Raissa's Blog - Best of Sports, Culture, and Entertainment

The current unrest in Sudan began in December 2018, when Sudan's people began protesting against Omar al-Bashir's 30-year tyrannical rule. After his resignation (following months of pro-democracy protests against him) on April 11, 2019, the military took over and has been in control since then. Since then, the country has been torn apart by a conflict between pro-democracy civilians and the military. Representatives of the pro-democracy movement began discussions with the military over who would take over when al-Bashir was ousted. These talks broke down last Monday. The  military then reportedly killed dozens and wounded hundreds of protesters  during a crackdown on a protest camp,  described by Al Jazeera  as the "worst violence" in the country since al-Bashir's overthrow. According to the United Nations, the death toll in the country currently stands at more than 100 dead, including 19 children. At least 700 people have been injured. Militia members ...

For the first time, the three highest earning athletes in a year are soccer stars. Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo and Neymar are the world's highest earning athletes in 2019. The Barcelona and Argentina captain earned $127 million this past year in a combination of his salary and endorsements -- $18 million more than second-place Cristiano Ronaldo, who made a total of $109m. Neymar earned $105 million - $75 million in salary and 30 million in endorsements. Cristiano Ronaldo made the most from endorsements - $44 million, while Messi made $35 million. Messi finished second to Floyd Mayweather last year, with $111 million last year. Floyd Mayweather who doesn't feature in the list this year topped last year with $285 million. The fourth highest-paid athlete was Mexican boxer Saul "Canelo" Alvarez. He earned the same salary as Messi ($92 million) plus $2 million in endorsements. Fifth placed Roger Federer, with total earnings of  $93.4m however leads in t...

Cristiano Ronaldo's Portugal beat the Netherlands in the UEFA Nations League final, earning Ronaldo his second international trophy. The 34-year-old Juventus forward has earned worldwide recognition for the consistency he's displayed all through his career. "There hasn't been a period where I've played badly, the numbers speak for themselves over the last 16 years," he said. "I've shown for the majority of my career, independently of what people say, the numbers speak for themselves. "It all helps, collective and individual trophies, but I'm not obsessed by trophies," he added. "Obviously I like them, I'm not going to lie." Cristiano Ronaldo may now be in contention for the Ballon d'Or having added a third piece of silverware to his achievements this year. Messi and Virgil van Dijk are however favorites in this year's Ballon d'Or race. "I've won three trophies, I've played well, wha...

Matthijs de Ligt is definitely one of the most 'scrambled for' player in Europe, with Manchester United, Barcelona and now Juventus showing keen interest on the Ajax captain. Cristiano Ronaldo asked the 19-year-old center-back to join him at Juventus after Portugal defeated the Netherlands in the UEFA Nations League final on Sunday. The pair were seen exchanging and laughing after the game. 'Ronaldo asked me to go to Juventus', revealed De Ligt. 'I didn't understand him at first. I was a little shocked, so I laughed. But I didn't say anything. 'So soon after the game you are not at all concerned with it. You are disappointed that you have lost and that is the only thing you are thinking about. 'I'm going on holidays now. 'I'm going to think about what's best for me and then I'll decide. "It's important for a young player to play, that's the only thing I'm sure of."

Cristiano Ronaldo seemed disappointed after he was overlooked for the UEFA Nations League Player of the Tournament award. Thanks to a powerful second-half strike from Goncalo Guedes in the tight UEFA final, Ronaldo was able to add a second international award to his outstanding list of achievements. Ronaldo did not participate in the group stages of the competition, as he was given time to adjust to life in Italy. He however scored a hat-trick in the semi-final, firing Portugal into the final. Portugal players affectionately congratulated Bernado Silva, winner of the UEFA Nations League Player of the Tournament award, with pats on the back of his neck and on his head, but Ronaldo gave the 24-year-old midfielder an annoyed look instead. Perhaps Ronaldo thought his heroics against Switzerland in the semi-final would be enough to land him the award.  Look how happy “the leader” was when Bernardo got announced as the POTT 😂 pic.twitter.com/0Wovx7tZj7 — Gabs 🇦🇹🇦🇷 (@gabsi...

Statistically, Messi has been the best this season as he dominates goal involvement in Europe. Messi was unable to prevent Barcelona's unforeseen crash in the second leg of the Champions League semi-finals but he also dominates goal scoring in the Champions League. The players with the best goal involvement among Europe's top five leagues are: 1) 70 – Lionel Messi (51 goals +19 assists) – 50 games 2) 52 – Kylian Mbappé (39+13) – 43 games 3) 49 – R. Lewandowski (40+9) – 47 games 4) 42 – Sergio Agüero (32+10) – 46 games 5) 40 – Raheem Sterling (25+15) – 51 games 6) 39 – Wissam Ben Yedder (30+9) – 54 games 7) 38 – Cristiano Ronaldo (28+10) – 43 games 8) 38 – P.E. Aubameyang (31+7) – 51 games 9) 38 – Eden Hazard (21+17) – 52 games 10) 37 – Mohamed Salah (27+10) – 52 games Clearly, Messi's performance places him several steps ahead of the rest.