India take on Pakistan in the 2018 Asia Cup on September 19 at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium and former Indian cricketer VVS Laxman has singled out Shoaib Malik as the biggest thrat in Pakistan’s bating line-up.”Yeah, the reason he does well against India is his experience, he is a good player of spin bowling because in the middle invariably India will look to attack with the spinners and they’ve got two quality wrist spinners now in, (Yuzvendra) Chahal and Kuldeep (Yadav) while Pakistan is evidently dependent on their opener Fakhar Zaman and Babar Azam at number 3,” Laxman was quoted by Star Sports.Malik has an impressive record against India, having scored 1661 runs in 39 matches and that too at an impressive average of 47.45. Malik has also scored four centuries against India.Laxman also asserted that Malik will need to play a major role with the bat if Pakistan are to do well in the tournament.Game mode!Pakistan batsmen started their preparations for the Asia Cup im Dubai with an extensive nets session at the ICC Academy. #HarSaansMeinBolo #AsiaCup2018 pic.twitter.com/x1uoJIryFFPCB Official (@TheRealPCB) September 12, 2018″Shoaib Malik is someone who would look to play the anchor role because he has got ability to rotate the strike, play down the ground, taking easy singles,” he said.”But at the same time when he presses the accelerator, he can play the big shots and he has got abundance of experience and he is a champion as far as wide ball is concerned,” he added.advertisement(With inputs from IANS) read more

Demand for healthy, natural food is extending from humans to their pets.Petco announced Tuesday it will stop selling dog and cat food and treats with artificial colours, flavours and preservatives, both online and at its nearly 1,500 stores in the U.S. and Puerto Rico.“We are making sure we are always taking the nutritional high ground,” Petco CEO Ron Coughlin told The Associated Press.Petco’s move, the first of its kind among major pet stores, comes at a time when sales of natural pet foods are steadily rising.Natural pet products still account for a small portion of the U.S. market share but growth has more than doubled to 6.5 per cent between 2013 and 2017, according to Nielsen, a data company. Nielsen said sales of pet food free of genetically modified ingredients jumped 29 per cent last year. Sales of pet food without artificial preservatives and colours grew 4 per cent.Americans spent $69.5 billion on their pets last year, up 4 per cent from the year before, according to the American Pet Products Association.Pet food has long mimicked human food, says John Owen, a senior food analyst for market researcher Mintel. In 1959, for example, Gravy Train dog food was introduced so dogs could enjoy gravy too.As human tastes have grown more sophisticated, so have their demands for their pets, Owen said.For dogs, there are bags of organic, vegetarian and grain-free food. Some brands claim to mimic ancestral diets, with kibbles made from venison or wild boar. Cans of cat food feature tilapia, rabbit and pumpkin.Sensing the growing trend, two big food companies — J.M. Smucker Co. and General Mills — spent billions to acquire the natural pet food brands Nutrish and Blue Buffalo earlier this year.Ashley Murphy, a 33-year-old project manager in Atlanta, has been watching the amount of sugar and preservatives in her own food. That made her question the ingredients in the food she feeds her dog Maddie, a Jack Russell mix.Murphy recently switched to Canidae Grain Free Pure Ancestral dry dog food after reading the ingredients on lots of bags. Murphy wanted a food with more meat, fewer fillers like grains and corn, and fewer chemicals.“Minus some of the minerals and some of the fermentation products at the very bottom of the list, I can pronounce every single ingredient in her new food,” said Murphy, who said she doesn’t mind spending more for the food.Owen says young people like Murphy are driving the trend in natural pet food. He expects it will keep growing and lead to even more “natural” innovations, like freeze-dried raw food.Coughlin says the majority of pet food Petco sells now doesn’t contain artificial ingredients. Still, the change isn’t insignificant; Petco sells around $100 million worth of dog and cat food with artificial ingredients each year.Coughlin said food with those ingredients will start coming off the shelves in January. Some suppliers are reformulating their food; others simply won’t sell through Petco anymore, he said. Food with artificial ingredients that isn’t sold by May will be donated to animal shelters.Eventually the store plans to expand its ban on artificial ingredients to foods it sells for other animals, he said.Dr. Whitney Miller, Petco’s top veterinarian, said there is limited research into the impact of artificial ingredients on dogs and cats. And Dr. Hollie Rebo, a veterinarian based in Dearborn, Michigan, said consumers shouldn’t be overly concerned since pet food makers already limit those ingredients because they add costs.When they do add things like artificial colours, it’s because it makes the food more palatable to humans.“I love the idea of getting rid of a lot of useless junk, but it’s really there to sell more product,” she said.Dee-Ann Durbin, The Associated Press read more

