The first leg of the Europa League Round of 16 is in the books and the favourites Borussia Dortmund thrash Spurs; Liverpool does likewise against a woeful Man Utd, and much more.

Earlier in the week, I heard a pundit talk about how fantastic it was that the Europa League had so many mouth-watering ties. He was, of course, referring to Liverpool v Man Utd and Borussia Dortmund v Spurs games. However, there was a slight catch. Only two of the four teams turned up to play.

Louis Van Gaal’s side traveled to Anfield knowing they had stuffed Liverpool twice in the Premier League this season. This tie was different gravy. The two teams have faced off over 200 times, but they have never played against each other in Europe.

Nobody with any football nous believed there would be anything but a Liverpool victory in this one, given United’s woeful performances of late, but the way United went down was, in the words of Robbie Fowler, “disgraceful”.

The company that helped pioneer the fantasy sports business in the United States has been bought.

SportsHub Technologies, a player in the fantasy sports and eSports industries, announced on Wednesday that it has acquired all the assets of RG Ventures LLC and its affiliates, including the CDM Sports’ suite of Fantasy Challenge and Draft and Play games.

SportsHub Technologies said it will continue to operate the games under the “CDM Sports” trade name.

CDM Sports, which was founded in 1991, made its name in the fantasy sports world following its legal victory in 2006 against Major League Baseball, which sought to prevent the company from using players’ names and statistics. A trial court judge, however, ruled that players do not have a right of publicity in their names and statistics, and even if they did, the use of their names and playing records in fantasy games did not violate the players’ rights. The court also pointed out that the fantasy sports company did not use the players’ images, only their names and publicly-known playing statistics.

The company that helped pioneer the fantasy sports business in the United States has been bought.

SportsHub Technologies, a player in the fantasy sports and eSports industries, announced on Wednesday that it has acquired all the assets of RG Ventures LLC and its affiliates, including the CDM Sports’ suite of Fantasy Challenge and Draft and Play games.

SportsHub Technologies said it will continue to operate the games under the “CDM Sports” trade name.

CDM Sports, which was founded in 1991, made its name in the fantasy sports world following its legal victory in 2006 against Major League Baseball, which sought to prevent the company from using players’ names and statistics. A trial court judge, however, ruled that players do not have a right of publicity in their names and statistics, and even if they did, the use of their names and playing records in fantasy games did not violate the players’ rights. The court also pointed out that the fantasy sports company did not use the players’ images, only their names and publicly-known playing statistics.

Paris St Germain, Real Madrid, Benfica, and Wolfsburg made it through to the quarter-finals on a night that saw certain sections of the Bernabeu turn on Cristiano Ronaldo following comments he made about the abilities of some of the Madrid fringe players.

On the weekend Chelsea boss, Guus Hiddink was lauded after setting a new Premier League record by getting through his first 12 games without defeat. There’s only one problem. Roman Abramovich only cared about two games since the Dutchman took over from the Special One. He has now lost them both.

For the second year in a row, Paris St Germain has dumped Chelsea out of Europe. The shift in power was there for all to see. Except a strong finish to the first half, PSG rarely looked in trouble. Chelsea spent most of the match chasing shadows without busting a gut.

Leading by two goals to one from the first leg, PSG grabbed the second leg by the scruff straight from the kickoff. Angel Di Maria giving Man Utd fans a glimpse of what he is capable of as he ran Chelsea ragged, and it was the Argentinean who started off the move that saw Zlatan Ibrahimovic slide the ball across the six-yard box for Adrien Rabiot to make it 3-1 on aggregate in the 16th minute.

Paris St Germain, Real Madrid, Benfica, and Wolfsburg made it through to the quarter-finals on a night that saw certain sections of the Bernabeu turn on Cristiano Ronaldo following comments he made about the abilities of some of the Madrid fringe players.

On the weekend Chelsea boss, Guus Hiddink was lauded after setting a new Premier League record by getting through his first 12 games without defeat. There’s only one problem. Roman Abramovich only cared about two games since the Dutchman took over from the Special One. He has now lost them both.

For the second year in a row, Paris St Germain has dumped Chelsea out of Europe. The shift in power was there for all to see. Except a strong finish to the first half, PSG rarely looked in trouble. Chelsea spent most of the match chasing shadows without busting a gut.

Leading by two goals to one from the first leg, PSG grabbed the second leg by the scruff straight from the kickoff. Angel Di Maria giving Man Utd fans a glimpse of what he is capable of as he ran Chelsea ragged, and it was the Argentinean who started off the move that saw Zlatan Ibrahimovic slide the ball across the six-yard box for Adrien Rabiot to make it 3-1 on aggregate in the 16th minute.

Three top officials of Japan’s oldest professional baseball team, Yomiuri Giants, are stepping down following news that another of their players was found to have bet on baseball.

Local media outlet Japan Times reported that Kyosuke Takagi, a left-handed reliever who has pitched in 139 games in the past four seasons for the Giants, came clean about betting on baseball from 2014.

Takagi is the fourth Giants player to have been involving in baseball gambling, but none of the pitchers “were found to have been involved in match fixing or betting on games in which they actually played,” according to the report.

The player’s admission has prompted Giants owner Kojiro Shiraishi, team chairman Tsunekazu Momoi and the team’s adviser Tsuneo Watanabe to announce they are resigning from their positions. Watanabe, a powerful figure in the Japanese baseball world, was the owner of the Giants until he resigned in 2004.

