarantee most of the 11, and the only change he would make is Isco or Marco Asensio coming in.

If we are talking about depth, there is never a complete rotation of the squad in the Champions League. These are your biggest games. The rotation happens in the early stages of the FA Cup and League Cup. And Pochettino does have the players to be able to do that.

So yes, it is harder than ever to win trophies, with so many teams playing at such a high level. But the whole strength in depth argument is blown out of the water by Real Madrid and Barcelona.

Ideally I would like to think Spurs would take the League Cup a bit more seriously. They are getting to the stage where they need to win something. Manchester City were more than happy to win the League Cup last year and Spurs should have that mindset.

But it comes down to the amount of games they have to play and Pochettino will be looking at the state of the players.

He will prioritise competitions, and in his eyes the Champions League and Premier League are the key ones. If he has to write off the FA Cup and League Cup to gain success in those two, then these are the difficult decisions he will feel he has to make.

Pochettino has a good group of players: Eric Dier and Victor Wanyama were on the bench against Watford; Danny Rose came on as a substitute – so there is enough there to take you far in each competition.

Lucas Moura has been great coming in but they will be delighted to have Son Heung-min available again. He made a massive impact last year and at times was the main man when Kane was injured.

The players are there for Tottenham; it is now down to them to rise to the occasion.

Jermaine Jenas was speaking to BBC Sport’s Shamoon Hafez.

An Alaska woman has been charged with the murder of two infants after searching the internet for “ways to kill human with no proof,” police said.

Stephany LaFountain, 23, was arrested Thursday for the deaths of her four-month-old daughter in 2015 and 13-month-old daughter in 2017, according to a statement from the Fairbanks Police Department.

“This is just an unimaginable tragedy,” Fairbanks Police Chief Eric Jewkes said in a press conference. “We have a family, and, of course, we have a baby, that has suffered in obscurity, in silence.”

The second infant death sparked a nine-month investigation in which police say forensic analysis revealed LaFountain’s suspicious search history. According to the statement, in the hour before she called police to report her 13-month-old was unresponsive, her searches included:

• Ways to suffocate
• Best ways to suffocate
• Ways to kill human with no proof
• Can drowning show in an autopsy report
• 16 steps to kill someone and not get caught
• How to: Commit the Perfect Murder
• Drowning and Forensics
• Suffocating and Smothering

Authorities began the investigation after LaFountain called police about her daughter not breathing in November 2017. The child’s father was deployed at the time, and she called family who arrived and began CPR, according to the statement.

Police said the child was transported from LaFountain’s home in Fort Wainwright to Fairbanks Memorial Hospital, where she was pronounced dead four days later due to anoxia, or a lack of oxygen to the brain.

The child’s death caused investigators to look into the death of LaFountain’s other child in 2015. That four-month-old daughter was pronounced dead a little more than an hour after LaFountain — who was in another relationship at the time — also called police to say the child wasn’t breathing.

That child’s cause of death wasn’t officially determined, but police said the symptoms were consistent with a suffocation death.

LaFountain, who was indicted on charges of first- and second- degree murder, is in custody at the Fairbanks Correctional Center. At the press conference, Jewkes, the police chief, thanked the family and the investigators for their work during the investigation.

“The entire city of Fairbanks just owes our detectives a big round of thanks,” he said. “When you investigate a case like this, it’s not just paperwork that you type. You live this case, you share in the grieving, you share in the pain.”

Follow N’dea Yancey-Bragg on Twitter: @NdeaYanceyBragg

More: Mollie Tibbetts’ father: Don’t distort her death to advance racist views

 

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England have an unassailable 3-1 lead over India, but the series has been closer than that.

There have been some tight games and India will feel like they have missed opportunities.

Even the fourth day in Southampton, when England eventually earned the win that sealed the series, was nip and tuck. For a while it looked like India captain Virat Kohli might lead his team to a remarkable win.

Instead, India missed out, just as they did in the first Test at Edgbaston.

On both occasions, they could not finish off England. Sam Curran has to take a lot of credit for dragging the home side through on both occasions.

What has made it such a tight and interesting series is that the batsmen have never really felt ‘in’. It has been a tough series to be a top-order batsman because they have been up against classy bowlers in conditions that have often suited the pace bowlers.

We have talked about the collapses, particularly in relation to England and, for that reason, the cricket has not been perfect. Still, when runs have to be worked for, it makes for a much more interesting game.

Do we know much about this England side that we did not know at the beginning of the summer? Not really, other than they still have a number of issues to address.

They collapsed frequently, including being bowled out in a session at Trent Bridge. The batting order has undergone some frequent tinkering and they have dropped too many catches.

In short, they are what we already knew them to be: a very good side at home, but still a long way from challenging for away wins.

It is odd that England have beaten the world number one side despite having so many holes, but it is to their credit that they have done so.

Now, the fifth Test at The Oval provides the first opportunity to start solving some of those problems.

With regards to the batting order, captain Joe Root has made it very clear that he wants to bat at four, to the extent he made the switch from number three midway through the Southampton Test.

We have always known this was Root’s preference and I have always felt he should have stayed at four.

As captain, he has enough distractions, without feeling uncomfortable about where he is batting. He should remain at four.

That, though, leaves a gap at three, one filled by Moeen Ali in the second innings in the fourth Test.

I am not sure Moeen is a long-term solution, especially not in countries where the new ball and short-pitched bowling are vital factors in the game.

