Staff picks: Can Pitt bounce back against Virginia Tech?

The No. 18 Pitt basketball team took a humbling loss on Wednesday night with a 90-57 defeat to Mississippi State in the SEC/ACC Challenge. The Panthers won’t have to sit on that outcome for too long, as they are back in action today. Pitt (7-2) will be in Blacksburg to take on Virginia Tech for the ACC opener, set for a 2:00 p.m. tip on ESPNU.

Crystal Palace 2-2 Manchester City, Brentford 4-2 Newcastle: football – as it happened

City had to come from behind twice to earn a point, Brentford were impressive at home again and Aston Villa edged past Southampton

Paul MacInnes on an important topic – how clubs are squeezing the pips of fans.

It is time for unity.

Jeremy Boyce gets in touch: “Looking forward to your MostlyPremierLeagueClockwatch. There could be plenty of slapstick, given the weather conditions, and possibly a custard pie in the face for are they/aren’t they ? Citeh at Selhurst Park, one of the most difficult grounds to get to I can remember from my days following Shrewsbury Town round the 2nd and 3rd division in London back in the day (Griffin Park (RIP), Brisbane Road (RIP), The Old Den (RIP) etc.... Thanks for the update on my other team, NotAsNastyAsTheyUsedToBeLeeds.”

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Manchester City’s title hopes hit after Rico Lewis’ late red at Crystal Palace

The way things have been going for Pep Guardiola, this could have been much worse. With his side having twice fallen behind to a Crystal Palace side brimming with renewed confidence, the Manchester City manager saw Erling Haaland end his mini drought with a 13th Premier League goal of the season before Rico Lewis equalised again to end the losing run of five successive away matches.

Even if this was another afternoon to forget for the underperforming Kyle Walker, whose mistakes helped Daniel Muñoz and Maxence Lacroix establish the lead, City will be thankful to have emerged with something after Lewis was shown a second yellow card in the later stages.

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