In the long history of professional basketball, only 15 teams have finished with a winning percentage of .805 or higher. The best finish ever was by the 1996 Chicago Bulls, who earned a grizzly 72-10 SU record that gave them an unmatched .878 winning percentage. Right now the Golden State Warriors have a legitimate shot at matching or beating that record with a 56-6 SU record that gives them an astounding pace of .903.

But here’s where things get really cool – there has never been a season where two teams have finished .800. To do this you need 66 wins in an 82-game season. The Warriors are well on their way to hitting that mark at a minimum but so are the San Antonio Spurs.

THE BEST STATISTICAL TEAM IN THE LEAGUE

San Antonio has gone “under the radar” to a certain extent because the Warriors have essentially hogged the spotlight. That’s to be expected when Golden State is having a season for the ages, but any long-term investor is going to want to take a look at the Spurs because of their current 4/1 odds to win the NBA Championship. That number is simply a lot easier to make money off of than the 2/3 odds of the favored Warriors.

In the long history of professional basketball, only 15 teams have finished with a winning percentage of .805 or higher. The best finish ever was by the 1996 Chicago Bulls, who earned a grizzly 72-10 SU record that gave them an unmatched .878 winning percentage. Right now the Golden State Warriors have a legitimate shot at matching or beating that record with a 56-6 SU record that gives them an astounding pace of .903.

But here’s where things get really cool – there has never been a season where two teams have finished .800. To do this you need 66 wins in an 82-game season. The Warriors are well on their way to hitting that mark at a minimum but so are the San Antonio Spurs.

THE BEST STATISTICAL TEAM IN THE LEAGUE

San Antonio has gone “under the radar” to a certain extent because the Warriors have essentially hogged the spotlight. That’s to be expected when Golden State is having a season for the ages, but any long-term investor is going to want to take a look at the Spurs because of their current 4/1 odds to win the NBA Championship. That number is simply a lot easier to make money off of than the 2/3 odds of the favored Warriors.

Maria Sharapova failed doping test at Australian Open

Maria Sharapova, a five-time Grand Slam champion and the world’s highest-paid female athlete, could face a lengthy ban from tennis for failing a doping test during the Australian Open.

Today is the International Women’s Day and Sharapova is one of the women athlete that should be recognized for making the sports world so great but that is not the case for her.

Sharapova told a news conference Monday that she failed a doping test during the Australian Open in January 26, the day she lost to Serena Williams in the quarterfinals.

Maria Sharapova failed doping test at Australian Open

Maria Sharapova, a five-time Grand Slam champion and the world’s highest-paid female athlete, could face a lengthy ban from tennis for failing a doping test during the Australian Open.

Today is the International Women’s Day and Sharapova is one of the women athlete that should be recognized for making the sports world so great but that is not the case for her.

Sharapova told a news conference Monday that she failed a doping test during the Australian Open in January 26, the day she lost to Serena Williams in the quarterfinals.

Denver Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning is retiring and he made the right choice.

A month after Broncos’ triumph over Carolina Panthers, Manning informed Broncos GM John Elway that he is riding off into the sunset. Just like what Broncos’ boss did 17 years ago after winning his second Super Bowl. He will announce his retirement at a press conference on Monday, marking the end of an 18 year career.

“When you look at everything Peyton has accomplished as a player and person, it’s easy to see how fortunate we’ve been to have him on our team,” Elway said in a statement. “Peyton was everything that we thought he was and even more — not only for the football team but in the community. I’m very thankful Peyton chose to play for the Denver Broncos, and I congratulate him on his Hall of Fame career.”

“Peyton Manning’s extraordinary career was driven by his talent, an incredible work ethic, and an unwavering desire to be the best and ended so perfectly for him with a Super Bowl victory,” said NFL commissioner Roger Goodell. “Peyton’s competitive fire and love of the game made him a legendary player who thrilled fans for a generation. He has served as a great representative of the NFL both on the field and in his community. We are forever grateful for Peyton’s unmatched contributions to the game and know that his success will continue in the next phase of his life.”

Week 29 of the Premier League sees Leicester extend their lead at the top to five points after Spurs and Arsenal reach a stalemate in a game billed as the most important North London Derby ever.

Claudio Ranieri told pundits on Sky TV that he wanted to run ‘very, very fast’ to the Premier League title after his side moved five points clear of Spurs with victory over Watford at Vicarage Road.

[Image Credit: Sky Sports]

Only West Ham and Liverpool are experiencing a better run of form; Spurs and Arsenal are floundering, Man City are out of the picture, and the next five games against Newcastle (h), Crystal Palace (a), Southampton (h), and Sunderland (a) look like a cake walk when you consider the riches that await a club who started the season expecting to be battling relegation.

Week 29 of the Premier League sees Leicester extend their lead at the top to five points after Spurs and Arsenal reach a stalemate in a game billed as the most important North London Derby ever.

Claudio Ranieri told pundits on Sky TV that he wanted to run ‘very, very fast’ to the Premier League title after his side moved five points clear of Spurs with victory over Watford at Vicarage Road.

[Image Credit: Sky Sports]

Only West Ham and Liverpool are experiencing a better run of form; Spurs and Arsenal are floundering, Man City are out of the picture, and the next five games against Newcastle (h), Crystal Palace (a), Southampton (h), and Sunderland (a) look like a cake walk when you consider the riches that await a club who started the season expecting to be battling relegation.