Junior forward Chad Niddery (19) attempts to beat his defender during a game against Penn State Jan. 31 at the Schottenstein Center. OSU won, 5-1.Credit: Alexis Hill / Lantern photographerWhen the only Big Ten team with an unbeaten shootout record plays in two more sudden death games, the end result might seem like a forgone conclusion.Not this weekend.The Ohio State men’s hockey team (14-9-3, 4-5-3) picked up four points over the weekend by handing Michigan State (8-13-6, 2-5-5) its first two shootout losses of the season.The Buckeyes traveled to East Lansing, Mich., on the heels of a three-game winning streak, and their confidence showed early Saturday afternoon when they took the lead on junior forward Matt Johnson’s fourth goal of the season.But in the second period, the Spartans took advantage of two OSU penalties and scored a pair of power play goals.OSU responded in the third period as Johnson scored again to tie the game at 2-2 and send it to overtime. The Buckeyes had more shots in the extra session, but the best chance to win the game fell to the Spartans when sophomore forward Michael Ferrantino directed a one-time shot on net, only for OSU freshman goalie Christian Frey to recover and catch the puck in his glove to force the game into a shootout.Frey stopped each of the Spartans’ three attempts in the shootout, and a successful try from freshman forward Nick Schilkey was all the Buckeyes needed to clinch the extra point in the conference standings.The resiliency displayed by the Buckeyes in the third period pleased head coach Steve Rohlik, despite his team’s performance earlier in the game.“I’m a little disappointed with our second period, a little undisciplined with the penalties which gave (MSU) the momentum back,” Rohlik said in a press release. “But our team righted the ship and played a pretty good third period.”Friday’s matchup was a similar affair, when the Buckeyes won in a shootout after erasing a two-goal deficit in the final 1:34 of regulation.OSU was outshooting their opponent well into the middle period when MSU suddenly came down the ice and took the lead when senior forward Lee Reimer found the net for the fifth time this season. Then in the third, it was another senior forward, Greg Wolfe, who put the Spartans in control with a shot that whistled past Frey.It was all OSU after that. The Buckeyes kept the puck in the Spartan end for long periods, but MSU’s sophomore goalie Jake Hildebrand stopped everything in front of him.That was before two late MSU penalties changed the course of the game.First, freshman forward Joe Cox was called for interference, and on the ensuing power play, OSU junior forward Tanner Fritz got OSU on the board with 1:34 left. Just 55 seconds later, OSU was on the power play again, and after a scramble around the MSU net, the puck was eventually slotted past Hildebrand by senior forward Alex Szczechura with just 1.7 seconds remaining.After neither team could find the winning tally in overtime, the shootout went to five rounds before Fritz walked in and placed a low wrist shot into the back of the net to clinch the shootout win for the Buckeyes.The Buckeyes are set to be back on the ice in Columbus this weekend against No. 12 Wisconsin. The puck is set to drop Friday at 7:05 p.m. read more

In case Avengers: Endgame successfully tricked you into thinking that Marvel content is taking a break, don’t worry, no one is ever really gone. Not only are there still plenty of MCU movies in the works (like Spider-Man: Far From Home in just a couple of weeks) but there are also plenty of Marvel shows on tap for streaming TV services.The biggest Marvel streaming shows are handled in-house by Marvel Studios and are coming to Disney+ to make that new service all the more essential. They’ll star characters like Falcon, Winter Soldier, Hawkeye, Scarlet Witch, Vision, and Loki. But the separate Marvel TV division still has its own projects in the works, specifically for Hulu because unlike sexy Netflix Disney has a stake in that platform.Your next two Marvel streaming shows coming to Hulu are Ghost Rider and Helstrom. Instead of the underrated Nic Cage version of the Johnny Blaze character, Ghost Rider will presumably follow Gabriel Luna as Robbie Reyes, who first appeared in Agents of Shield (set to conclude after two more seasons). He kept the flaming vengeful skull head but traded the motorcycle for a muscle car.Helstrom though we aren’t so sure about. Apparently the comic is about Omen-esque brother and sister Daimon and Ana Helstrom whose father is a Satan moonlighting as a serial killer. Seems a little redundant to have this and Ghost Rider be two separate shows, especially since the sibling also punish criminals. If Marvel is looking to make more supernatural horror they’ve already got a perfectly nice Blade just sitting there.Ghost Rider and Helstrom will join other Hulu Marvel shows like Runaways and The Offenders animated project. Look for them all in 2020. And for more on Marvel read our spoiler-filled thoughts on Iron Man in Avengers: Endgame and see how you can help the creator of Rocket Raccoon. Stay on target Sony Pictures CEO Says ‘Door Is Closed’ for Now on Spider-Man SplitMarvel Censors Criticism of America From Marvel Comics #1000 read more

