Tony

Former Virginia coach Tony Bennett, who led the Cavaliers to the 2019 national title, has been hired by the Lakers as an NBA draft advisor to Rob Pelinka, the team’s president of basketball operations and general manager. Bennett’s record was 364-136 from 2009-24.

“As we refine and build out our NBA draft and scouting processes, we could think of no better basketball mind than Tony Bennett to have as a resource,” Pelinka said in a statement. “Tony’s track record of forming culture, with high-character, high-skill and high-IQ players is revered and respected across all basketball circles. Tony will be an incredible asset to our basketball leadership, to our scouts and to our draft department as a whole. We are truly excited.”

Virginia honored Bennett in a ceremony before Saturday’s 86-83 win over Miami, naming the court at John Paul Jones Arena after him.

Bennett was the AP national coach of the year in 2007 and 2018. He led Virginia to six ACC regular-season championships. He previously coached at Washington State from 2006-09.

“When Rob and I began talking, what stood out to me was the chance to help out such a storied organization,” Bennett said in a statement. “The Lakers carry a tradition that speaks for itself, so to be connected to it and assist Rob and the Lakers in any way I can is exciting.”

Bennett played under his father, Dick Bennett, at Wisconsin-Green Bay before playing four years in the NBA, including three for Charlotte from 1992-95.

Associated Press contributed to this report.

On the cusp of what promises to be a bitter showdown with major league owners, the players’ union has no leader. Tony Clark, the executive director of the Major League Baseball Players Assn., resigned under pressure Tuesday.

Why did Clark resign?

Clark and the union had engaged separate attorneys as federal authorities investigated alleged financial improprieties within the MLBPA, an affiliated licensing company and an affiliated youth sports venture.

The union also commissioned an investigation, initially focused on those allegations, that uncovered an “inappropriate relationship” between Clark and an employee, a person familiar with the matter confirmed to The Times, with the eight-man MLBPA player leadership team advising Clark that he should depart. The employee was his sister-in-law, the person confirmed.

The allegations remain under federal investigation, meaning that player leaders determined Clark could have been a liability on at least two fronts as players and owners head toward what is expected to be the most contentious collective bargaining in the sport in 31 years.

The Athletic first reported Clark had resigned; ESPN first reported on the relationship.

Who will replace Clark as the union leader?

The MLBPA issued a statement late Tuesday saying player leaders had met Tuesday. Players planned to canvass their peers scattered across spring training camps, then meet again Wednesday, with the possibility of voting on a new executive director then.

That could be either a permanent hire or an interim hire; the latter would reflect the urgency of the upcoming labor negotiation. Although the collective bargaining agreement does not expire until Dec. 1, Commissioner Rob Manfred said last week he expected talks on a new deal to start soon after opening day.

Bruce Meyer, the union’s deputy executive director and lead negotiator, would be the most logical successor. The MLBPA hired Meyer away from the NHLPA in 2018, one year into a bargaining agreement in which Clark and union negotiators were widely viewed as being badly beaten by Manfred and league negotiators.

No. It just acknowledged his resignation.

Is Meyer’s ascension a foregone conclusion?

Bruce Meyer in 2022

(Richard Drew / Associated Press)

Likely, yes, but not foregone. In 2021, with Meyer as lead negotiator and pushing for a better deal even as a 162-game season was threatened, players voted to accept the deal on the table. The union promoted Meyer into his current position in 2022.

In 2024, ESPN reported a majority of player representatives supported the replacement of Meyer with Harry Marino, who had unionized minor league players. Ultimately, Clark stuck with Meyer.

At this late date, however, internal bargaining preparations are underway, and Meyer is now a veteran of MLB negotiations. The goal is to “keep everything as stable as we can this year,” Angels pitcher Brent Suter told reporters. Suter is one of eight players on the union’s player leadership team.

Does this mean the players are divided and the owners are united?

No, and not that simple in any case.

On what looms as the core bargaining issue — the potential adoption of a salary cap — Clark and Meyer were aligned. Clark was the union voice calling a cap “institutionalized collusion,” with Meyer filling in the details of why the MLBPA believed a cap would not necessarily enhance parity and could leave players liable to receive a shrinking percentage of revenue over time.

Manfred has argued the current system helps elite players while squeezing the salaries and the jobs of the so-called middle class.

