Soccer is the beautiful game. When played the "right way," it is a pure experience. Nice passing patterns, soft touches, artistic flourishes. But enough of all that. Remember the time Zlatan Ibrahimovic said that the Barcelona dressing room was like a classroom full of preppy schoolboys? Nobody wants that.

Soccer needs villainy. The game's best side is its dark side. As The Joker said: "I'm not a monster, I'm just ahead of the curve."

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They will take you out. They will plot your downfall. They will steal your girl. You love to hate soccer's bad boys, but don't kid yourselves. Secretly, you want to be them.

We present a few of the most villainous currently in the game.

Luis Suarez

Type of bad boy: The bad boy trying so hard to be good

There are some who think Luis Suarez has lost his bite. Gone are the days when he used to treat opposing defenders' shoulders like a dental impression, planting his teeth into them as if he were some kind of footballing Jaws out to get Roger Moore's James Bond.

- Wright Thompson: A portrait of Luis Suarez

Bad Boy enthusiasts will have felt let down by Suarez when Barcelona played Espanyol in the Catalan derby this season. There was no repeat of the time he loitered around the tunnel after a 4-1 win in 2016 and provoked a scuffle by standing at the top of the stairs and shouting at the Espanyol players: "I'm waiting for you -- come here! You're a waste of space."

Sergio Ramos

Type of bad boy: The "accidental" hitman

We all see red from time to time -- just not as much as Sergio Ramos. He has seen it more than any player in the history of Europe's top five leagues. The red card is his business card.

Ramos has been sent off 25 times in his career, and it's disappointing that of the many tattoos all over his body, there are none in commemoration of each dismissal in the same way he wears his Champions League triumphs on his skin. Perhaps there isn't enough room. A personal favourite -- not that we condone violence -- was the time against Recreativo when he left the pitch hurling abuse at the ref for daring to expel him for a two-footed tackle and an elbow.

- Horncastle: Who is the King of Cool?

Since last year's Champions League final, Ramos appears to have ascended to a new level when it comes to uniting non-Madrid fans against him. Whenever he gets his perceived comeuppance, a party is thrown on social media. For example, Eric Dier didn't score when England beat Spain 3-2 in October, but his tackle on Sergio Ramos went viral and attained an equally symbolic status. The fact it did tells us a lot about the perception of Ramos across soccer. People seemed to revel in the idea he got "a taste of his own medicine," and yet the Spain captain's reaction to it was equally brilliant. Dier later revealed: "He just congratulated me."

Game recognises game.

In addition to some entirely unintended thuggery against Mohamed Salah and Loris Karius in last year's Champions League final -- "my conscience is really clear about what I did that night," said Ramos in September -- he's also produced what will probably go down as one of the greatest deleted scenes of all time.

Amazon were in his suite filming him watch Real Madrid's Champions League last-16 second leg against Ajax, and in so doing, they captured a moment of hubris virtually too good to be true. Ramos had deliberately picked up a yellow card in the first leg with the intention of taking the ban now so as to be available for the quarterfinals with a clean slate -- except Madrid lost 4-1 and were eliminated. In an interview with himself on social media -- Ramos on Ramos -- he disappointed us all with the news: "The recording itself was scaled down as the game went on." Weep.

Diego Simeone

Type of bad boy: A terror on the touchline

Known to pace around his technical area like a member of the Black Watch patrolling the Wall, one suspects Daenerys and Jon Snow would not need dragon glass or a couple of fire-breathers to defeat the night king if Simeone were by their side. Known for a rather flagrant SNL/Justin Timberlake celebration whenever his Atletico side win, it came back to haunt the manager against Juventus in this year's Champions League. It was a rare egg-on-your-face moment for someone who believes that "stones" are an integral part of success and one of the things you identify most with his Atletico team. The 48-year-old has lost none of the edge he had as a player and incites the crowd from the sidelines like a capo ultra. All he's missing is a megaphone. As Koke says: "It's better if he's not angry."

Atleti's players are reportedly weighed every day, which means that extra plate of tapas you ordered the night before won't go unnoticed; if the scales tip too far to the right, Simeone will have his assistant, "Profe" Ortega, run you into the ground. "Simeone doesn't like fatties," Griezmann insists. His stare alone is probably enough to provoke instant panic-induced weight loss. The "Cholo" diet is simple: a disapproval of junk food brought to you by the man who is machismo incarnate when celebrating big wins by grabbing his groin.

Radja Nainggolan

Type of bad boy: The party animal

Serie A's party animal and a bad boy in the P. Diddy sense, Radja Nainggolan isn't one to leave before the fun is over. There's nothing wrong with letting your hair down. There's nothing wrong with going to clubs called "The Mad House" either, but if a football fan sees you and shouts "go to bed," you probably shouldn't be filmed giving him the middle finger. Nainggolan believes life is for living, so if he wants to smoke a cigarette, he will. Roberto Martinez doesn't like it and won't pick him for Belgium, but that's his problem. He should do what Luciano Spalletti did at Roma and organise a sleepover at the training ground so he can keep an eye on him.

Another reason people love Radja is he hates Juve. Flag his car down if you see him out and about in Milan and he'll tell you as much. "All I'll say is I hate Juve. I'd have even given my balls to beat Juve with Cagliari because I hate Juve," said Nainggolan to fans through his car window while still a Roma player. "I never lost at the Juventus Stadium with Cagliari. We drew. They won the Scudetto against us when we were in Trieste. I hate them because they always win with a penalty or a free kick."

Sadly, the days of him broadcasting his New Year's party live on Instagram appear to be over. Nainggolan claims to have even gone cold turkey on the nicotine. "When I go to restaurants now, I take the food Inter tell me to eat. I've lost weight and quit smoking. It's not easy," he says, "but I'm managing."

Scott Brown

Type of bad boy: Professional irritant

Rangers Colombian striker Alfredo Morelos was considered a breakout talent in this category, more for the four red cards than the 29 goals he's scored in his first season in Scotland. But then you look at the last one in the Old Firm and how it came about: "Broony" enraged him with a cheeky trip, unseen by the ref, which caused Morelos to lash out. As the ref reaches into his pocket, Scott Brown is laughing at him. He can't contain himself, which is one of a number of reasons why Rangers' fans can't stand the sight of him. It explains the hour-long YouTube video showing one clip of Morelos kicking the former Scotland captain in the groin on repeat.

