We’ve failed as a nation of sports fans. MORE: Best teams in NFL history | Mercury Morris takes swipe at ‘07 Patriots No group of athletes and coaches has earned the right to talk the talk more than those Dolphins, because they walked the walk. And no group is more entitled to feel more maligned and disrespected … because none has been. Claim if you want that Morris and the rest of the ’72 Dolphins have brought the scorn on themselves, with all the years of reported champagne-popping (Don Shula claims it’s a myth, but who knows), putdowns and unashamed admissions that they’re rooting for undefeated NFL teams to lose....

Warwick’s four-month spell as a proto-cyborg (the chip was removed in June) is the first step, he believes, to augmenting the human mind with machine intelligence. The brain has a woefully limited memory, it doesn’t operate efficiently in a network and it’s slow to download data. “From my research with robots, I can see their intelligence,” says Warwick. “Why not explore the possibility of upgrading people?” In time, he says, an implant or an injection might deliver a microdevice that turns the average Joe into an imposing cyborg....

ESPN’s Merril Hoge has always been skeptical of Manziel, and the thrashing he took at the hands of Cincinnati didn’t help matters. Hoge was very critical of the Browns organization on a post game show. “It’s going to be a quick exit and it’s unfortunate,” Hoge said via The Cleveland Plain Dealer. “Whoever drafted him in Cleveland, they need to be fired.” MORE: NFL must-see images | Browns loss not Manziel’s fault | Manziel start changes television...

The video, posted to Reddit by user u/Erne385291 and originally put online by Twitter user @BeAcevedoTachna, shows what appears to be thousands of bats streaming out of the Cueva de Los Murciélagos, situated around 27 miles south of Monterrey, Mexico. Bats are the only mammals that can truly fly in a sustained fashion. They comprise around 20 percent of all mammal species and are extremely well-adapted to their environment and methods of hunting on the wing....

Chile’s 2015 Copa America-winning coach Jorge Sampaoli was enjoying an asado back in his hometown of Casilda in Santa Fe province before embarking upon his next coaching adventure. In the 2016/17 season, he would lead LaLiga side and then five-time Europa League winners Sevilla. Late in the evening, an uninvited guest turned up and had a message for Sampaoli, having made the short trip of 13 kilometres — a shade over a 15-minute drive – from Pujato....

The Argentina forward scored his 25th goal in 27 games in the 54th minute, but despite its man advantage, Barca couldn't score again until the 90th through Dani Alves. "We had a point to prove, and we did it very well," Barcelona midfielder Cesc Fabregas said, referring to previous criticism of the team. It was an unsettling introduction to the knockout phase of the competition for City, with Barcelona's poise and panache enabling the four-time European champions to remain in near-complete control against England's emerging force....

Don’t sleep on the LA Galaxy The Real Madrid star and his Barcelona counterpart have dominated the Ballon d’Or election over the past eight years and they are widely regarded as the two best players in the game. There is an ongoing debate about who is the better of the pair, but Ronaldo is adamant there is no bitterness between the two. “There is a big mutual respect between myself and Messi,” the 31-year-old told Coach Magazine....

Brazil become first country to qualify for World Cup Messi was suspended for insulting the linesman during his national team’s 1-0 World Cup qualifying win over Chile last week. The ban was announced just hours before La Albiceleste’s game away to Bolivia on Tuesday. In the absence of their talisman, Edgardo Bauza’s team lost 2-0 in La Paz, leaving them fifth in CONMEBOL qualifying and facing the prospect of needing to win an inter-confederation play-off if they are to reach next year’s finals in Russia....

The pair have struck up a productive partnership at the La Liga giants, with Ernesto Valverde’s side benefitting considerably from an almost telepathic understanding. Alba has provided five assists for Messi in the Spanish top-flight this season, while also creating several opportunities for other grateful team-mates. The flying full-back is proving to be a useful asset, but he concedes that his job is made easier by the presence of a global superstar alongside him....

“I always said I wanted to end here, and I always said I wanted to stay here, that I wanted a winning project and to win titles with the club and to continue expanding the legend of Barcelona at the title level,” Messi told Goal’s Ruben Uria. “And the truth is that there has been no project or anything for a long time, they juggle and cover holes as things go by....

