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Paul McGrath is not only one of the best defenders to have played for Manchester United, he is also a national treasure in the Republic of Ireland so it’s always a treat to see him appear on the Late Late Show.
This time he was chatting with Patrick Kielty, who replaced Ryan Tubridy as host of the show at the end of 2023, about a wide range of topics including the death of his mother Betty who passed away in September 2020.
McGrath spent seven years with the Reds where he went on to make 203 appearances, scoring 12 goals.
McGrath told Kielty (via The Mirror): “It was very, very tough. I had grown up in an orphanage in Ireland since I was five and it was tough. My mum used to always come to the orphanage and she used to always try to kick a football with me. It wasn’t always a great idea because she wore sandals.
“She wanted me to be a footballer and when I lost her I was a bit all at sea for a while and doing crazy things like I usually do but it was a tough time.”
McGrath also gave a special mention to supporters of Ireland as he thanked them for their support both during and after his playing career.
He added: “I’m amazed that they still would come out and clap and stuff like that because I’ve done so many misdemeanours – is that what they’re called now?
“You know, I’ve missed games and I’ve been found drinking places and stuff like that. But Irish people have always been very loyal to me. I just think it’s brilliant.
“One day they’re going to go, ‘we’ve had enough of you’, but they’ve been brilliant to me and I love and thank you for the support I’ve had over the years because it’s been just second to none.”
After the show, McGrath stayed behind to take pictures with all the audience.
Paul McGrath staying behind to take pics with all the audience tells you exactly what kind of man he is. Legend. #LateLate pic.twitter.com/qEdQ9I17J6
— JJ (@jayhartigan) January 19, 2024
It tells you exactly what kind of man he is and, in our experiences of dealing with McGrath in the past, I can honestly say he’s always been a gentleman.
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Crippling commission fee stifling move of Manchester United winger
Jadon Sancho's Manchester United career is all but over. The writing has been on the wall since his public falling out with Erik Ten Hag in September 2023. Since then, Sancho has been on the outskirts of United's first team, spending time with Borussia Dortmund and Chelsea on loan. Sancho is currently back with United as the club seeks a permanent move for the England international. AS Roma have been the most consistently-linked team, but talks have failed to pick up steam. According to Giorgio Marota of Corriere dello Sport, Sancho's agent is the biggest roadblock to the winger securing a move. Marota reports that his agent is asking for a $13.4 million commission for brokering a move this summer. "Jadon has laid out his conditions: a salary of at least €6.5 million, a figure that Roma is aiming to reduce to around €5.5 million," Marota reported. "Then there's the stumbling block of the €10 million commission requested by his entourage. The deal could only go through if the Red Devils, through a substantial severance package, contributed to reaching this figure." A move to Italy could be precisely what Sancho needs to get his career back on track. Currently, it doesn't appear that his style of play is suited to the Premier League. You only need to look at his three goals and four assists in 31 outings for Chelsea last season as proof that he is better suited to the continental game. With the 2026 World Cup slowly approaching on the horizon, Sancho will want to prove himself to Thomas Tuchel. Consistent minutes for one of the biggest clubs in Italy is an ideal way to do that. Sancho's agent works for him. It's his job to get his client into the best situation possible. Scuppering those chances for his own financial gain is diabolical. Sancho must take control of his own destiny this summer. If that means firing his agent and negotiating a move himself, then so be it. Otherwise, he may need to kiss a spot on the England roster goodbye.
Three burning questions about SEC's huge conference schedule change
The SEC is moving to a nine-game conference schedule, and we have questions. The conference answered some (the nine-game schedule will begin in 2026, each team will have three annual opponents), but others remain. Here are three we're particularly interested in: 1. What happens with the ACC? Earlier Thursday, Yahoo Sports college football reporter Ross Dellenger shared that momentum was building for the SEC to adopt a nine-game conference schedule after executives met this week. He added that a move by the SEC could force the ACC, which plays an eight-game conference schedule, to do the same. However, with the conference sitting at 17 teams, it's mathematically impossible for the league to schedule nine conference games per team. The conference likely wouldn't kick out a member. Instead, adding an 18th team would make more sense. Memphis threw itself at the Big 12 and fell on its face. Perhaps the ACC would be more interested? The ACC already has a scheduling agreement with Notre Dame, and it might also pursue strengthening those bonds by having the Irish play more conference opponents. 2. Will SEC still schedule FCS out-of-conference games? On the surface, the SEC adding more competitive games is a win for fans. That said, if the conference is adding one conference game, it's taking one out-of-conference game away. Depending on which one, a nine-game SEC schedule will hardly be worth celebrating. Instead of scheduling challenging out-of-conference games, SEC programs might be more inclined to ensure easy wins by paying overmatched FCS teams to get blown out by 50 points. Where's the fun in that? 3. How does a nine-game conference schedule impact College Football Playoff format? The Big Ten and SEC, college football's biggest conferences, have been at odds over the CFP's future, with the Big Ten favoring a 4-4-2-2-1 format that features four automatic qualifiers for it and the SEC, two for the ACC and Big 12, and one for a mid-major. At-large bids would fill the rest of the 16-team field. The SEC, meanwhile, has supported a format that rewards the five highest-ranked conference champions and 11 at-large teams. By moving to nine conference games, the SEC might be more receptive to the idea of automatic qualifiers as teams compete more intensely, ensuring that it gets a set number of seats at the CFP table each season. Last season, the first year of the expanded 12-team playoff, the SEC only landed two at-large berths. Nevertheless, it might still prefer a 5-11 CFP format, relying on the perceived strength of the SEC to gobble up more bids in future seasons. On Aug. 11, the Associated Press published its preseason top 25 poll, which featured 10 ranked SEC teams. There are a few things the conference loves more than "quality losses," and commissioner Greg Sankey will be able to champion even more with the expanded SEC schedule. While a lot remains uncertain, that's one thing we're certain of.
