(NEW YORK) — Here are the scores from Sunday’s sports events:
MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL
INTERLEAGUE
Pittsburgh 1, Chicago White Sox 0
Texas 8, Chicago Cubs 2
San Francisco 3, Kansas City 1
AMERICAN LEAGUE
Boston 4, Detroit 1
Tampa Bay 11, Oakland 0
NY Yankees 5, Baltimore 3
Houston 5, Minnesota 1
Cleveland 7, Seattle 6
Toronto 12, LA Angels 11
NATIONAL LEAGUE
Cincinnati 6, Philadelphia 4
Miami 7, NY Mets 2
Milwaukee 6, St. Louis 1
Colorado 7, Washington 6
Arizona 11, LA Dodgers 6
San Diego 10, Atlanta 2
NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION
Toronto 121, Milwaukee 105
Boston 120, Atlanta 114
Charlotte 106, Cleveland 95
Chicago 103, Detroit 81
Houston 114, Washington 109
Philadelphia 134, Brooklyn 105
Miami 123, Orlando 110
Indiana 141, New York 136
San Antonio 138, Dallas 117
Oklahoma City 115, Memphis 100
Golden State 157, Portland 101
Denver 109, Sacramento 95
LA Lakers 128, Utah 117
LA Clippers 119, Phoenix 114
Minnesota 113, New Orleans 108
(NEW YORK) — LSU basketball star Angel Reese had a heartwarming reunion Friday with her cousin, UConn’s Jordan Hawkins, who snuck in to the studio to surprise Reese during her interview with “GMA3.”
It was the first time the college basketball stars saw each other since each won their respective NCAA championship games over the past week.
“Have you had a chance to see him?” host Gio Benitez asked Reese, as Hawkins appeared from backstage out of his cousin’s view. Reese said she hadn’t.
Benitez then told Reese to turn around for the big surprise. When she saw her cousin, she screamed, and they gave each other a big hug. Reese told “GMA3” that they grew up playing basketball together at cookouts and family functions.
Hawkins said of his cousin, “I’m super proud, just to see your family doing something amazing is crazy. We’re all proud.”
“I’m happy for him, to see everything he’s done and be so successful,” Reese said.
Earlier in the interview, Reese also spoke about her team’s historic win against the Iowa Hawkeyes on Sunday and addressed criticism she received after making mocking hand gestures while staring down Iowa star Caitlin Clark late in the LSU Tigers’ 102-85 victory.
“I trash talk. So that’s just who I am, and that’s very passionate of me. I’m from Baltimore, so that’s kind of what we do. Caitlin’s a great player, and she understood that. It was nothing personal towards her or any player that we’ve gone at this year,” Reese told “GMA3.”
Some social media commenters argued that the negative comments Reese received perpetuated stereotypes about Black women and exemplified a double standard, noting that Clark, who is white, largely avoided backlash after making a similar gesture in a previous game in the tournament.
In a post-game press conference, Reese said, “All year, I was critiqued about who I was. I don’t fit in a box that y’all want me to be in. I’m too hood. I’m too ghetto. But when other people do it, y’all say nothing. So this was for the girls that look like me, that’s going to speak up on what they believe in. It’s unapologetically you.”
Clark herself defended Reese in an interview with ESPN earlier this week, saying she doesn’t “think Angel should be criticized at all.”
“We’re all competitive. We all show our emotions in a different way. You know, Angel is a tremendous, tremendous player. I have nothing but respect for her. I love her game – the way she rebounds the ball, scores the ball, is absolutely incredible. I’m a big fan of her and even the entire LSU team. They played an amazing game,” Clark continued, adding that “men have always had trash talk.”
The LSU-Iowa game was the most-viewed NCAA women’s basketball game on record, with 9.9 million viewers, according to ESPN.
Reese, 20, started her college basketball career in 2020 in her home state with the Maryland Terrapins. During her freshman season, she suffered a Jones fracture in her right foot and underwent surgery. She transferred to LSU just one year ago, leading the Tigers to win its first ever national championship in her first season with the team.
Reese said transferring away from home was the hardest thing she’s ever done.
“A year and a day later, now I’m in this situation. So it’s crazy how life can change in a year,” Reese said.