If Brown ever leaves Glasgow, he knows Zenit would welcome him in Russia. His decision to go out in -11 temperatures wearing a T-shirt while the rest of his Celtic teammates were hoods-up, gloves on and wearing as many layers as possible, led Zenit to proclaim him "Russia's favourite Scotsman."

Mauro Icardi

Type of bad boy: The drama king

On the one hand, Mauro Icardi is a stay-at-home dad who likes building furniture for the family penthouse that overlooks San Siro. His attendance ratio at training stood at 97.5 percent. On the other, he's the guy who will get with your ex and rub it in your face over and over again.

There would perhaps be more of a focus on the good if only it could keep up with all the off-the-pitch drama. Remember the "Wanda derby"? The time Inter played Sampdoria, and Icardi and Maxi Lopez, the guy he used to pose for pictures with as a kid at Barcelona and later went out for dinners and the like, didn't shake hands because the former was now with the latter's ex, the mother of his three children, and it was all played out on social media.

- Horncastle: Icardi drama with Nara in the middle

Remember how Maxi then missed a penalty and Icardi scored twice in a 4-0 win, cupping his ears so he could enjoy the whistles of the crowd? Over the years Maxi mastered the art of the dummy handshake, time and time again.

He's also the guy who released a book at the age of 23 in which he recalls the time he clashed with Inter's ultras after a game in Reggio Emilia and shortly after returning to the dressing room, asked someone to record him saying: "I will bring 100 criminals over from Argentina who will kill them there and then." The first edition was pulped and re-released without the offending passage but not before the ultras turned up outside Icardi's apartment block in Milan and left a banner saying: "We're here, let us know when your Argentine friends turn up."

He's the guy whose wife, Wanda Nara, is his agent and goes on national TV in Italy every Sunday night to say she thinks her hubby's priority is better service from his teammates over a new contract and that the coach should be putting Lautaro Martinez on earlier because he's Icardi's good friend. All of which means he's the guy whose no longer captain of Inter, just a world-class finisher who is as box-office off the pitch as he is in the six-yard box.

(Imagine a new streaming series called "The Icardis," not an all-access football documentary but something more in the style of "The Osbournes" and "Keeping up with Kardashians." Who could say no?)

Giorgio Chiellini

Type of bad boy: The genius with a Ph.D. in breaking an opponent's will

Giorgio Chiellini is not your average villain. If anything, he comes across like an Ivy League graduate who's now running a Fortune 500 Company but needs to let off a little steam after hours. And so, he shows up at Fight Club, loosens his tie, throws some elbows and gets back to the office in time to close a billion-dollar deal. Chiellini has a degree in business administration for which he received perfect grades. He speaks fluent English without having ever lived or worked in America or the United Kingdom. There is a nobility about him in much the same way one imagines there was about his fellow Tuscan, Niccolo Machiavelli, a man who had a few theories about leadership.

Juve's motto is well-known: "Winning isn't important, it's the only thing that counts," which is another spin on "the ends justify the means." So if Chiellini exaggerates contact from Alvaro Morata and ensures that the Atleti striker's goal is disallowed in a massive game, that's fine. Morata knew what to expect. The Spaniard likened playing against him in training at Juventus to being "put in a cage with a gorilla and you have to steal his food."

Jamie Vardy

Type of bad boy: The willing antagonist

How do you relax after a hard day's work? A pint? A glass of whisky, perhaps? Jamie Vardy had days harder than most when clocking off at the factory. But he was no longer assembling prosthetic limbs and carbon fibre when he discovered that the best way to wind down on a night was to pour yourself a glass of Skittles-flavored vodka.

Vardy, a man with a tough background, was at Leicester, with whom he would later improbably win the league before turning down Arsenal, presumably because they're too soft.

When a journalist asked Vardy how he thinks he is perceived as a person, he replied: "probably a t--t." Maybe the biopic commissioned after he won the league with Leicester will change that, or maybe it won't. The striker likes to think: "I'm a nightmare on the pitch, aren't I?" and once had to play with an electronic tag around his ankle given his trouble off it. (And there's been a fair bit of trouble, too.)

Then there's the anti-hero part in which he revels. West Brom's relegation last season robbed him of one of his favourite traditions. He used to love scoring at the Hawthorns and celebrating in one corner. "There was a photo from the season before, the faces are all the same. Their middle fingers are exactly the same."

Diego Costa

Type of bad boy: The UFC fighter in a soccer kit

Antonio Conte probably wouldn't have shied away from telling Diego Costa to his face, but it was safer to send him a text to let him know that he was no longer in his plans at Chelsea. Despite a tough couple of seasons, Costa is back to doing Costa things now that he's back in Spain, namely getting sent off early in Atletico's top-of-the-table clash against Barca -- his team's last chance of reopening the title race -- for reportedly making derogatory comments about the referee's mother. (He's since been given an eight-match ban and will not play again this season.)

"On the pitch, don't try and put wings on me as I am no angel," Costa told the BBC in 2015.

Costa may be renowned as a hard man, but his teammates always talk about him as a legendary prankster. Earlier this year he snatched up Lucas Hernandez's clothes, then picked up a fire extinguisher and covered them in foam. Hernandez got him back by doing the same to Costa's car, which is probably why the World Cup winner has since agreed to join Bayern in the summer.

Neymar

Type of bad boy: He's too good -- and he knows it

Haters gonna hate, of course, and Michael Jordan is presumably over the moon now that his crying meme has been replaced by Neymar's glittering stare of disbelief as PSG contrived to crash out of the Champions League in a way they were apparently born to do. Sent from Brazil to annoy ex-pros who remain convinced football was better in their day, when it's not Neymar, it's Paul Pogba who is sending the old man on the porch into an irrational tizz.

Neymar is bad for the simple reason that he's too good at football. So good that it's often humiliating for opponents, particularly when the ball is still and he's dancing around it, taunting you into sliding in for it -- always a mistake because his feet are too quick, and he's gone.

Sometimes you sense he's bored on the pitch by too many lopsided wins and therefore creates his own drama. He seems affronted whenever anyone tries to get even a little bit physical. The hissy fits, the complaining, the arguing, the primadonna petulance that comes with demanding Edinson Cavani give up his penalty, as happened back in 2018.

