Who are best three La Liga players this season - outside of Barcelona and Real Madrid?

Everybody knows how good Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, Neymar and Luis Suarez are. But who are the players making a name for themselves away from Barcelona and Real Madrid?

Koke (Atletico Madrid)

An obvious choice to begin with. The industrious midfielder has been the outstanding player outside of Real and Barca for the past three years and is known in Spain as 'the new Xavi'. There isn't much higher praise than that.

Still only 23 years old, Koke is the poster boy for Spain's post-World Cup national team - and they are in good hands. It is easy to see why he is compared to Xavi: he is an excellent passer of the ball, plays the short game very well and, quite simply, is the best midfielder in Spain at the moment.

Yet the two are different players. Koke is more direct than Xavi and one of his defining qualities is his work ethic, which makes him ideal for a team coached by Diego Simeone. Koke was instrumental in Atleti's title-winning season and played a huge role as they came within minutes of winning the Champions League. Only Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo have more assists in the last three seasons.

All of this has the biggest clubs in the world - most notably Chelsea - willing to activate his £44million release clause. But what makes him even more endearing is his desire to stay with Atletico Madrid, in the city where he was raised. Just this week he admitted he would like to be "Atleti's Gerrard". But Koke is already one ahead of the Liverpool stalwart - he's won a league title.

Antoine Griezmann (Atletico Madrid)

France have been missing an exciting winger-come-forward ever since Thierry Henry retired and they finally have one in Antoine Griezmann. Real Madrid's Karim Benzema is the out-and-out striker but Griezmann, even at 24, is the new kid on the block and he is incredibly exciting to watch.

Admittedly, Griezman failed to set the World Cup alight in 2014 but in terms of raw ability, nobody can argue he has talent. He was a fans' favourite at Real Sociedad and that hasn't changed since moving to Los Rojiblancos, for whom he scored 22 La Liga goals in his debut season - beaten only by Ronaldo, Messi and Neymar in 2014-15.

Primarly a left-sided forward, Griezmann is at his best when he drifts inside along the front line and becomes hard for defenders to pick up. As many had hoped, he has grown under Simeone's guidance and has learned to use his pace not only to pull defenders out of position, but to combine it with excellent close control and an eye for goal.

Atleti are desperate to tie Griezmann down on a new contract to ensure they don't lose him for the £43.5 million release clause. Chelsea are very interested and that is testament to the Frenchman's rise through the ranks in Spain. But despite his clear ability, he needs to prove it on a bigger stage.

Jose Luis Gaya (Valencia)

In terms of players breaking through, no-one has been more prominent than Jose Luis Gaya. The Valencia defender, who turns 20 later this month, is the latest left-back to emerge from the Mestalla production line which has also produced Jordi Alba and Juan Bernat.

The 19-year-old has yet to be capped by Spain but is already eyed as a natural successor to Alba after a consistently excellent season for Valencia. He has made 34 appearances in all competitions this season, with two goals and six assists to his name.

Gaya's reputation as a solid yet attacking full-back has drawn interest from Real Madrid, Chelsea and Arsenal and it looks like his future lies away from Valencia. But he won't come cheap, with Los Che tying the defender down on a new five-year deal earlier in May, increasing his release clause to around £35 million.

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Bears Release Ex-49er Ray McDonald After Arrest in California

The Chicago Bears released defensive lineman Ray McDonald after he was arrested Monday in California on a domestic violence charge, the latest in a string of run-ins that have tested the boundaries of the N.F.L.’s tougher personal conduct policy.

McDonald’s release came nine months after he was arrested in a separate domestic violence case and just two months after the Bears signed him to an incentive-laden free-agent contract.

McDonald was not charged in the first case, and the San Francisco 49ers, his team last season, did not penalize him. But in December, three months later, the 49ers released him soon after learning that he was being investigated over an accusation of sexual assault.

Despite the cloud that hung over McDonald, who was drafted in 2007 after playing at the University of Florida, the Bears signed him to a one-year deal worth up to $1.5 million, though none of it was guaranteed. The Bears’ chairman, George McCaskey, told reporters in March that he had initially vetoed efforts to sign McDonald, 30, but had changed his mind after meeting him. He said McDonald had promised to change his behavior.

On Monday morning, though, the police in Santa Clara, Calif., arrested McDonald. According to a police report, officers, responding to a call, arrived at McDonald’s home at 3:48 a.m. They were told that McDonald had assaulted a woman while she was holding a baby. McDonald had left the scene and was arrested in San Jose.

After he was charged with misdemeanor domestic violence and child endangerment, the Bears decided to cut ties with him.

“We believe in second chances, but when we signed Ray, we were very clear what our expectations were if he was to remain a Bear,” Ryan Pace, the Bears’ general manager, said in a statement. “He was not able to meet the standard, and the decision was made to release him.”

Kyle Long, an offensive guard on the Bears, supported the team’s decision. After McDonald was released, Long wrote on his Twitter account, “good riddance.”

McDonald’s behavior and the 49ers’ handling of his case have been scrutinized because they have highlighted the trouble teams have had in determining whether and when to penalize players, particularly those who may be contesting charges against them.

McDonald’s latest legal problem occurred in the aftermath of the arrests of Ray Rice, Adrian Peterson, Greg Hardy and other players, which prompted widespread accusations that the league was lax in its handling of domestic violence cases. After being castigated by women’s groups, advocates for victims of domestic violence and even members of Congress, the N.F.L. vowed to crack down on players involved in domestic violence cases.

