Yallop doubts form of Maloney due to speculation

There’s been reports of improved offers from Hull City that could bring Shaun Maloney to the English second-division club, and Maloney’s performances recently haven’t been what the Fire are looking for. But coach Frank Yallop said the two aren’t related.

“Sometimes, players don’t play well all the time,” Yallop said. “I don’t see a big big difference in Shaun in the last few games.”

Per Yallop, Maloney hasn’t said he wants to leave and would talk about it if there’s an offer the Fire “feel is up to par.”

Yallop reiterated the Fire (6-12-5, 23 points) didn’t initiate talks with Hull, which has its transfer window close Sept. 1. Yallop also expects Maloney to stay and doesn’t want to lose him, but didn’t dismiss Hull coming with a stronger offer.

“The big thing is, we’re just waiting to see if anything comes in,” Yallop said. “If it does, we’ll obviously discuss it internally and make a decision once we do that.”

The Fire host Colorado (5-9-9, 24 points) on Saturday.

Remember her?

On July 27, the Sky ended one of the biggest stories of the WNBA season by trading disgruntled Sylvia Fowles to Minnesota as part of a three-team deal that brought them Erika de Souza from Atlanta. de Souza has averaged 5.2 points and 4.7 rebounds in nine games with the Sky, who host the Washington Mystics on Friday.

While her numbers are slightly down from her career averages, Fowles has made an impact for the Lynx. Entering their game Wednesday night Fowles was scoring 14 points and grabbing 6.6 rebounds for Western Conference-leading Minnesota.

Saturday night rugby

USA Rugby announced Wednesday its Sept. 5 match with Australia will be broadcast by NBC Sports Network. The match is scheduled to start at 6:30 p.m., and will be also be streamed online by NBCSN.