When James Milner posted a photo of Neymar piggybacking him with the hashtags #expensivepartner #dontdrophim and #oops, it somehow received more than a quarter of a million likes. O Ney. Oh, dear.

Big picture

Royal Challengers Bangalore are still far behind Kings XI Punjab on the points table, but they have mounted something of a salvation job after starting the season with six defeats, winning three of their last four matches. That sequence of losses had ended against Kings XI in their earlier fixture. Moreover, they are coming into this game after a heart-stopping one-run win against Chennai Super Kings, which would have done their morale a lot of good, while Kings XI are coming in on the back of a loss against Delhi Capitals.

Royal Challengers still have issues to sort, but the addition of Dale Steyn has revitalised their bowling attack, and given them an edge they didn't have earlier. The rest of the pacers seem to have rallied around Steyn, which has lifted the whole team.

Kings XI have had an inconsistent season, which their record of five wins and five losses encapsulates. They haven't gone on a dominant winning run, but have had enough in the bank to not sink to the kind of loss sequence Royal Challengers did. As a sub-plot to the game, it will be a sort of homecoming for Kings XI, who have a squad filled with ex-Royal Challengers players, starting from Chris Gayle and KL Rahul at the top, to Mandeep Singh and Sarfaraz Khan in the middle, and even the likes of Mayank Agarwal and Karun Nair.

In the news

• Mujeeb Ur Rahman's fitness status is still uncertain. He is being constantly monitored by the Kings XI physiotherapist, and a call on his availability will be taken on the afternoon of the match.

Previous meeting

For nostalgic Royal Challengers fans, it was the perfect game. Chris Gayle, Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers all got runs, and their team ended up winning. Of course, Gayle's runs came for the opposite side, and he finished on a poetic 99 not out against his old franchise. But a Kohli-de Villiers partnership set the platform for an eventually successful chase as Royal Challengers got their first points of the season.

Likely XIs

Royal Challengers Bangalore: 1 Parthiv Patel (wk), 2 Virat Kohli (capt), 3 AB de Villiers, 4 Moeen Ali, 5 Marcus Stoinis, 6 Akshdeep Nath, 7 Pawan Negi, 8 Umesh Yadav, 9 Dale Steyn, 10 Navdeep Saini, 11 Yuzvendra Chahal

Kings XI Punjab: 1 KL Rahul (wk), 2 Chris Gayle, 3 Mayank Agarwal, 4 David Miller, 5 Mandeep Singh, 6 Sarfaraz Khan, 7 R Ashwin (capt), 8 Hardus Viljoen, 9 Mujeeb Ur Rahman, 10 Mohammed Shami, 11 M Ashwin

Strategy punt

• It might end up back-firing, but Kings XI should try to use spin against de Villiers, especially early on. De Villiers has been among Royal Challengers' best batsmen, as always, but his numbers against spin in IPL 2019 are shockingly mediocre: an average of 19.6 and a strike rate that's only 115.3. The combination of R Ashwin, M Ashwin and Mujeeb could exploit that, which makes Mujeeb's participation even more crucial. Additionally, even Parthiv Patel and Marcus Stoinis haven't been too hot against spin this IPL, with strike rates marginally above 100.

• This is not so much a strategy punt as an obvious point: Royal Challengers need to get Moeen Ali higher up the order. This is the last game for which he will be available too, and neither his batting, nor his bowling have been used very effectively so far. It's with the bat, though, that the difference is stark. In the middle overs, Moeen has been striking at 165. The next best in the team is de Villiers, who is considerably lower at 138. Royal Challengers have been losing momentum in the middle overs, and a somewhat strange insistence on maintaining a right-left combination cannot compensate for the runs Moeen is likely to score, much quicker than anyone else at that.

• Mohammed Shami has been having a good IPL 2019, continuing his white-ball resurgence. The one thing he might want to consider is cutting down on the slower balls and sticking to his natural strengths. He hasn't tried too many slower balls - only 11.1% of all his deliveries have been below 130 kph - but when he has gone slow, his economy rate has been over 13. When bowling quicker, his economy rate is 8.5.

Stats that matter

• Before Steyn joined Royal Challengers, their bowling average in the Powerplay across eight matches was 140.3. Since he's come on, for the last two games, that figure is 9.9.

• Navdeep Saini has the best dot-ball percentage in the death overs this season, with 45.8% of his deliveries between overs 17 and 20 not scored off. He's ahead of the likes of Jaspit Bumrah, Lasith Malinga and Kagiso Rabada.

• Historically, both teams have been pretty evenly matched, with Kings XI having 12 wins to Royal Challengers' 11. But Royal Challengers have won the last three meetings between the two sides.

In the aftermath of their fifth consecutive defeat against Sunrisers Hyderabad, a part of which could be attributed to Andre Russell's under utilisation with the bat, Kolkata Knight Riders coach Jacques Kallis admitted they could have done things differently, and will consider doing so in the future should the situation call for it.

Batting first, Knight Riders had gotten off to a flying start before losing four wickets in a flurry, but it was Rinku Singh who came out to bat in the ninth over at No.6, with Russell only getting a hit when a little more than four overs were left. While Russell had said that a move higher up the order might benefit the team, captain Dinesh Karthik later quashed the suggestion that the allrounder was unhappy with his batting position, asserting that 'he has a clear role in the team which he's trying to achieve every time he goes out to bat'.

Kallis had a different take on the subject. "Rinku went in in the eighth over and we certainly haven't sent Andre in that early, in hindsight we could sent him a bit earlier," he said at the Eden Gardens on Tuesday.

"It certainly hadn't been one of our plans but if the situation arises then it's something we'll think of. It's a matter of what the team needs in such a situation and what the captain and management come up with, and we feel where each player is suited to play. But like I said, if a situation arises where Andre or someone else can up the order, we've got to perhaps try one or two things a little differently."

Despite Russell's devastating form - he has 392 runs at an average of 65.33 and a strike rate of 217.77 - Knight Riders have now slipped to sixth in the points table after the loss against Sunrisers. The team had a four-day break between that game and their next one, against Rajasthan Royals at home, and they've used the break to give players some downtime. The aim is to get the team refreshed and ready to turn their season around. During the break, a few players - including captain Dinesh Karthik and Robin Uthappa - travelled to Mumbai to get in some extra practice sessions.

