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The late goals are not the only habit that Hearts are forming. Winning the hard way, getting maximum points from a bare minimum performance, is something that title-winning teams do too.

“If you want to challenge for titles and win leagues, you have to win ugly, and Hearts did that tonight,” former Celtic defender Charlie Mulgrew told Premier Sports.

He was not the only pundit to comment on Hearts’ below-par performance. While McInnes named an attacking side, they looked timid in the build up, struggling to stay calm in the typical chaos of an Edinburgh derby.

“They’ll not really care about the performance, they’ve got 12 games to create history,” former Hearts midfielder Ryan Stevenson, who also had a hard job picking a man of the match, told BBC Sportsound.

“Harry Milne, for me, he tried everything he possible could to affect the game, to drive Hearts forward. Other than him, pretty much all of them were stinking.”

Well, quite. Scott Allan, the former Hibs and Celtic midfielder, was a bit more eloquent in his assessment.

“Tonight was such a big game and to not play well at all… I couldn’t see Hearts scoring a goal, I thought there was only going to be one winner and it was Hibs,” he reflected.

“To win like that, clean sheet as well, it says so much about what you’re building in there.

“Derek McInnes will not be worried about that performance. What a position that puts Hearts into, going into that game on Sunday.”

Ah yes, the game on Sunday. Rangers at Ibrox. Hearts won there back in September, their first victory away to the blue half of Glasgow since 2014.

No-one could have imagined then that, the next time Hearts came to town, the visitors would still have a lead over their hosts in the standings.

“If they get three points at Ibrox, I think they’ll win the league,” Stevenson predicted. A big call for a big game.

MINNEAPOLIS — A federal judge says she won’t halt the immigration enforcement surge in Minnesota as a lawsuit over it proceeds.

Judge Katherine M. Menendez on Saturday denied a preliminary injunction sought in a lawsuit filed this month by state Atty. Gen. Keith Ellison and the mayors of Minneapolis and St. Paul.

It argued that the Department of Homeland Security is violating constitutional protections. The lawsuit sought a quick order to halt the enforcement action or limit its scope. Lawyers with the U.S. Department of Justice have called the lawsuit “legally frivolous.”

The ruling on the injunction focused on the argument by Minnesota officials that the federal government is violating the Constitution’s 10th Amendment, which limits the federal government’s powers to infringe on the sovereignty of states. In her ruling, the judge relied heavily on whether that argument was likely to ultimately succeed in court.

The federal government argued that the surge, which it calls Operation Metro Surge, is necessary in its effort to take criminal immigrants off the streets and because federal efforts have been hindered by state and local “sanctuary laws and policies.” State and local officials argued that the surge is political retaliation after the federal government’s initial attempts to withhold federal funding to try to force immigration cooperation failed.

“Because there is evidence supporting both sides’ arguments as to motivation and the relative merits of each side’s competing positions are unclear, the Court is reluctant to find that the likelihood-of-success factor weighs sufficiently in favor of granting a preliminary injunction,” the judge said in the ruling.

U.S. Atty. Gen. Pam Bondi lauded the ruling Saturday on social media, calling it “another HUGE” legal win for the Justice Department.

Federal officers have fatally shot two people on the streets of Minneapolis, Renee Good on Jan. 7 and Alex Pretti on Jan. 24.

CLEVELAND — Luka Doncic grabbed at his left leg. He immediately thought of Dru Smith. The Miami Heat guard’s knee injury suffered in 2023 when he slipped off the side of the Cleveland Cavaliers court haunted Doncic while he winced in pain near the Lakers bench.

The Lakers superstar avoided serious injury after falling off the side of the Cavaliers’ raised court on Monday, but the threat of a player being hurt by Cleveland’s unique 10-inch drop off between the court and the arena floor came into focus again during the Lakers’ 129-99 loss to the Cavaliers.

“It is absolutely a safety hazard,” Lakers coach JJ Redick said after Doncic was able to return later in the first quarter. “And I don’t know why it’s still like that. I don’t. You know, you can lodge formal complaints. A lot of times you don’t see any change when you lodge a formal complaint.”

Doncic was injured shooting a fadeaway three with 7:58 left in the first quarter. He was hopping on one foot after releasing the shot and hopped right off the platform, grabbing immediately for his left leg. When he hobbled to the locker room, Doncic could barely put any weight on his leg.

But he returned with 1:32 remaining in the first quarter and finished with 29 points, six assists and five rebounds. He didn’t have any additional braces or wraps on his left leg, but he said he didn’t feel quite 100%.

“I kind of got scared,” Doncic said. “It wasn’t a great feeling and looking back at the video I think I got a little bit lucky. It hurts obviously more now, but, just, I tried to go.”

Smith was injured much more severely in 2023 when he was closing out on defense, landed on a stat sheet and slipped over the edge. He suffered a season-ending anterior cruciate ligament sprain in the accident, and the Heat contacted the NBA to express concerns about the floor at the time.

“It’s tough to see another player get hurt on this court, with the fall, with the drop off,” Lakers guard Gabe Vincent said Monday, “so hopefully something can get fixed with that, but we’re fortunate that [Doncic] is OK.”

Cleveland’s Rocket Arena, which opened in 1994 and was last renovated in 2019, is also home to the Cleveland Monsters, an American Hockey League affiliate of the Columbus Blue Jackets. The basketball court is raised to accommodate the ice underneath the floor. But several teams in the NBA, including the Lakers, share their arena with hockey teams and none have a court that drops off like Cleveland’s.

“It’s the only court like this so, I guess it’s my fault,” Doncic said. “I [gotta] stop jumping like that.”