But, with a tour to Sri Lanka on the horizon, Moeen could be a stop-gap solution.

Moeen is one of a number of all-rounders in this England team. From the side that played in Southampton you could argue five players – Moeen, Jonny Bairstow, Ben Stokes, Jos Buttler and Curran have two strings to their bow.

The idea that too many all-rounders are hurting England is a bit of a red herring because, with the probable exception of Curran, they are also the best batsmen available.

What matters is the way they play, which is often too expansive. All-rounders can be like that, but it does not have to be the case. Look at the way Jacques Kallis, one of the finest all-rounders the game has ever seen, batted so correctly in Test cricket.

Now it is up to those all-rounders to realise there is a ‘situation vacant’ sign above the number three position and for one of them to make it his own.

In the short term, England will probably pick the same side at The Oval.

In some ways, it is a shame we are not heading to London with the series poised at 2-2. It almost deserved a decider.

England will not be thinking like that, though. Even if they have some issues, they are most likely to be judged on winning Tests and series – that is what they have done.

By the same token, India have looked a very good side and they have certainly not harmed their reputation by coming up short.

The fifth and final Test will still be an entertaining game of cricket.

Six-time winner Serena Williams reached the US Open quarter-finals with a 6-0 4-6 6-3 victory over Kaia Kanepi.

Williams, 36, took the first set in only 18 minutes as she converted all three break points she earned and did not drop a point on her first serve.

But Estonia’s Kanepi responded, displaying some of the shot-making that helped her beat world number one Simona Halep in the first round.

Williams broke early in the third set as she completed her win in 97 minutes.

The 23-time Grand Slam singles champion will now play Czech eighth seed Karolina Pliskova.

And the American warned her rivals that her fitness has improved since reaching the Wimbledon final in July. She returned to competitive tennis in March after a year out during which she gave birth to her first child.

“It wasn’t an easy match at all,” said Williams, who last won the US Open title in 2014. “Kaia knows how to play and has a lot of big wins. She has had a great career.

“We always have tough matches, so I am just happy to get through. She was hitting such big returns so I wanted to hit bigger second serves.

“I like it when players challenge me to do that. I think what I have improved most is my fitness. Coming back from having a baby is really hard.”

More to follow.

One of these days Jim Harbaugh is going to win at the end of the game, on a national stage, against a ranked opponent, on the road. 

Or, maybe one of these days he won’t.  

Until he does, he’ll remain more hype than anything else.  

At this point, how can you argue otherwise? 

On Saturday night in South Bend, against No. 11 Notre Dame, Harbaugh’s Michigan Wolverines looked unprepared and overamped, unable to create running room for its backs or a reliable pocket for its promising new quarterback — Shea Patterson — in a 24-17 loss at Notre Dame Stadium. 

And that’s got to change. 

As do the penalties and the personal fouls and the disjointedness that looked like they carried over from last year. 

Yes, U-M stayed in the game when Notre Dame came close to blowing them out, and Patterson had a chance to tie it late until he fumbled in a crashing pocket.  

Harbaugh can work with that kind of fight and spirit. But fight and spirit aren’t enough. 

At some point his team has to start making the plays that his rivals keep finding ways to make. 

Reactions: Michigan’s offensive line softer than toilet paper

Patterson needs playmakers

All the hype isn’t Patterson’s fault. He could’ve scaled the painting of Touchdown Jesus and kissed him on the cheek and that still wouldn’t have been enough Biblical pixie dust to sprinkle on the inconsistent offensive line. 

Or heal Tarik Black’s broken foot.  

Or repopulate the roster with a couple more playmakers, of which this team still doesn’t seem to have enough.  

Patterson didn’t get to throw to Miles Boykin, a long and athletic receiver who leapt and hauled in throws despite defenders nearly piggy-backing him. He had to spread the ball underneath, on crossing routes and outs to the sideline. 

He showed touch in a way that no quarterback did last year. And tossed a perfect lob for a 52-yard gain early in the third quarter. 

It’s easy to spot the accuracy and poise in Patterson, and he even slipped out of the pocket a few times to extend plays, where he threw on the run with touch, too.  

He will get better. But he’ll need the rest of the offense to step into the glare with him. 

Your turn: Grade Michigan’s performance in 24-17 loss to Notre Dame 

Defense has thin margin for error

Don Brown’s all-or-nothing defense, when it’s getting home, and swarming, is quite a sight, and it can overwhelm an offense.  

In moments, or even in stretches, Brown’s everyone-at-the-line-and-attack strategy will produce a flurry of sacks and quarterback hurries, or a sequence of run defense that cuts off all angles and racks up tackles for loss. 

But it’s deceiving.  

For while the blue-and-maize tsunami can force three-and-outs – or three and backs — the slightest leak can turn into a deluge, and open Wyoming-sized swaths for the offense.  

All that aggressiveness shrinks the margin for error, so when an error happens, as several did against Notre Dame, the mistakes become catastrophic.  

This is a fine way to play against Rutgers.  

Yet Notre Dame? Or any of the other ranked teams on the schedule? 

Maybe not.  

Look, the defense will be fine. A few penalties and dropped interceptions helped the Fighting Irish as much as the Wolverines’ mistimed over-eagerness.  

But Saturday night in South Bend reminds us that it’s still about what the defense could be. And not what it actually is. 

Injury update: Michigan’s Devin Bush leaves Notre Dame game with cramps

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