The Barcelona superstar tasted La Liga title glory in 2016, but saw eternal rival Cristiano Ronaldo gobble up the vast majority of the other collective and individual prizes on offer. Messi, though, is staking an early claim for recapturing the Ballon d’Or and snatching FIFA’s Best Player award away from Real Madrid’s talisman. Suarez helps Barca into semi-finals The Argentine has started the calendar year in breathtaking form, and was at his scintillating best once again on Thursday evening in a Copa del Rey clash with Real Sociedad....

The Blaugrana went into the Catalan derby with the chance to extend their unbeaten start to the Liga campaign to 22 games. The last team to record a longer unbeaten start were Fabio Capello’s Real Madrid – 24 matches – back in 1996-97. This incredible run looked set to come to an end at Cornella El-Prat as Gerard Moreno’s header took Espanyol to the brink of a famous victory....

It belongs to a group of phenothiazine drugs. The medication blocks dopamine receptors to help lessen overactivity of dopamine in the brain, which is often found in people with schizophrenia. Methoprazine is available under a wide variety of brand names, most commonly, Nozinan. Others include Neurocil and Levoprome. Uses Methoprazine is approved for use in the treatment of mood disorders such as schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. It can also be used in the management of symptoms associated with terminal illnesses such as pain, distress, nausea, and vomiting....

Alonso surprised his teammates with customized cleats to commemorate the 18th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. He initially reached out to MLB for permission to wear “First Responders” hats during the game like the Mets did in 2001 following the attacks, but he was turned down. MORE: 2019 MLB playoff odds, favorites The rejection didn’t deter Alonso. He took it upon himself to get shoe sizes, perferred brands and styles from his teammates....

The Mexican government is putting pressure on local businesses to not help move migrants north. Eliseo Ortiz, a taxi driver in Ciudad Acuña, will no longer pick up Haitian migrants after he was fined $900 three months ago. “They accused me of being an immigrant trafficker,” Ortiz told AP. He said other drivers bribed police officers to continue transporting Haitian migrants. Many Haitian immigrants stayed on the Mexican side of the U....

He went about the proceedings with a sense of calm satisfaction — up until the point organizers revealed the U.S. would host 60 matches under the proposal, with Mexico and Canada getting 10 apiece. “Thirty seconds after I said, ‘Mexico is going to get 10 games,’ my mother was very famous,” De Maria deadpanned. Speaking ahead of Saturday’s MLS Cup final as part of a presentation on the bid, De Maria defended his role in a proposal that has drawn its fair share of criticism in his homeland....

Elias Hernandez scored from the spot, his first goal in a national team shirt in nearly seven years, to give El Tri a 1-0 win. And while the team saw off a quality African side, albeit one testing out its own depth, there were plenty of things lacking from the Mexican team. Ghana coach accuses ref of dropping f-bomb The chances did come, but Mexico wasn’t able to finish them off....

As was the case during its entire Hexagonal adventure, nothing came easy for El Tri, which lost at Costa Rica 2-1 Tuesday but still finished fourth in the standings after the United States' 3-2 victory over Panama. As a result, Mexico will enter a home-and-away playoff with New Zealand next month for a place at the 2014 World Cup. Real Salt Lake forward Alvaro Saborio, a second-half substitute, scored the winner for Costa Rica, powering a free header past Mexico goalkeeper Guillermo Ochoa in the 64th minute....

Miguel Herrera’s men responded with a performance that won’t seen be forgotten by Mexico supporters. They needed only a draw but played for the win, and in the process thoroughly outplayed a Croatia team that had just two weeks earlier given Brazil all it could handle. Mexico never looked troubled by the Croats, even as their first-half dominance failed to produce goals, but it was in the way El Tri kept attacking and kept the pressure on Croatia that we saw the best Mexican performance of the World Cup....

The strongest part of the team is the attack. That much was obvious in Russia where El Tri found the back of the net in each of their Confederations Cup contests but struggled to keep opponents from doing the same. Even coming off a win in which it scored three goals, though, the Mexico national team has something basic to work on up front — finishing. Maybe it’s not even an issue....