The Lakers have history with concerning courts this year. In November, Doncic said during a postgame news conference that the Lakers’ custom NBA Cup court used during a home game against the Clippers was dangerously slippery. The team flagged the problem to the league and the Lakers did not use the court again because it was not deemed safe for play in time for the other NBA Cup games.

But when asked if there was a way he could bring the latest problem up with the league, Doncic demurred.

“I don’t know,” Doncic said, “don’t involve me in that.”

Similarly, Redick said any changes would be “way above my pay grade.”

Merthyr are not short of star names who have dipped into their own wallets to help. Line of Duty star Vicky McClure and her filmmaker husband Jonny Owen, who is from Merthyr, are among the club’s 150-plus owners, along with former Wales international Joe Morrell.

But any major takeover – by a company or individuals who could potentially propel Merthyr up the divisions at speed, like Ryan Reynolds and Rob Mac have done at Wrexham – would likely lead to a big change in its ownership structure.

“Unfortunately we’re a fan-owned club,” said Barlow, who has seen more ups and downs than most during his 65-year involvement with Merthyr, from player to kitman, physio to boardroom leader.

But fan-owned is what Wrexham were before Rob and Ryan breezed into the Stok Cae Ras and changed the world as Red Dragons’ fans knew it back in 2021.

“Yes, and those guys [Rob and Ryan] came in and put their hands in their pockets,” said Barlow.

“We haven’t come across anybody like that at the moment, but we have had some good sponsors and, as I say, we’re talking to people weekly.

“We’re starting now for next year. Irrespective of where we end up, we still want to be in a better position financially and stadium-wise than where we are now.

“One side of the ground is perfect, but we’ve got another area which I think the Romans built when they had a fort in the corner!”

Keep moving, keep looking for new forms of investment. A responsibility to do that comes from a need to keep supporting the man leading Merthyr’s charge for a second successive promotion, manager Paul Michael.

“We’re working as hard as we can because we want to support this guy, and we want the best team we can afford,” said Barlow.

“The better the results we can get with this guy in charge…it helps a long way.”

Appointed after leaving Yate Town in April 2022, Michael has transformed Merthyr from relegation candidates in Southern League Premier South to National League hopefuls.

“It’s been a real step into the unknown, but we’ve grown and grown and got better and better,” said Michael, who has managed to overcome the loss of 23-goal top scorer and Penydarren cult hero Ricardo Rees, who signed for National League promotion chasers Forest Green Rovers in December.

“Over the past few weeks we’ve probably been the most in-form team in the league, yet we’re competing against full-time teams. We’ve got no right to stay up there, really.

“If we were fortunate enough to get to the National League we would try to take it all in our stride. It would be an unbelievable achievement for a part-time team, though we’ve still got a long way to go.

“What’s happening here is fantastic for Welsh football, not just Merthyr Town.”

Actor Quinton Aaron, who shared the screen with Sandra Bullock in “The Blind Side,” is reportedly showing signs of improvement after he was hospitalized for a blood infection last week.

Margarita Aaron, the actor’s wife, told Fox News and TMZ on Monday that her husband is “making significant progress” in his recovery, making minor body movements including opening his eyes and giving a thumbs-up. Though the actor is partially breathing on his own, Margarita Aaron said her husband remains on breathing assistance and antibiotics, according to Fox News.

A representative for Aaron did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Tuesday

“He’s a fighter; he’s a very strong fighter, and you know, he is making progress day by day,” she told Fox News, “and I believe God’s got him, and he believes God’s got him.”

The 41-year-old actor was hospitalized last week in Atlanta after he collapsed while walking up the stairs in his apartment, TMZ reported. He reportedly experienced pain in his neck and back days before his collapse and lost feeling in his legs before he fell. Aaron’s wife said she called 911 and her husband was slipping in and out of consciousness en route to the hospital, where he has since undergone several tests, according to TMZ. The outlet reported on Tuesday that doctors found a “rare cyst” on the actor’s spine.

Nonprofit organization Veterans Aid Network organized a GoFundMe page in support of Aaron, who the organization described as “part of a veteran family himself.” The organization said it has a “longstanding relationship” with the actor and seeks to raise $35,000 to help his loved ones pay for medical expenses and other recovery-related costs. Donors have raised more than $40,000 as of Tuesday afternoon.

“Quinton has spent his life inspiring others, reminding us that compassion and humanity still matter in this world,” reads the GoFundMe description. “Now, as he faces one of the hardest battles of his life, let’s surround him and his loved ones with that same compassion, strength, and care.”

In an update shared to the fundraiser on Monday, Veterans Aid Network said that Aaron “opened his eyes and has some feeling in his foot!” The update also said he remains on life support and will need a wheelchair upon his release.

Aaron has acted in scores of films, according to his IMDb page, but is best known for his turn in “The Blind Side.” The 2009 drama was based on Michael Lewis’ 2006 book of the same name, which tracked the story of football star Michael Oher, who was plucked from homelessness and poverty when taken in by wealthy couple Leigh Anne Tuohy and Sean Tuohy. The family is credited with Oher’s football success. Oher was an All-American player at Mississippi and a first-round draft pick for the Baltimore Ravens in 2009.

Aaron starred as Oher and Bullock as Leigh Anne Tuohy. The film was nominated for two Academy Awards and earned Bullock a prize in the actress in a leading role category.

“The Blind Side” was in the news again in 2023 when Oher sued his self-proclaimed adoptive parents, alleging the pair never officially adopted him and tricked him in 2004 into signing a legal document that deemed them his conservators. The pair denied the allegations and said the athlete’s lawsuit was a “shakedown.”

In September 2023, a Tennessee judge ordered the end of the conservatorship.