Lawsrenceburg, In. —  This month, the craveable and delicious McRib returns for a limited time and will be available in more than 9,000 U.S. restaurants nationwide. Fans can order the McRib at participating U.S. restaurants and through McDelivery on Uber Eats.A sandwich that has had fans clamoring for more than 35 years, the McRib is made with seasoned boneless pork and slathered in tangy, delicious barbecue sauce – it’s topped with slivered onions and tart pickles on a hoagie-style bun.“While McDonald’s has ushered in many new items this year – such as fresh beef* in our quarter-pound burgers – we know our fans love this limited time classic,” said McDonald’s Chef Mike Haracz. “That’s why we wanted to bring the McRib to as many fans as possible this year. With the McRib also now available via McDelivery on Uber Eats, we’re excited to make it more accessible to customers with the speed and convenience they expect from McDonald’s.”The McRib’s most loyal fans can download the McDonald’s Finder app to find participating restaurants offering the limited time sandwich, and swap McRib-themed stickers. Customers can also download the Uber Eats app to find the nearest participating McDelivery restaurant in their area.The iconic sandwich last appeared in participating restaurants in November 2017. read more

GREG DIXON/Herald photoAs any Wisconsin sports fan can attest, no game matters more for bragging rights than the border battle with Minnesota, but the stakes don’t get any higher than this weekend, when the No. 1 ranked Badgers play host to the No. 2 Golden Gophers.The Badgers (8-0-0 ) and the Gophers (5-1-0 ) both bring impressive offensive r?sum?s into the matchup. The Badgers, who have outscored opponents 52 to seven thus far, are leading the country with 6.5 goals per game. Minnesota is second in that category at just over 5 per game. UW head coach Mark Johnson said fans can expect the game will not be lacking offensive action.“I think most of the game is going to be played at a pretty high pace,” Johnson said. “They like to get up, they like to go. The only thing that will contain [the tempo] is the size of the ice sheet. It should be a fun, entertaining weekend of hockey.”In addition to being tops in the country in scoring, Wisconsin is No. 1 in scoring margin, power play scoring, winning percentage and current unbeaten streak. They also come in second in scoring defense and penalty kill. Likewise, Minnesota registers in the top five in all those categories except for penalty kill. Statistics aside, Johnson said an early test such as this is a good barometer and necessary for team growth.“After the weekend’s over, both teams will have an indication of where we are,” Johnson said. “The whole thing is to get challenged, to find some obstacles that you have to get over and then go through them. That’s the only way you’re going to become a good team.”Although Minnesota leads the all-time series 25-16-5, Wisconsin has dominated the rivalry recently, going 12-2-2 over the past three years, including a 3-2 overtime win in last year’s NCAA tournament. The recent record notwithstanding, senior goaltender Jessie Vetter said the rivalry is as heated as ever.“It’s definitely just a healthy rivalry, just very good competition,” she said. “There’s always a little [extra] motivation just being Minnesota in general because they are a good team and we’ve faced them so much over the years.”Contributing to the rivalry, many players from the two teams have participated alongside one another on various national squads, forging friendships across the state border. Johnson, though, isn’t concerned with off the ice bonds getting in the way of the competition.“They’re friends — some of them are real good friends,” Johnson said. “But when the puck drops and you have a Gopher jersey on or a Badger jersey on, it becomes very competitive.”Another predominant storyline entering the series is the importance of underclassmen to both teams. This week, Wisconsin forward Brooke Ammerman and Minnesota forward Monique Lamoureux shared the WCHA Rookie of the Week honor.Johnson expressed great satisfaction in the play of his freshmen, who have supplied 32 of the team’s 141 points.“Some of the younger players had some great statistics coming in here for their respective teams,” Johnson said. “But you got to make the adjustment to college hockey, and they’ve done that quite well. You look at our scoring right now — it’s pretty balanced, pretty even. The younger players are right in that mix.”With all the offensive accolades credited to both teams, the defenses can get lost in the shuffle. Under the radar, though, defenseman Alycia Matthews is tied for first in the country in points per game for a defenseman. Freshman Brittany Haverstock is tied for fifth. Matthews said the defensive unit has been working hard preparing for the incoming Gophers.“It’s always a big rivalry, so [the rivalry] always comes up before the game,” she said. “I think that once you get a feel for what they do then we’re really good at changing our systems to meet theirs. I think we will get tested this weekend.” read more