Listen Louisville ranks fifth in the country and second in the ACC in scoring offense with 86.9 points per game. They have scored 100-plus three times, 90-plus five times, 80-plus eight times and 70-plus in 10 of 11 games. In addition to scoring 100-plus in two of four games, they have scored 80-plus in the last seven, averaging 92.4 points during that stretch. They return three starters from that team and are off to an 8-1 start this season, with their lone defeat at home to South Dakota State (L, 80-71). They have wins vs. Western Kentucky (W, 108-90), at Virginia (W, 74-61), vs. Chattanooga (W, 73-50) and at Vanderbilt (W, 66-57). They rank eighth in the country with a 50.1 field goal percentage and seventh with a 42.0 3-point field goal percentage. They are knocking down 9.6 3-pointers a game, which ranks 14th in the country. Senior Presley Hudson, a 2017-18 First Team All-MAC selection, leads the team and ranks fifth in the country with 23.3 points per game. She is connecting on 4.0 3-pointers per game, which ranks fourth in the nation, and is shooting 42.4 percent from beyond the arc. She is shooting 93.3 percent from the stripe, which ranks seventh in the country. Senior Reyna Frost, who was named MAC Tournament MVP last season, is averaging a double-double with 16.0 points and 10.7 rebounds.Series History – UofL is 2-1 all-time against CMU and this marks the first matchup since Dec. 2, 2009 when the Cards fell 84-75 in Mount Pleasant. UofL won the other two contests (W, 95-72 at UofL, 12/29/08); (W, 72-62 in Lexington, Ky., 11/27/87).Date: Thursday, Dec. 20Time: 7 p.m. ETSite: McGuirk Arena   Mount Pleasant, Mich. (5,300)Radio: WKRD-790, Nick Curran, play-by-play; Adrienne Johnson, analystVideo: ESPN+Last Meeting: L, 84-75 (Dec. 2, 2009 at CMU)Series History: 2-1 (1-0 Home, 0-1 Away, 1-0 Neutral)UofL National Ranking: 3rd Associated Press, 3rd USA TodayOfficials:For the latest on Louisville women’s basketball, visit GoCards.com, follow the team’s Twitter account at @UofLWBB or on Facebook at facebook.com/UofLWBB.Print Friendly Version Story Links LOUISVILLE, Ky. – After concluding its six-game homestand with a perfect 6-0 record, University of Louisville women’s basketball hits the road to conclude the 2018 portion of the schedule when they play at Central Michigan on Thursday at 7 p.m. ET. Watch Louisville enters the game with a perfect 11-0 record, while Central Michigan is an impressive 8-1. UofL committed a season-low five turnovers in the 92-59 win over Northern Kentucky. It marks the fewest turnovers since they set the school–record and tied the NCAA Tournament record with three vs. Oregon State in the NCAA regional final last March. They had seven turnovers vs. UK and have just 12 in the last two games. Prior to the last two games, they had double-digit turnovers in every game. Their turnovers per game have dropped from 16.2 to 14.3 after the last two games. For the second straight season, Louisville has started off with at least an 11-0 record. It marks the second best start under head coach Jeff Walz, behind only the school-record start of 20-0 in 2017-18. It is the third best start in Louisville history, following last season and a 15-0 start in 2006-07. Live Stats The Cardinals lead the ACC and ranks 12th in the country with a +23.5 scoring margin. Nine wins have been by 17 or more points, six by 22-plus points. They beat Kentucky by five (W, 80-75), but the Cards have won three of the last four by 55 (W, 107-52 vs. TSU), 40 (W, 102-62 vs. UTM) and 33 (W, 92-59 vs. NKU). UofL tied a season-high with 45 bench points vs. NKU, led by Dana Evan’s career-high 21. They also had 45 against TSU, which eclipsed the 44 they had against WKU in the opener. The 45 bench points is the most bench points since they had 76 against Murray State on 11/24/17. They are averaging 30.9 bench points. Evans’ 21 points vs. NKU came on 8-12 shooting, 4-4 from free throw line, while adding six assists and four steals. She ranks third on the team with 10.5 points and is averaging a team-high 4.6 assists. She has 51 assists and 26 turnovers and ranks second in ACC with 2.6 assist-to-TO ratio. Media Center After starting the first two games, she has come off the bench the last nine.Asia Durr is 18 points away from becoming the fourth player in program history with 2,000 points.ABOUT THE CHIPPEWASLast year, Central Michigan finished the season with a 30-5 record, including a 17-1 record in MAC play. They won the MAC Tournament with a 96-91 victory over Buffalo and then knocked off 6-seed LSU (W, 78-69) and 3-seed Ohio State (W, 95-78) to advance to the Sweet 16 where they fell to 2-seed Oregon (L, 83-69). read more