"We felt that the guys needed a break. They were given the freedom to do what they want for the next couple of days," Kallis said. "It has been a disappointing couple of games for us, so we thought that guys can go away and do what they want. They could go home if they wanted to, and some guys felt they wanted to get a little practice which they couldn't get here, so they went to Mumbai. Our practices here are optional, so it's just about getting guys refreshed and mentally up for the game.

"I think they are frustrated, but I wouldn't say they are negative," Kallis said of the mood in the team. "They do realise we've still got a chance of qualifying. We've just got to play some good cricket. I've said all along that in this format, it's the little percentages you need to improve to turn things around and we're not far off. We just need to do the little things a little bit better."

Kallis pointed to the team's inability to take wickets upfront as one of the major reason for the string of losses. On a sluggish surface in Hyderabad, Knight Riders were unable to pose a challenge with the ball, as Sunrisers romped home to their target of 161 with nine wickets and five overs to spare. In the match before that, they conceded 213 against Royal Challengers. Overall, Knight Riders have taken only 35 wickets this season, the least among all teams, coupled with the worst economy rate of 9.04 runs an over.

"The frustrating part of this season has been not taking wickets and if you don't take wickets upfront you are under pressure for the whole innings," Kallis said.

"I think we've probably taken 20-21 wickets in ten games, which has put us under a lot of pressure. Yes, your bowling unit is going to be under pressure, you can't quite be as attacking, you almost have to be defensive when there are wickets in hand. So yeah, the key for us is taking more wickets upfront, and making life a little easier in the middle and end period."

Chennai Super Kings decided to bowl after winning the toss, the home side looking to all but guarantee their place in the play-offs with a win today after being thwarted by Royal Challengers Bangalore by just one run on Sunday. They take on a Sunrisers Hyderabad team that will miss their captain Kane Williamson, who flew home following the death of his grandmother. Bhuvneshwar Kumar, captaining the side in his absence, also confirmed he would have bowled, with the side bringing Shakib Al Hasan into the side as his replacement.

CSK make one change as well, bringing in veteran offspinner Harbhajan Singh in place of seamer Shardul Thakur. He, along with the rest of the bowling attack, will be tasked with neutralising the IPL's most prolific batsman in David Warner, who, along with Johnny Bairstow, has given the Sunrisers formidable starts for the best part of the tournament this year. Dhoni's side approach the game with three spinners, in stark contrast to the Sunrisers, who field a notably more pace-heavy attack. They actually dropped a spinner - Shahbaz Nadeem - to bulk up their batting with Manish Pandey.

Chennai Super Kings: 1 Shane Watson, 2 Faf du Plessis, 3 Suresh Raina, 4 Ambati Rayudu, 5 Kedar Jadhav, 6 MS Dhoni (capt & wk), 7 Ravindra Jadeja, 8 Dwayne Bravo, 9 Harbhajan Singh, 10 Deepak Chahar, 11 Imran Tahir

Sunrisers Hyderabad: 1 David Warner, 2 Jonny Bairstow (wk), 3 Vijay Shankar, 4 Manish Pandey, 5 Shakib Al Hasan, 6 Yusuf Pathan, 7 Deepak Hooda, 8 Rashid Khan, 9 Bhuvneshwar Kumar (capt), 10 Khaleel Ahmed, 11 Sandeep Sharma

"If I had to single out one player that can make more impact, that would be Marcus Stoinis," Virat Kohli had said before the start of Australia's limited-overs tour of India earlier this year.

Kohli's assessment was based on the allrounder's performance in the Big Bash League in Australia. Playing for Melbourne Stars, Stoinis was the third-highest run-scorer in the tournament with 533 runs at an average of 53.30 and a strike rate of 130.63. With the ball, only Dwayne Bravo (15) had more wickets for Stars than Stoinis' 14.

Against India, Stoinis scored only eight runs in two T20Is, and didn't get a chance to bowl. In the ODI series, he redeemed himself somewhat with 140 runs at an average of 46.66 and a strike rate of 81.87. In the last ODI in Delhi, he took two wickets, including that of Kohli.

Stoinis may not have proven to be the biggest threat he was billed to be, but that didn't stop his team-mates from nicknaming him "BT". Also, the ODI series against India was the one that put Australia's World Cup campaign back on track. After losing the first two games, they bounced back to win the next three and clinch the five-match series 3-2. They then went on to whitewash Pakistan 5-0 in the UAE.

Stoinis is once again in India, this time playing for Royal Challengers Bangalore in IPL 2019, under Kohli's captaincy. Talking about Australia's chances at the World Cup, Stoinis said those eight successive wins away from home have given the side the confidence it needed.

"I think everyone is really confident [going into the World Cup]," Stoinis said on the eve of Royal Challengers' home game against Kings XI Punjab. "Eight wins, to have them all away from home, I think is very important for us. We needed it as well. We lost a lot of games over the last year or so. It's good timing and I think everyone started to really believe in each other and we started playing really well as a team. It's exciting times."

But what turned it around for Australia after they had won just four out of their last 28 games? According to Stoinis, the little things made the big difference.

"From the outside, it might look like it's all of a sudden, a big shift, but I think it also shows the game of cricket is only about small minor details, small minor changes," he said. "I think even over the time we were losing, we learnt a lot, we starting getting closer in a lot of games. There were a lot of close game we were losing and then on the flip side when we started winning in India, a lot of them were close games as well. Just that we were on the other side.

"Even the first two we lost [to India], we had a good chance to win them. It just shows how strong the competition of cricket is all over the world, any team can win on any day. But also the belief we have in each other, it's going a long way to help us."

Australia's World Cup squad has also been bolstered by the return of David Warner and Steven Smith. Warner is currently the leading run-scorer in this IPL season. Smith too, after a lukewarm start, has shown signs of form with scores of 59 not out and 50 in the last two games.

"It's a massive boost," Stoinis said of the duo's return to the national side. "Also the fact that people stepped up in the last three-four months and we started winning games consistently. It all adds to the mix and hopefully, it adds to a World Cup-winning combination."

While talking about the switch from the 20-over format to ODIs, Stoinis felt the IPL was ideal preparation because he would be batting in the middle order at the World Cup as well.