The USC men’s water polo team claimed third place at the MPSF Tournament held at Uytengsu Aquatics Center over the weekend.The Trojans beat Stanford in the quarterfinals on Friday, but on Saturday lost to UCLA in the semifinals. However, they came back strong on Sunday with an 8-4 win over Pacific in the third place game.USC battled back from an early 2-0 deficit with consecutive scores from Blake Edwards in the second period. The first came just seconds after Edwards was stopped on a penalty shot, and then a minute later, Edwards converted again off a turnover forced by Chase Koplow to even the score at halftime.The Trojans commanded the second half, taking the lead on a goal by Mihaljo Milicevic midway through the third period and Nick Lavayen scored a minute later for a 5-3 advantage. After Pacific responded with a goal to make it 4-3, USC scored four unanswered to pull away for the victory.The win kept USC’s chances at an NCAA Tournament bid alive. “It’s a massive win,” Edwards said. “I’m so proud of all the boys. We were under a lot of pressure. Our season was on the line. We just implemented the gameplan perfectly today.”However, the Trojans’ participation in the tournament is not a certainty yet, as it will likely be them and Pacific battling for the final bid from the MPSF.“It’s just a great way to end the regular season,” goalkeeper McQuin Baron said on Sunday’s win. “If we don’t get the NCAA bid, that’s an amazing way for our season to end leading into next season.”A 6-3 loss to UCLA Saturday in the semifinals put a temporary dent in the Trojans’ season. Despite outshooting the Bruins 25-23, the Trojans were futile on offense, taking more than 22 minutes to score their first goal, which came late in the third period.USC was shutout through halftime and could only watch as the Bruins built up a 3-0 lead on two first period goals by Danny McClintick and a second period marker by Ryder Roberts.The Bruins scored three more unanswered goals in the third period. Roberts tallied again and McClintick finished off a hat trick. A penalty shot by Alex Roelse with two minutes to play proved true, and UCLA took a commanding 6-0 lead into the final period.Despite pressing on defense and hitting a number of posts, the Trojans, who finished 0-for-6 on the power play, came up well short of their crosstown rivals. Mihaljo Milicevic and Mac Carden finally delivered goals in the fourth period, but it was too little, too late.“UCLA is a very good team,” Edwards said. “They probably have the best defense in the competition. We matched that defense this tournament but offensively we didn’t attack enough. We didn’t make bright decisions. We actually created a lot of offensive opportunities, but the decision making and shot selection was really poor.”The loss was especially deflating considering the MPSF tournament started out victorious for the Trojans with a 7-6 overtime victory against the Stanford Cardinal Friday morning. The game was the second time this season that USC has defeated Stanford in overtime. Baron was one of two dominant Trojans in the game, becoming a defensive stalwart in the goal. He had a career-high 19 saves in the game. Baron held the Cardinal scoreless in both of the overtime periods.The offensive star of the game was sophomore Grant Stein, who would score four goals for the Trojans in the game, including the go-ahead goal in the overtime. Freshman Chase Koplow got in on the action as well contributing two goals. Nick Bell also scored a goal for the Trojans in the game.The Trojans earned their 11th straight trip to the NCAA Tournament after being awarded an at-large bid into this year’s tournament. They will next take on Claremont-Mudd-Scripps in a play-in game on Dec. 2 at Uytengsu Aquatics Center and if they win, they will advance to the NCAA semifinals. read more

