Bilic said: “Is he in contention to start? Yes. “He is back, he’s been training with us for a couple of days and depending on how he does today I’m expecting him to be in the squad and available for the game. “We will see how much he is going to participate in the game, but he is back and it’s a great boost for us.” Winger Victor Moses and defender Winston Reid have also recovered from injuries after a couple of months on the sidelines. But Bilic feels they are unlikely to be ready to face the Reds and has pencilled the duo in to return against Wolves in the FA Cup the following weekend. “Victor Moses and Winston Reid are back, it’s a good situation for us,” he added. “They are lacking fitness but they have started training with us. “But for the Liverpool game, no, probably not. They only just started training with us so they will be more for the FA Cup game. That will be good recovery for them.” Bilic will also check on the fitness of left-back Aaron Cresswell, who missed Monday’s 2-1 win over Southampton with a hamstring problem. West Ham boss Slaven Bilic is weighing up whether to throw Dimitri Payet straight in against Liverpool despite the midfielder being a month ahead of schedule in his fitness battle. French playmaker Payet, one of the stars of West Ham’s impressive start to the season, was expected to be sidelined until February with the ankle injury he suffered against Everton in November. But the 28-year-old has made such a rapid recovery that he could be pitched in from the start when Liverpool visit Upton Park on Saturday. 
Press Association
The third match of round two of league games of the Ghana Rugby Club Championship (GRCC) for pool A, continued on Saturday, February 21st 2015 at the Accra Rugby pitch in Legon.The first kickoff of the day was between defending champions, Idas sports and Accra Sharks. Coming from behind to win last week’s tough encounter against current log leaders Cosmos Buffaloes, Idas Sports were looking to extend their win to three in a row.Idas had a tough time getting on the score sheet at the commencement of the game but when the full back of the Idas side intercepted a ball in the middle of the pitch intended for the running back of the Accra Sharks side, he made a beautiful run to the try line scoring the first try of the game. From there on, Idas seemed unstoppable as they scored try after try winning the game by 70 points to 0.The coach of the side Abdul Samad was ecstatic about the win, having won three games in a row so far. “As defending champions, all the teams in league are looking to beat us so we can’t afford to slip up,” he said, adding that, ” We have two very tough encounters remaining this season and winning both games assures us the playoffs for the league title”.The second game of the day was between log leaders, Cosmos Buffaloes and third placed side, Dansoman Hurricanes. The Hurricanes had lost their two previous games, so they were eager to mark their first win of the second round, likewise the log leaders recording the first loss of the season last week knowing that another loss will push them out of contention for the playoffs.The encounter began with both sides displaying a lot of strength and tactical discipline, but it was the slip up by the Hurricanes scrum half that gifted the ball to the running back of the buffaloes to open the scoring. Cosmos Buffaloes RFC team prior to their match against Dansoman Hurricanes RFCThe Hurricanes lost their focus allowing the Buffaloes to score more tries to seal the win. The Hurricanes scored their only try in the dying minutes of the game. The Buffaloes won the game by 30 points to 5.The captain of the winning side, Hamza Klitsco Diaba, reiterated his coach’s words last week that no team is a walk over this season. “We knew going into this game that the Hurricanes were eager for their first win so they won’t leave anything to chance. He added that “we kept our cool throughout the game enabling us to win this very important encounter”.The final game of the day was between runners up of last season’s league, Legon Titans RFC and fifth placed team, Tema Anchors RFC. Tema Anchors registered their first win of the second round of matches, by beating Accra Sharks last week comfortably and were looking to extend their win. Legon Titans on the other hand have won all their encounters coming into this game, so were on high spirit to extend their winning streak.The Titans opened the scoring with a penalty kick after 25 minutes of play. The Anchors quickly responded by scoring a penalty, levelling out the scores. The half ended with nothing separating both sides.It was the second half that would prove a lot more exciting as Legon Titans clearly showed why they are one of the favourites to win this season’s league Title.They outrun the defence of the Anchors side by scoring 7 tries in a space of ten minutes in the second half of the game. They continued scoring try after try once they found the weak spot in the defence of the opposition. They won the game comfortably by 74 points to 3.The coach of the winning side was elated once again at his team’s performance on the pitch. “My boys were disciplined throughout the game and that was the factor that gave them an edge over the Anchors.” ”‹”‹He then added that, “Next week’s encounter with defending champions, Idas Sports will prove a tougher encounter but we will prepare very well to meet them boot for boot.”After three games in round two Cosmos Buffaloes are still sitting on the summit with 34 points, followed by Idas Sports with 31 points and in third position, Legon Titans RFC with 30 points, at fourth position is Dansoman Hurricanes with 12 points, fifth is Tema Anchors with 3 points and Accra sharks RFC still occupying the bottom of the summit with no points.
UCLA coach Mick Cronin told Sporting News the most important thing to the Bruins is having some level of certainty about the coming season. UCLA basketball is one high-major athletic program that did not have its players return to campus during the summer months. In the Bruins’ regular Zoom calls, Cronin said, the players are asking questions about the 2020-21 season that he struggles to answer.Now, he can tell them it’ll be the 2021 season.MORE: Kevin Warren’s role as Big Ten’s bad news bearer isn’t his fault, but it is his problem“To me, you’re better off knowing,” Cronin told SN. “The players want to know: ‘When are we going to play?’ It helps their mental state, to know when the season is starting.“At least now, I have an answer. We’ll start our workouts soon. We’ll start practicing on whatever date the Pac-12 gives us, usually 40 days before your first game but maybe there’ll be some accommodation because of this situation. But at least you’ll know. We’ll be able to give them some direction. To me, that helps a guy. They’re sitting around, like: ‘Coach, are we playing this year or not?’”The Pac-12 statement included word from its medical advisers that rapid testing — results in hours rather than days — should be available in the coming months, which will help sort out who does and does not belong on an athletic field at any given moment. And, “We will have a greater understanding of potential short- and long-term health effects of COVID-19 to better inform medical decision-making.” Like a solid screen that came from the blind side, the basketball teams of the Pacific-12 Conference learned on Thursday they would not be playing games until Jan. 1. At least.The Pac-12’s announcement it would postpone competition in fall sports included a declaration the conference would stage no intercollegiate competition until 2021. Men’s basketball has a nationwide starting date of Nov. 10, which NCAA vice president of basketball Dan Gavitt said earlier this month he expected would hold. The Bruins finished last season with a 19-12 record and 12-6 mark in the Pac-12, missing a conference championship on a buzzer-beating jumper by crosstown rival Southern California. They have their entire lineup returning from that team, including leading scorer Chris Smith, who entered the NBA Draft but withdrew before the NCAA’s deadline to retain college eligibility.Cronin does not know for certain what a January start would mean to the college basketball season, but anticipates the possibility of playing only conference games, possibly expanding to a full double-round-robin of 22 games.“They’ve got time to work on it, and they’ve been working on it,” Cronin said. “The Pac-12 has had a committee working for three months on: If we don’t play until January, what’s the best way to do it? I think they’re trying to do what’s the safest play.”