The owners currently appear united on pushing for a salary cap. If at some point they believe they have to do what the NHL did to get a cap — that is, lose an entire season — the interests of the large-market owners and the small-market owners could diverge.

What does this mean in terms of a potential lockout?

Nothing, really. Within the game, a lockout is considered all but inevitable.

Manfred has said he views a lockout as a negotiating tool. If MLB locks out players Dec. 1, no games are lost. If a lockout remains in place April 1, regular-season games could be lost.

In the last collective bargaining negotiation, owners locked out players in December, and a new deal was reached in March, preserving a 162-game season that started one week late.

The 55-year-old first joined the Scottish Premiership club in 2013 as part of Derek McInnes’ management team and went on to spend eight years at Pittodrie.

He was also McInnes’ number two with Kilmarnock before spells as manager with Dundee and Ross County but was sacked by the latter in December with his side bottom of the Championship.

“Tony has a wealth of experience and knows the Club inside out,” Pfannenstiel told his club website.

“He has excellent knowledge of the Scottish Premiership, both as a coach and a manager, and that will be invaluable for us in the short term.

“Our managerial search is now reaching its conclusion and we hope to be in a position to announce our new head coach imminently.”

Leven, who is in his third spell as caretaker and whose side sit seventh in Scotland’s top flight, welcomed Docherty’s appointment.

“It’s great to have someone of Tony’s experience back in the Aberdeen dugout for the upcoming games,” Leven added.

“He was very enthusiastic about coming in when I spoke with him and his presence and knowledge at both training and matches will be a big boost to me and the squad.”

Horneland left Saint-Etienne at the start of February with his side sitting fourth in France’s second tier.

Should Aberdeen decide to wait until the summer for the Norwegian to take charge, it will mirror the six-month delay in Thelin arriving at Pittodrie from Elfsborg in summer 2024.

Leaked audio from the Epstein files suggests former UK prime minister and ‘Board of Peace’ member Tony Blair was known for earning large sums of money for advisory work after leaving office. Blair’s office told Al Jazeera the figures mentioned in the audio were ‘rubbish’.

Tony Maudsley has played undertaker George Shuttleworth on Coronation Street since 2020

Coronation Street’s Tony Maudsley has delighted fans after giving them a rare look into his family life.

Tony joined the ITV soap in 2020 as George Shuttleworth, the son of the late undertaker Archie (Roy Hudd). Since then, he’s become a firm favourite with viewers.

After his father’s passing, George took the reins of Shuttleworth’s Independent Funeral Directors on Tile Street, bringing in his mate Todd Grimshaw (Gather Pierce) as his right-hand man.

In 2022, George’s family grew with the arrival of his sister Glenda, portrayed by Jodie Prenger, on the soap. The former cruise ship entertainer quickly won over viewers with her close bond with her doting brother.

He also played a part in several big storylines – including his relationships with Eileen Grimshaw (Sue Cleaver) – who left the soap last year – and his current romance with Christina Boyd (Amy Robbins).

As well as Corrie, Tony has appeared in Queer As Folk, Emmerdale and even the Harry Potter franchise in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. He also starred in the hit ITV sitcom Benidorm playing hairdresser Kenneth Du Beke from 2011 to 2018.

The telly star is also no stranger to keeping his loyal legion of 77k Instagram followers updated on his everyday life. And this week, he had his co-stars and fans swooning after an adorable family update.

Giving fans a rare look at his private life, Tony uploaded several photos of his adorable dog after their groom. He captioned the post: “Took Bosie to a new groomers today in Worsley Village and they did a great job! They even cleaned his teeth (well the few he’s got left!)”

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He added: “New business so give them a try if you’re local! Idyllic setting so perfect for a lovely walk, post-pamper!! Oh by the way that chunk of fur out of his leg wasn’t done by the groomer he had blood tests last week so that was down to the vet!”

Unsurprisingly, his co-stars and were left swooning by the post with Sally Carman writing: “Blow OUT,” along with a love heart eyes emoji. Someone else gushed: “Beautiful boy! Looking fab Bosie.” A third penned: “Omg he is so cute! That face!” Another said: “What a cutie!!!”

Coronation Street airs Monday to Friday at 8:30pm on ITV1 and ITVX