Arsenal intersted in Philipp Ochs but 19-year-old could cost a lot – Ochs has only played 13 Bundesliga games and is currently on international duty with Germany’s U19 side. The 19-year-old is his nation’s top scorer with three goals, all of which came against Portugal. Hoffenheim, though, are not keen to sell a player who has a promising future ahead of him and are likely to demand a large fee. Arda Turan priced at around £20m – Spanish news outlet Sport say Turan’s future is still up in the air and could sell the midfielder if a club offers Barcelona £20m. Arsenal have been linked, though Sport also say talks between player and club about his future have been planned. Leicester still waiting on Riyad Mahrez – As revealed by talkSPORT’s Transfer Insider, both Arsenal and Chelsea are monitoring Mahrez’s situation at Leicester. The Premier League champions are fighting hard to keep him and have offered a massive contract to the Algerian, which has been there since there the end of last season – no response yet, however… Wellington Silva is off (yes, he was still there) – He didn’t appear once for Arsenal and has re-joined Brazilian side Fluminense on a four-year deal. Silva, 23, arrived in 2010 and appeared to be one for the future but spent time on loan in Spain and also at Bolton. Jason Denayer to leave Man City for Arsenal? – Denayer, one of the Belgium players who was sold a dummy by Wales’ Hal Robson-Kanu during the Euro 2016 quarter-final clash, is said to be on Wenger’s shortlist, say the Sun. The 21-year-old may leave if there’s a chance to play first team football regularly, which is looking unlikely at Man City given the link to Leonardo Bonucci. Denayer is worth about £15m and Arsenal have also been linked to Dortmund’s Matthias Ginter. 11 11 11 Who else will Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger bring in during the summer transfer window?Gooners will tell you a new striker is a must, so here, talkSPORT has rounded up the latest rumours involving the club.REASONS FOR ARSENAL FANS TO BE HAPPYClick the arrow above, right, to see more Arsenal transfer rumours.To remain up to date with all the latest transfer news, click here. 11 11 11 11 Rob Holding: Bolton defender heading to London for medical – The 20-year-old Bolton defender (above, left) is on his way to Arsenal in a reported £2m deal. Holding is a centre-back who can also play as a full-back and played 30 times last season and won the club’s Player of the Year prize. Gonzalo Higuain is too expensive for Juve – click the arrow above, right, to see more Arsenal transfer rumours – Juventus will NOT pay the reported £78.5m release clause for Napoli’s top scoring striker Higuain, says Juve chief exec Giuseppe Marotta. This is good news for Arsenal who have maintained an interest in the 36-goal striker. However, he has also proved too expensive for the Gunners and now it is said Napoli are preparing a bumper new contract for Higuain. 11 Milan waiting to see if Arsenal show real interest in Carlos Bacca – Bacca scored 18 Serie A goals last season, but is looking to leave in order to play European football. West Ham have been linked with him, but Italian news outlet Gazzetta dello Sport say Milan are waiting to see if Arsenal shore up their reported interest in the 29-year-old. 11 11 Man City eyeing Hector Bellerin – Spanish news outlet Mundo Deportivo say Man City are interested in Hector Bellerin, Arsenal’s 21-year-old right back. He is happy in London and wants to stay in the Premier League, but is said to be open to the idea of linking up with Pep Guardiola given their Barcelona connection. Zinedine Zidane doesn’t quite confirm Alvaro Morata’s future is with Real – Speaking about Morata’s future, Real Madrid manager Zidane said: “He is an academy product, who knows what Real Madrid is and truthfully we are happy to have him with us. Later we’ll see.” The 23-year-old recently returned to Spain after two years at Juventus and it is still uncertain where his future lies. Both Arsenal and Chelsea have been linked with the player. 11 Joel Campbell wants to fight for Arsenal place – Campbell is still not a regular at Arsenal and has been consistently linked with a move away from the club. However, he told the official website he is looking forward to pre-season training after his holiday. “I will fight with everything to have the opportunity to play and to show what I can give”. read more