"I think it's okay for me [switching] from T20 to one-day cricket, especially with the role I would probably be playing in the middle order," he said. "And I don't think there is any better preparation than playing the IPL, in front of these crowds, with all the pressure and all the external factors that go on, I think IPL makes it one of the strongest competition in the world.

"I don't think it [my role] will change too much. I am assuming I will be batting in the middle order, whether that's 5 or 6, I am not sure. And then with the ball, doing my stuff with the ball. We are very fortunate to have Glenn Maxwell bowling pretty well at the moment as well. I see probably myself and him sharing the overs as a fifth bowling option."

But what about sharing the dressing room with the man who had labelled him the biggest threat two months ago? "I have known Virat for a while," Stoinis said. "It's probably much better playing with him than against him. Yeah, I have learnt quite a bit from him as well. His passion definitely rubs off on everyone in the change room. He is very clear, very determined, he knows what he wants to do. So it's good to watch one of the best in the world, or one of the best of all time nearly, to go about his stuff."

Odell Beckham Jr. went on a tweeting spree Monday night and took offense at the perception that he's a cancer in the locker room. He also expressed discontent with New York Giants general manager Dave Gettleman and coach Pat Shurmur.

Beckham initially responded to a headline by HotNewHipHop that suggested Gettleman claims a "culture problem" led to a trade that sent Beckham to the Cleveland Browns last month. The Giants received first- and third-round picks and safety Jabrill Peppers.

Gettleman said recently in an NJ.com column that the Giants had a culture problem. He thought that has since changed.

"Not anymore," Gettleman said.

Beckham seemed to think that was a specific swipe at him as a teammate. He started defending himself after opening the floor on Twitter.

Ask any one of my teammates of who I was as a teammates and a man and a person.... yes I'm cancer to a place that's ok wit losing because I want to win that BADDD. Ur absolutely correct !

— Odell Beckham Jr (@obj) April 23, 2019

Beckham didn't hold back. He referenced some of the comments that Gettleman had made prior to the trade and spoke of a disagreement with Shurmur late in the season. Gettleman had said on multiple occasions that the Giants didn't sign Beckham to trade him. They traded him seven months after signing him to a record contract.

Gettleman's comments didn't go unnoticed by the star receiver.

"We didn't sign him to trade him..." you don't get married to get a divorce ... I tried my best , the situation I had been in since I got there never changed ... we were still losing. PERIOD... money doesn't bring happiness brotha... remember that

— Odell Beckham Jr (@obj) April 23, 2019

There appear to be some other points of contention as well, even if Beckham claimed to be in a good space and the happiest he has ever been. This became apparent when he addressed not traveling with the team nor being on the sideline for the final four games of the season.

Beckham was sidelined with a quadriceps injury that surprised the team.

Ask the coach .... I beggged him to go to each and every one of those games actually for my teamatws and to be on the sideline for the home games... he told me "No".... anything else sir. (That's to whoever tweeted askin why I didn't travel while I was hurt....) next

— Odell Beckham Jr (@obj) April 23, 2019

Nobody seemed completely off-limits in Beckham's Twitter storm. There was this veiled reference in response to a video making its rounds showing quarterback Eli Manning practicing with his teammates.

A fan wondered why there weren't any similar videos while Beckham was a member of the Giants.

?? *takes the high road* I'm workin on the best me! That's all I can say

— Odell Beckham Jr (@obj) April 22, 2019

Beckham still claims to have held back.

I gave them everything I had bruh bruh errr Sunday . Just put some respect on my name that's all I'm sayin! I ain't sayin nothin, n trust me I got a LOTTTTT of info that people don't kno about so, so keep my name outcha mouth the way I do yalls ! Ya diggg

— Odell Beckham Jr (@obj) April 22, 2019

And he wasn't happy with the send-off he received. The Giants issued a news release with a statement that thanked him for his contributions.

Im not upset in ANY way about where I landed. But outta respect what they did , was crazy! And beyond disrespectful ! I wanted nothin but the best for NY. But on to a new chapter.... ITS LIFE

— Odell Beckham Jr (@obj) April 22, 2019

Given all that has happened, there will be no return to the Giants.

I won't be coming back my friend. So I will enjoy it thank u!!! Forever love NY tho, u gave me my first opportunity to do what god planned for me to do! Much luv

— Odell Beckham Jr (@obj) April 22, 2019

The Browns are his new team. Cleveland is his new home.

Cleveland is my home now. Trust me I'm comin wit a bag fulll of energy, I want to win. Period. Im right where God wanted me to be. Let's have some fun!

— Odell Beckham Jr (@obj) April 23, 2019

What u don't understand !!!!!! I've never been in a place so happy in my life, my soul, my spirit, is at an all time high!! Say what u want, there is NOOOO bringin me down .. PERIOD

— Odell Beckham Jr (@obj) April 23, 2019

Beckham insists he's happy and content despite the Twitter session.

Cole Anthony, the No. 2-ranked prospect in the 2019 class and the top unsigned senior, announced his commitment to North Carolina on Tuesday morning.

"We ended up going with North Carolina," Anthony said on ESPN's Get Up! "We really pushed this decision back a lot. We really just kept looking at all our schools, and I just always ended up winding up going back to Carolina. It felt like a family to me. I love Coach [Roy] Williams, Coach [Hubert] Davis. If it was up to me, I'd be on campus tomorrow."

Anthony chose the Tar Heels over a final four that included Oregon, Notre Dame and Georgetown. The son of former NBA veteran Greg Anthony, he played his recruitment very close to the vest, not even listing a group of schools for most of his recruitment. He eventually cut his list to six schools in October, including Wake Forest and Miami, in addition to his final quartet. Anthony took all five of his official visits and also went to a number of schools unofficially.

Despite the public mystery, most of the focus behind the scenes centered around North Carolina and Oregon. The Tar Heels emerged as the clear favorite as Anthony's high school season progressed, though, and Anthony even took another unofficial visit to Chapel Hill in early March.

Anthony has been considered arguably the best guard in his class for most of his high school career, and he capped it this spring with a stellar postseason circuit. He earned MVP honors at both the McDonald's All American Game and Jordan Brand Classic, and then led USA Basketball to a win at the Nike Hoop Summit, finishing with 25 points, eight rebounds and two assists.