The league expanded penalties for those found to have committed domestic violence, increased education programs and hired executives to investigate allegations of player misconduct rather than wait for law enforcement agencies.

But much gray area remains. Teams have been left to decide whether to sign players who are still fighting allegations against them or who could be disciplined by the league.

Even as other teams shied away, the Cowboys signed Hardy, a star defensive lineman who had a conviction for domestic violence overturned when the woman involved in the case refused to testify against him during an appeal. Though the Cowboys said that they had done due diligence on Hardy, a former All-Pro defensive end, theN.F.L. suspended him for the first 10 games of this season after its own investigation found that he had used physical force against his former girlfriend.

No team has signed Rice even though his indefinite suspension was overturned on appeal. Peterson, who was suspended after he was charged in the beating of his 4-year-old son, returned to the Minnesota Vikings after a federal court judge said that the N.F.L. had penalized him unfairly.

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Apple design guru Jony Ive promoted

Sir Jonathan previously held the role of senior vice president of design and helped design of some of the tech giant's most popular gadgets.

He was knighted in 2012 for his services to design.

The move was first revealed in an interview with Sir Jonathan in the Telegraphnewspaper.

In an internal memo to employees, published later by tech blog 9to5Mac, chief executive Tim Cook said Sir Jonathan's newly created role would now expand beyond its devices and into designing the company's retail stores, new California campus and even office furniture.

Apple is in the middle of building a new campus, also known as "spaceship" for its circular shape that will house about 12,000 workers.

"In this new role, he will focus entirely on current design projects, new ideas and future initiatives," Mr Cook said in the memo.

"Jony is one of the most talented and accomplished designers of his generation, with an astonishing 5,000 design and utility patents to his name."

Sir Jonathan has helped design products like the iPod, iPhone, iPad and smartwatch over the last couple of decades.

There were reports earlier this year that Apple was working on a car and he could be behind its design.

He will start the new role in July and team member Richard Howarth will take over as the new head of industrial design at Apple.

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Stephen Curry suffers head contusion after scary fall in Game 4

HOUSTON — After a scary fall, Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry suffered a head contusion in the first half of Game 4 of the Western Conference semifinals.

Curry, this year's NBA MVP, was attempting to block a shot from Rockets forward Trevor Ariza. When Ariza stopped short, Curry went over Ariza's head and fell to the ground.

After a short time on the floor, Curry walked to the lockerroom. He had a quick X-ray, before going into the visitors locker room with general manager Bob Myers and his father Dell walking in with him.

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Steph Curry's dad couldn't bear to watch him score 63 points in an 8th grade game

In a profile written about Steph Curry by Sports Illustrated‘s Lee Jenkins, his father, Dell Curry, told a story about a time when his son was whooping up on another team so badly in the eighth grade that he couldn’t watch the game to the finish.

Steph had scored 63 points in that game, but Dell couldn’t bear to stay for the last 20:

“All these people were coming in to see what was going on, and there was so much commotion, it seemed like he was never going to stop. I had to get out of there. I felt bad for the other team. Icouldn’t watch what he was doing to those kids.”

It’s not surprising that Curry had the juice like this in the eighth grade considering all that we now know him to be capable of.

But the fact that he was beating a team so bad that he ran his own father out of the gym is hilarious just about any way you slice it.

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NFL can’t spell out praise for Tom Brady’s rival without ‘PSI’

Tom Brady has seemingly taken it from every angle since investigator Ted Wells concluded he was probably aware of the ball tampering operation known as Deflategate. Is the NFL taking its turn?

On Thursday, the league’s official Twitter account sent out a link to a Q&A featuring NFL coaches discussing what makes a franchise quarterback. The tweet, accompanied by an image of Colts quarterback Andrew Luck, seems innocuous — until you read the first letter of each word , a la an acrostic poem.

Coincidence? Maybe, but given it was the Colts allegations that sparked the investigation, some in the sports world were skeptical.

“I’m really actually shocked that anyone would even be asking about this,” NFL Network spokesman Alex Riethmiller told the Indy Star. “Really? Just three words.”

Want more NFL shade? A day earlier, NFL.com analyst Bucky Brooks dropped a ranking of the league’s top quarterbacks entering the upcoming season, with an asterisk next to Brady’s name.

“The controversy adds to the notion that the Patriots’ long-term success has been fueled by various misdeeds,” Brooks writes. “While there isn’t a proven correlation between deflated footballs and Brady’s on-field performance, the fact that another scandal is hovering over the Patriots certainly clouds the evaluation.”

Brady may yet get his four-game suspension reduced, but right now, he sure can’t win.

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The 26-year-old initially joined on loan from Manchester City

Aston Villa have completed the signing of Scott Sinclair on a permanent deal from Manchester City.

The 26-year-old joined Villa on loan in January but has now signed a four-year contract after the club secured Premier League survival this season.

Sinclair failed to secure a regular role at City after moving from Swansea City in August 2012 but the winger has scored three goals in 11 appearances since joining this year’s FA Cup finalists.

"I am so happy. We've had a fantastic end to the current season and now I am already looking forward to the new season starting,” Sinclair told Villa’s official website.

"It's also great for me and the family to be settled now. For every footballer, it's important to have that stability. I believe that will help me perform better and push on for this great club in the coming years.

"It's so much different than when you're on loan and going here, there and everywhere. It was important for the family to have that stability and I'm thrilled it's with a club like Villa.

"This is the happiest I have been in a long time. Now it's about kicking on with my career in claret and blue.

"I have already loved

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