Green Bay Packers: Mike Macdonald’s First Message to Matt LaFleur After Mayhem-Marred Practice
Joint practices in the NFL can be really heated. Just take for example the one involving the Green Bay Packers and the Seattle Seahawks on Thursday, with fights erupting on the field between players from both sides. Even though it’s just a practice session with nothing significant on the line, the competitive juices of players can get in the way and spark fiery moments on the field. If anything, at least no one appears to have been seriously hurt from the multiple altercations reported. However, Packers right tackle Zach Tom was reportedly tossed out of the field after throwing punches at a couple of Seahawks players. Despite all the chaos that transpired between the Packers and the Seahawks, Seattle head coach Mike Macdonald had great things to say about Green Bay. Seahawks head coach sends message to Matt LaFleur, Green Bay Packers Brady Henderson of ESPN noted that Macdonald started his session with the media after the practice, “by thanking Packers coach Matt LaFleur and the organization for hosting them.” In any case, Macdonald felt good overall about his players. “It’s hard to tell what happened, who said what,” Macdonald shared. “Look, you want your guys to defend their [teammates]. There’s a line. Whether we go past the line, I don’t think we did, which is good. Our guys stayed composed. But some of these things do tend to happen, and however it gets started … hopefully it’s not our guys, but people are going to react to a certain extent. I think our guys handled it pretty well.” The Packers and the Seahawks will still see each other on the field this offseason, as they are scheduled to play in their 2025 NFL preseason finale on Saturday at Lambeau Field.
Blackhawks make gargantuan commitment to young forward
The Blackhawks have officially announced a seven-year extension for pending RFA forward Frank Nazar. The deal will pay him an AAV and cap hit of $6.59M for a total value of $46.13M. It’s a gargantuan commitment to the 21-year-old Nazar considering his lack of NHL experience. The 2022 No. 13 overall pick lands the richest total-value contract in league history for someone with 56 or fewer career appearances, which is Nazar’s tally entering the 2025-26 campaign. Nazar, who still has one year left on his entry-level contract before his extension will kick in for 2026-27, has yet to spend an entire season on the NHL roster. Last year was his first full run in the pros after two years at the University of Michigan, but he made his NHL debut in the final three games of 2023-24 after signing his ELC. He did not make the Blackhawks’ opening night roster but, after recording 11 goals and 24 points in 21 games for AHL Rockford, was recalled in mid-December shortly after Chicago’s coaching change and never looked back. He faltered out of the gate, recording only one assist and a -5 rating through his first 10 appearances while averaging 14:44 of ice time per game. But under interim head coach Anders Sörenson, who had overseen his early-season success in Rockford, he was extended some patience. That paid off in the long run as Nazar built confidence, including a four-game point streak in January and a run of nine points in eight games in April to end the season. All told, Nazar finished the season with a 12-14–26 scoring line 53 games — ninth on the team — and averaged nearly 16 minutes per game. While size concerns (5-foot-10, 190 pounds) created some detractors about his ability to hold down his natural center position in the NHL, he saw a fair amount of time as Chicago’s second-line middleman behind Connor Bedard. His most common deployment (107 minutes) amid an astronomical 91 different line combinations used by the Hawks last year was at 2C between Tyler Bertuzzi and Teuvo Teräväinen, although he did also see some time up on Bedard’s wing. Nazar was seen as a top-10 threat in the 2022 class, but after slipping to Chicago and missing most of his freshman year at Michigan due to injury, there were warranted doubts about his development path. He silenced them quickly with a point-per-game sophomore showing for the Wolverines and has made about as good an adjustment to pro hockey as can be expected, given the lack of quality veteran support on the Hawks’ NHL roster. A long-term bet at what’s even now a conservative second-line price point in 2025 could pay incredible dividends for the Blackhawks if he remains a long-term top-six piece, even if it’s on the wing, as the cap increases and they reward the other pieces of their young core with long-term deals. There’s also an incredible risk factor for someone still relatively early on their development track with less than a full season’s worth of NHL experience. The only recent comparable for someone with his experience is Wild superstar Kirill Kaprizov, who signed a five-year, $45M contract after his rookie season (55 GP). Kaprizov, however, had far more professional experience after coming up through Russia’s KHL and was two years older than Nazar is now, making him a more projectable player. Kaprizov also took home the Calder Trophy that year and had twice the offensive output Nazar did. As such, the Blackhawks are betting hard on Nazar being a long-term solution, either as a wingman for Bedard or as a second-line center behind him. There’s certainly reason for optimism – he’s developed well and is coming off a spectacular World Championship showing with the United States that earned him a spot at their Olympic orientation camp. He’ll be under contract through the 2032-33 season and can walk to unrestricted free agency upon expiry. Getting Nazar’s extension out of the way now isn’t just about him, though. Chicago has two other big-ticket RFAs next summer — Bedard and new No. 1 goalie Spencer Knight — who will take serious resources to extend. They still have barely over $40M in allocated cap hits for 2026-27, though, leaving them with virtually unlimited spending power under a projected $104M cap. Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet first reported the Blackhawks were signing Nazar to a seven-year extension. Bleacher Report’s Frank Seravalli reported a more accurate cap hit in the $6.6M range.
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