Ranked No. 2 in the 2019 class behind James Wiseman, Anthony is a 6-foot-3 point guard from New York who attended Oak Hill Academy (Virginia). He was historically productive on the Nike EYBL circuit last spring and summer for the PSA Cardinals, averaging 26.8 points, 7.8 rebounds and 3.8 assists. Anthony also won a gold medal for USA Basketball at the 2018 FIBA Americas U18 Championship last summer and was named to the all-tournament team.

Anthony is the second five-star prospect in Roy Williams' 2019 recruiting class, joining center Armando Bacot (No. 17 in the ESPN 100). Rounding out the class is four-star guard Jeremiah Francis. The Tar Heels are still involved with five-star forward Precious Achiuwa (No. 16) and former Virginia Tech commit Anthony Harris (No. 75). Graduate transfers Christian Keeling (Charleston Southern) and Justin Pierce (William & Mary) also have visits set.

Williams and North Carolina face a rebuild next season, as the Tar Heels lose their top five scorers from this past season. Forwards Luke Maye and Cameron Johnson and guard Kenny Williams are all seniors, while freshmen Coby White and Nassir Little are projected top-20 NBA picks.

IT'S SATURDAY, SEPT. 8, in Tyler, Texas, and it is officially "Jimmy Butler Day." The chancellor of Tyler Junior College has just bestowed an honorary degree on its most famous alumnus, followed by the city council handing the key to the city to the Sixers swingman, an honor not even bestowed upon native son Earl Campbell, an NFL Hall of Famer.

Later in the day, a beaming Butler, wearing diamond hoop earrings and torn jeans, looks on as the lobby of the school's gym is renamed in his honor, his jersey is retired and he is inducted into the school's Circle of Honor, making him the youngest graduate to receive that distinction.

During the Jimmy Butler Day ceremonies, Butler gives what longtime Tyler basketball coach Mike Marquis says are two of the most thoughtful and impassioned speeches he's ever heard, describing for students how, as a quiet teenager, he was able to springboard from Tyler to Marquette to NBA stardom.

"For me, when you're talking about basketball and where you come from, there's always going to be a lot of emotions," Butler says later. "That s--- is special."

Later that day, while coaching in the alumni charity game, a scowling Butler paces in front of the bench, yelling out defensive assignments and pick-and-roll instructions. Marquis considers asking Butler to chill a little, then thinks better of it. It's Jimmy Butler Day, after all. And like it or not, that red-line approach to all things hoops is a big part of who Butler is -- and why Sept. 8, 2018, is Jimmy Butler Day in the first place.

Almost seven months later, while reminiscing about the day's events and an honor long since overshadowed by his tumultuous and perhaps career-defining NBA season, Butler says: "It's crazy to think that was just [seven] months ago. ... It legit seems like it could have been two years ago."

TWO WEEKS AFTER leaving Texas, there's another Jimmy Butler Day -- of sorts.

In 2017-18, with Butler averaging a team-high 22.2 points and 36.7 minutes per game, the Minnesota Timberwolves won 47 games and made the playoffs for the first time in 14 years. And then, in a pattern that has come to define his NBA career -- and now, the Sixers' playoff chances -- "Good Jimmy," the aw-shucks, hard-working, small-town Texas kid, eventually gave way to "Bad Jimmy," the moody, aloof, combative and uncompromising diva with delusions of grandeur.

In July, Butler turned down a four-year, $100 million extension from the Wolves. Then, at the start of camp, upon surveying the state of the franchise, he announced to his longtime friend and mentor, and now former Minnesota coach, Tom Thibodeau, "This s--- ain't it," and demanded a trade. And then, on Jimmy Butler Day 2, he punctuated the ultimatum by summarily losing it in his first practice since the trade demand, in which he proceeded to challenge the manhood of young stars Andrew Wiggins and Karl Anthony-Towns -- and everyone else in the organization except Crunch, the mascot.

"Jimmy's approach has always been not whether he's right or wrong. It's about, 'Are you giving everything you have?'" Marquis says. "And some people don't like to be challenged like that. Society is changing. The old days of coach Bobby Knight and Gen. George Patton being a fiery motivator are not what today is acceptable. Jimmy's got some real old-school toughness in him. And guys don't like to be questioned about their effort."

But the expletive-laced tantrum worked.

A month later, Butler was traded to Philadelphia.

If the past few years have taught us anything, it's this: Butler's All-NBA, two-way greatness and his volatility make him one of the most compelling figures in this year's NBA playoffs. The league waits, popcorn at the ready, to see which Jimmy will show up for the Sixers, both for the next couple of weeks (or months) and into the summer, when Butler will be among the NBA's highest-profile free agents.

"I'll be here in Philly for a little bit, and this will be the next chapter," Butler says. "We have the opportunity to do something special. We know what we can do. We talk about it every single day with the coaches in practice and when we watch ourselves on film. We know what we can do. We know. It's all about going out there now and supposedly showing the world, even though I highly doubt anyone on this team gives a damn what the world thinks anyway."

BUTLER'S IGNOMINIOUS RETURN to a cold and gray-skied Minneapolis begins with him getting booed at breakfast. The friendly-fire heckling from his Sixers teammates, meant to lighten the mood and prepare Butler for the real thing inside Target Center that night, continues through his routine Pilates session and the Sixers' shootaround at North Central University near downtown.

"Amir [Johnson] has been booing me since we woke up this morning," Butler says after the shootaround while reclining in the bleachers, his legs extended and his elbows out. Three hours before tipoff, after finishing his pregame routine inside a mostly empty Target Center, he sits courtside, striking the same relaxed pose. It's the forced body language of a villain who's eager for the world to know: I'm enjoying this.

That was an attitude Butler tried awfully hard to convey during his late-March return to Minnesota and his return the next week to Chicago, where he spent his first six NBA seasons. The emotional, late-season road trip to face the franchises Butler elevated and then incinerated served as a pre-playoff barometer of Butler's emotional state, his connection to his new teammates and, thus, the Sixers' playoff fate.

"Whether I'm home in Texas or in Chicago or Minnesota or Milwaukee, each place played a part, a major role, in me being the player and the person I am today," Butler says. "And I'm for real grateful for all of it."

Moments later, the Sixers tweet a picture of Butler's special Jordans, inscribed with the motto: You either die a hero or live long enough to see yourself become the villain. Later, when he is greeted by a thunderous round of boos and Carly Simon's "You're So Vain" during pregame introductions, Bad Jimmy smiles and shuffles onto the court like a prizefighter.

