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Officially by the FIFA rankings, this is No. 3 vs No. 4, but on the whole, the two most deserving teams reached the end of the road. Despite a host of injuries before the tournament started, France have been sensational, overwhelming teams with a pace and precision on the counter-attack run by Mbappe and Antoine Griezmann. Add in the great form of No. 9 Olivier Giroud, and they’re a formidable opponent....

History judges elite fighters in large measure by their record against other elite fighters and how they performed in their most difficult challenges. History also awards points for longevity because, as A. J. Liebling wrote, “Only the great ones win the title young and hold onto it.” And consideration is given to whether a fighter’s reign was special in a way that went beyond boxing. Looking at past eras, my choices for Fighter of the Decade are:...

So intends to do something about it. Last month the naturalized U.S. citizen stood before journalists at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C., and vowed to overthrow the Cambodian government. It seemed an unlikely threat–but So belongs to a small Long Beach, California-based group of aging anti-communists called the Cambodian Freedom Fighters (CFF). On Nov. 24, acting on CFF orders, some 80 armed men stormed the Ministry of Defense and an Army base in the Cambodian capital....

Now, the long-time coach has a chance to move one step closer to a national championship in the NCAA men’s basketball national championship at the Final Four. The Wolverines head into Saturday’s game against Loyola with a chance to face either Villanova or Kansas on Monday. For Beilein, however, it’s not about that. MORE: Ranking each Final Four team’s chances to win “It never has been the goal to be in the Final Four,” Beilein said when talking about his coaching philosophy March 26....

Here are props on the game offered at the Westgate Las Vegas SuperBook. MICHIGAN ST VS DUKE PROPS TOTAL 3 POINT FIELD GOALS MADE BY: BOTH TEAMS OVER 13.0 -110 UNDER 13.0 -110 LARGEST LEAD OF THE GAME BY: EITHER TEAM OVER 14.0 -110 UNDER 14.0 -110 TEAM TO SCORE 10 POINTS FIRST MICHIGAN ST +110 DUKE -130 TEAM TO SCORE 20 POINTS FIRST MICHIGAN ST +130 DUKE -150...

Here lieth the campaign of Mitt Romney, victim of the mistaken belief that the only way to succeed in national Republican politics was to turn yourself into something you are not. Or maybe the campaign revealed what his closest friends never imaged him to be. They thought he was a decent classy guy. But maybe he really is a soulless throat-cutter who would do and say anything to win....

That would be a profoundly boring legislative detail except for this: the chairman of the subcommittee is none other than Rep. Jack Murtha. You may remember him. He’s the beefy former Marine who declared in 2005 that the Iraq war had been a failure—and that we needed a rapid “redeployment.” Murtha, say leadership aides who did not want to be named discussing his plans, is hiring a brace of government investigators specifically detailed to probe Iraq spending....

I contacted the Obama campaign headquarters in Chicago to find out what was going on. Bottom line after a number of calls and e-mails: The site was not “official”—even though it is dotted with links to the campaign and run by a “volunteer” they know. Obama didn’t write his entry (I doubt that any candidates do). It was put together by the volunteer, whom the campaign had contacted after my inquiry....

This was supposed to be a make-or-break week in the politics of the war. It is nothing of the kind. We already know where we’re headed. Sometime late this year, perhaps early in 2008, we will begin withdrawing the 30,000 “surge” troops from Iraq. Their departure will have nothing to do with the debate here; they must depart for logistical “rotation” reasons. Later in the year it is possible, though not likely, that some of the remaining 130,000 troops will leave....

Taking on Russia, the Finns, once again, came back and scored four unanswered goals to win the country’s first bronze medal since 2006. The medal marks the fourth one the last eight years for the country but the other three were golds. The Finns lost to Sweden in last year’s bronze-medal game. Finland’s comeback 4-1 victory on Tuesday night should not surprise anyone. They entered the game after a heartbreaking loss to the U....

Frustration turned into fury. Justice was beyond their reach, many blacks believed–but revenge could be taken nearer at hand. A cop car was one obvious target; so was the glass door of the Criminal Courts building. Asians, long resented by blacks, felt the pain of fire. But for the most part the rioters turned on their own. Even signs saying “Black-owned, Don’t Burn” failed to save their businesses. As the anger and blood, exhaustion and hurt, spilled out of TV screens across the country, millions of Americans became fearful that the unrest would spread to their own cities....

The Dayton Daily News received an email from a bartender alleging that he had a charged incident with Acosta-Grommon in August. Ryan Collins, a bartender at Elsa’s Corner Cantina in Sugarcreek Township, said he was serving Acosta-Grommon on August 29. He noticed that she was behaving loudly and inappropriately and made the decision to cut her off, taking away the last drink she was served. In the email, Collins, who identifies as black, said that he overheard the woman stating she “hated black people” and “hated representing them....

According to officials from the El Paso Police Department, residents reported suspicious behavior on May 28. “Residents observed a man placing plates of cat food in the area, which neighbors found suspicious,” officials said in a press release. “Days later, five cats and one dog became ill and died due to the tainted food.” The police department’s Animal Cruelty Investigation Unit carried out an investigation and learned that Lieutenant Shawn Hanke of the El Paso Fire Department was responsible for leaving the food out for the animals....

Instead of a man breaking the law and getting away with it. MORE: Which unbeaten teams lose this week? | Bowl projections | Four in, four out FSU should have drawn a line after the crab legs incident with Jameis Winston, but did not. (Getty Images) The worst part, the absolute worst part in this joyride of enabling at Florida State University was this spring after Winston was caught stealing food from a grocery store and — I still can’t believe I’m writing this — was suspended from the baseball team....

Fanning served as the first general manager of the Expos, who began play as an expansion team in 1969, and helped build the team that competed for a National League East title in 1973. After eight years as general manager, he was replaced by Charlie Fox in 1976. PHOTOS: Notable sports deaths of 2015 He filled several other roles for the Expos in the next few years before being named manager in midseason in 1981....