In private, though, there's that other Jimmy: After finishing his warm-up, before he took the court, Butler camped out in front of the Wolves' locker room, looking like a lost kid or a politician -- bouncing on the balls of his feet, hands clasped together -- waiting to greet his former teammates and coaches with a series of slightly awkward, conciliatory hugs.

"I'll be here in Philly for a little bit, and this will be the next chapter. We have the opportunity to do something special."

Jimmy Butler

It was classic Jimmy, a study in contrasts. As much as we want (or need, really) to define our elite athletes in oversimplified terms and roles -- good or bad, winner or loser, hero or villain -- the truth is they're just like the rest of us. Not all good and not all bad, but a combination of both on any given day. Butler's polarities, and his unwillingness to filter or hide them, are just far more pronounced than for the rest of us. In Minnesota, this left him seemingly oblivious to the wreckage he had wrought with the Wolves, who finished the season 12 games out of the eighth playoff spot and, since the All-Star break, ranked dead last in defense. "Being loved all the time, it's no fun that way," Butler says before the tip. "People will pay way more attention whenever they dislike you or hate you. Everything that you do they pay attention to because they have to nitpick something. I welcome it. I embrace it. Let's see what y'all can point out tonight."

Turns out, it's quite a bit. Like his personality, Butler's performance on the court in Minnesota vacillates wildly from moment to moment. He struggles on offense, to put it mildly, passing up open corner 3s and failing to generate any significant chances on his own. But rather than lashing out in frustration or losing interest, as Butler can do, he ratchets up his game elsewhere.

With the Sixers' best player, Joel Embiid, back in Philadelphia nursing a sore left knee, Butler takes over with 7 offensive rebounds, 5 assists and 2 steals -- the kind of dynamic performance on an otherwise off night that you'd expect to see from someone looking to land a max contract in the offseason. Butler finishes with 12 points on 4-of-17 shooting.

"Jimmy thrives under blankets of controversy and heat-of-the-battle type moments, and I greatly respect it," Philly coach Brett Brown says. "If you look at high-level competitors, it's part of their DNA, and it's certainly part of his DNA."

In search of a max contract this offseason and hoping to convince cash-rich teams such as the Lakers and Knicks that they could handle the unpredictable, supernatural force that is a fully vested Jimmy Butler, his Bad Jimmy alter ego was on its best behavior during the Sixers' last extended regular-season road trip. With a roster as good as Philly's, Butler is not required to be the face of the franchise (like he was in Chicago) or a mentor and motivator (like he was in Minnesota).

"Jimmy does seem to be having fun playing again," Marquis says. "The Sixers are fun to watch, and he seems to be happy. I know him well enough to know that there are bigger and better things ahead still for Jimmy."

Give Philly GM Elton Brand credit. He might have finally stumbled on a management formula that works with Butler: a $190 million carrot. Brand also has an escape clause, having made it clear that his expectations for this roster are nothing less than the Eastern Conference finals. Brown, Philly's coach, has smartly channeled Butler's intensity, and his need to have the ball in his hands, into the job of Sixers closer. "Whatever they need me to do, close games, guard people, I'm all for it," Butler says.

Still, there are times when Brown sounds a bit like a hostage negotiator, communicating to Butler through the media, keenly aware of a ticking time bomb on his roster. "Right from the get-go, Jimmy came in trying to fit in and be a good teammate," Brown says before the game in Minneapolis. "From that starting point, you've seen the growth of him, just putting his own thumbprint all over the place."

Late in the Minnesota game, it is squarely on the Wolves' windpipe. With 27 seconds left, Butler seals the win with two free throws and a self-satisfied sneer. Dejected Wolves fans boo him as they make their way out of the arena.

After the game, inside the Sixers' crowded locker room, Butler, his teammates and the gathered media are all tuned in to the final moments of the Elite Eight game between Purdue and Virginia. Instead of watching the NCAA game together on the big-screen TV, the Sixers bunch up in several smaller groups to follow the game on a handful of phones and computer screens. Maybe it's nothing. But the scene looks like the millennial, NBA version of the old quip about 26 Yankees leaving a team event in 26 cabs.

After Virginia seals the win, Butler signs his villain Jordans for a young fan before speaking briefly about his back -- "It's injured," he says -- and the reception in Minneapolis: "Not too bad, to tell you the truth."

Hearing this, Amir Johnson, standing in the far corner of the room, offers one last chorus of boos. Butler smiles. Today, on Jimmy Butler Day No. 3, he's in on the joke.

EARLY ON A SATURDAY morning in early April, the gym at Roosevelt University, located just a block from Chicago's Grant Park, is a beehive of activity. As the school's golf and softball teams file out of the building in their forest-green uniforms, weaving through a sidewalk crowded with tourists and toward buses waiting on Wabash Avenue, the Sixers slip in, almost unnoticed, and begin to prepare for their morning shootaround. Dressed in a funky, tie-dyed sweat suit, Butler stands off to the side, still nursing his bad back. With the Sixers nearing the end of their trip, the TV inside the Roosevelt student-athlete lounge is playing "The Blues Brothers" on a loop -- just in case the road-weary team needs a reminder of which city it's now in.

In 2011, the Chicago Bulls drafted Butler out of Marquette with the last pick in the first round. The oft-told story of Butler's path -- from homeless teen in tiny Tomball, Texas, to a three-time All-Star in Chicago -- is so remarkable that it bears repeating here, even for the umpteenth time. Butler says his mother came to him one day when he was 13 and said, "I don't like the look of you ... you gotta go." Butler spent the next few years couch-surfing with friends and relatives until a local family took him in and guided the quiet and damaged soul to Marquis at Tyler Junior College. "So many guys are ultra-talents, but they haven't had to fight through the kind of adversity Jimmy has," Marquis says.

"He has so much fight in him, and he takes criticism for that, but you have to walk a mile in his shoes to really understand Jimmy. Where a lot of people, when they bump into failure, would rather complain or call home or get on the Xbox or go back to their dorm and pout, Jimmy was the opposite: He went right back to the gym and went back to work."

During Butler's first six seasons in Chicago, that work ethic, along with his quiet, intense drive and his rare two-way skills, willed the Bulls back into the playoffs, and it appeared that Butler had finally found a permanent home in Chicago. But before the 2014-15 season, when the Bulls offered him a four-year deal worth more than $40 million, Butler balked. Something didn't feel right. He had always thrived by gambling on himself, he explained at the time. And he was right.

That season, he won the NBA's Most Improved Player Award and signed a max extension worth more than $90 million, completing his transformation from last guy on the bench to face of the franchise.

Something beyond his bank account and Q-rating had changed, though. The quiet kid who had spent his formative years dependent on the hospitality of strangers was now solidly in control of where he would reside and with whom he would play. Butler was never going to give anyone, let alone an NBA team, the power to say to him again, "We don't like the look of you ... you gotta go."

"Jimmy thrives under blankets of controversy and heat-of-the-battle type moments, and I greatly respect it." Sixers coach Brett Brown

In his final two seasons in Chicago, Butler's relationships with his teammates, his coaches and the Bulls' front office got so bad that at one point he was dressing in a different room at the United Center. "I guess being called the face of an organization isn't as good as I thought," Butler told the Chicago Sun-Times in 2017. "You know what I learned? Face of the team, eventually you're going to see the back of his head as he's leaving town, so no thanks."

When it came time for the Bulls to rebuild, they decided to do it without Butler, shipping him to Minnesota after the 2017 season. On Butler's way out of town, his trainer, Travelle Gaines, torched the Bulls on social media, claiming that they had the worst culture in the league and that he had "met drug dealers with better morals than their GM."

RETURNING TO CHICAGO in the final week of the 2018-19 regular season, Butler seems to be a changed man, poised to finally make a run deep into the playoffs while playing with his third team in as many years.

"This week was special for me," Butler says of his various homecomings. "I appreciate being able to play the game I love, and seeing all these familiar faces from every step of the way was special. We just have to go out there and play and do what we are capable of doing."

Back at the Sixers' shootaround at Roosevelt, watching 7-foot Embiid sink Steph Curry-like trick 3s from inside a doorway 40 feet from the basket (with his feet stuck in a pair of red canvas loafers), Butler acknowledges the Sixers' center as "one of the most unstoppable players in the league right here." The normally gregarious Embiid responds with a barely perceptible nod. There don't seem to be any problems or issues, per se, but these two Sixers don't seem especially close, either. In fact, they interact with each other like cabinmates on the first day of summer camp: polite strangers bracing for an impending adventure -- or disaster.

Later that day, inside the United Center, where the 60-loss Bulls try to distract frustrated fans before the game with nonstop cat memes broadcast on the scoreboard, Embiid eats his chicken-and-pasta dinner by himself, sitting in the hallway outside the Sixers' locker room, watching Final Four action.

Fast-forward another week, and nagging injuries continue to keep Embiid off the floor, with his bothersome left knee preventing him from playing in Games 1 and 3 of the Sixers' first-round series against the Nets.

As the intensity escalates throughout the series and Philly needs to find the edge it is missing, the Sixers don't just turn to Butler for help -- they seem to transform into him. Butler promised to fill any role the team needed -- and he delivers. In Game 1, he is a scorer, with a career-playoff-high 36 points. In Game 2, he takes on more of a point guard role, dishing the ball out for seven assists. When Ben Simmons withers early in the series, Butler demonstrates to his younger teammates how to embrace the role of the villain. "Oh, I'm all for physicality," he gleefully responds after increased contact and chirping from the Nets.

His timing couldn't be better. In the third quarter of Game 4, Embiid knocks Nets center Jarrett Allen to the ground, going for a block. Brooklyn's Jared Dudley, who has been under Simmons' skin the entire series, takes exception, ramming Embiid from the side. Embiid is a force in the game, ending the contest with 31 points, 16 rebounds and 6 blocks. But before he can retaliate, Butler springs into action, cross-checking Dudley into the first row of seats and sparking a melee that results in ejections and fines for Butler and Dudley -- and a 3-1 lead in the series for the Sixers.

Afterward, Butler, sitting next to Embiid, speaks to the media. The two giggle and finish each other's sentences, like new bestest buddies.

"I'm just here to protect my big fella," Butler says, patting Embiid on the arm. "If somebody runs up on him, I'm gonna push him again."

"And I'm gonna pay the fine," Embiid interjects, "'cause he had my back." The Sixers swingman pumps his fist.

It is, once again, Jimmy Butler's day.

And in that moment, with Philly one win from advancing in the playoffs with newfound swagger, the brashness for which Butler has always been criticized suddenly looks a lot different.

It's an outcome to Butler's season-long saga that no one envisioned.

Bad Jimmy just might be really good for Philadelphia.

A preliminary exam for Pittsburgh Pirates reliever Nick Burdi, who crumpled to the ground after throwing a 96 mph fastball Monday night, did not show any breaks or tears in his right arm, a source told ESPN's Jeff Passan on Tuesday.

Burdi will be sidelined indefinitely after an MRI revealed only a strained biceps tendon and flexor mass, the source told ESPN, but the diagnosis would mean no surgery.

A source told ESPN that Burdi would seek a second opinion to ensure that rehab is the preferred course of action and that he can avoid another procedure on his right arm after having Tommy John surgery in May 2017.

The 26-year-old Burdi clutched his arm while tears filled his eyes after throwing the pitch in the eighth inning of a 12-4 loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks. He wept while teammates tried to console him on the mound.

"It just takes the breath right out of you," Pittsburgh manager Clint Hurdle said after the game.

Burdi, a former prospect in the Twins system who has found success with the Pirates, had struck out 17 over 8 1/3 innings prior to Monday after making the team out of spring training.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Toronto Blue Jays top prospect Bo Bichette has a broken left hand, according to ESPN and multiple reports.

The injury, which Bichette suffered Monday in a minor league game, was first reported by The Athletic.

Bichette, a second-round draft pick in 2016 and the son of former major league star Dante Bichette, is seeking a second opinion on the injury, according to ESPN and reports.

Bichette, 21, recently was rated as baseball's No. 13 overall prospect by ESPN's Keith Law and is widely considered the second-best prospect in Toronto's system behind Vladimir Guerrero Jr.

Bichette is batting .250 with one home run in 14 games this season at Triple-A Buffalo. Primarily a shortstop, he batted .286 with 11 homers and 32 stolen bases last year at Double-A New Hampshire.