(NEW YORK) — Here are the scores from Tuesday’s sports events:
MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL
INTERLEAGUE
Miami 1, Minnesota 0
Pittsburgh 4, Boston 1
Philadelphia 4, NY. Yankees 1
Tampa Bay 10, Washington 6
AMERICAN LEAGUE
Toronto 4, Kansas City 1
Baltimore 7, Texas 2
Detroit 6, Houston 3
Seattle 11, LA Angels 2
Oakland 4, Cleveland 3
NATIONAL LEAGUE
Arizona 8, San Diego 6
Chi Cubs 12, Cincinnati 5
Milwaukee 9, NY Mets 0
Atlanta 4, St. Louis 1
LA Dodgers 5, Colorado 2
NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION
Toronto 120, Charlotte 100
Milwaukee 140, Washington 128
Cleveland 117, Orlando 113
Miami 118, Detroit 105
Minnesota 107, Brooklyn 102
Memphis 119, Portland 109
Houston 124, Denver 103
Sacramento 121, New Orleans 103
Atlanta 123, Chicago 105
Philadelphia 103, Boston 101
LA Lakers 135 Utah 133 (OT)
Phoenix 115, San Antonio 94
Golden State 136, Oklahoma City 125
NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE
Colorado 4, San Jose 3 (OT)
Edmonton 3, Los Angeles 1
Detroit 5, Montreal 0
Toronto 4, Columbus 2
New Jersey 5, Pittsburgh 1
Florida 2, Buffalo 1
Carolina 3, Ottawa 2 (OT)
St. Louis 4, Philadelphia 2
Nashville 3, Vegas 2 (OT)
Chicago 4, Calgary 3
Seattle 5, Vancouver 2
(NEW YORK) — Suni Lee is wrapping up her college gymnastics career early in order to shift her focus to a health issue, she announced Monday.
“I have been dealing with a non-gymnastics health-related issue involving my kidneys. For my safety, the medical team did not clear me to train and compete over the last few weeks,” the Olympian shared on Instagram and Twitter. “I am blessed and thankful to be working with the best specialized medical team to treat and manage my diagnosis. My focus at this time is my health and recovery.”
Lee did not specify what kind of kidney issue or condition she has.
The Auburn University sophomore first announced that she would be ending her collegiate career ahead of time last November, when she revealed she was planning to return to professional gymnastics in the hopes of competing at the 2024 Summer Olympics, which will be held in Paris next year.
“As an athlete that has competed at the highest level, on the world’s biggest stage, I’ve been fortunate enough to experience that once-in-a-lifetime feeling and the indescribable emotion when a gold medal is draped around your neck. But I don’t want it to just be once in a lifetime,” the 20-year-old wrote at the time.
Lee has been competing for Auburn’s women’s gymnastics team, the Auburn Tigers, since fall 2021 after she returned with three Olympic medals – a gold, silver and bronze medal – from the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo, which were held in 2021 following a yearlong delay due to the coronavirus pandemic.
In her Monday announcement, Lee thanked her school and said she felt “forever grateful” for her community.
“I am so proud of my team and the way they showed determination and resilience this season. Auburn, thank you for the best 2 years of my life and for giving me the opportunity to make history alongside this amazing group. I am forever grateful for this community,” Lee wrote.
She added, “It’s been challenging to end my Auburn career early, but I am thankful for all of the love & support. I will not stop pursuing my dreams for a bid to Paris in 2024. In fact, this experience has sharpened my vision for the future.”
(NEW YORK) — Here are the scores from Sunday’s sports events:
MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL
INTERLEAGUE
NY Yankees 6, San Francisco 0
St. Louis 9, Toronto 4
Texas 2, Philadelphia 1
AMERICAN LEAGUE
Tampa Bay 5, Detroit 1
Boston ,9 Baltimore 5
Minnesota 7, Kansas City 4
Chicago White Sox 6, Houston 3
LA Angels 6, Oakland 0
Cleveland 6, Seattle 5
NATIONAL LEAGUE
Washington 4, Atlanta 1
Cincinnati 3, Pittsburgh 1
NY Mets 5, Miami 1
Milwaukee 9, Chicago Cubs 5
San Diego 3, Colorado 1
Arizona 2, LA Dodgers 1
NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION
Toronto 128, Charlotte 108
Chicago 128, Memphis 107
Portland 107, Minnesota 105
Brooklyn 111, Utah 110
New York 118, Washington 109
San Antonio 142, Sacramento 134 (OT)
Atlanta 132, Dallas 130 (OT)
Orlando 128, Detroit 102
LA Lakers 134, Houston 109
Phoenix 128, Oklahoma City 118
Milwaukee 117, Philadelphia 104
Cleveland 115, Indiana 105
Denver 112, Golden State 110
NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE
NY Rangers 5, Washington 2
Boston 4, St. Louis 3 (SO)
Columbus 4, Ottawa 3 (OT)
Carolina 2, NY Islanders 1
Pittsburgh 4, Philadelphia 2
Winnipeg 6, New Jersey 1
Detroit 5, Toronto 2
Los Angeles 4, Vancouver 1
Calgary 5, Anaheim 4
(NEW YORK) — Here are the scores from Thursday’s sports events:
MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL
INTERLEAGUE
NY Yankees 5, San Francisco 0
Texas 11, Philadelphia 7
Toronto 10, St. Louis 9
AMERICAN LEAGUE
Oakland 2, LA Angels 1
Baltimore 10, Boston 9
Tampa Bay, 4 Detroit 0
Minnesota 2, Kansas City 0
Chi White Sox 3, Houston 2
Final Seattle 3 Cleveland 0
NATIONAL LEAGUE
LA Dodgers 8, Arizona 2
Final Atlanta 7, Washington 2
Chi Cubs 4, Milwaukee 0
NY Mets 5, Miami 3
Pittsburgh 5, Cincinnati 4
Colorado 7, San Diego 2
NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION
Boston 140, Milwaukee 99
New Orleans 107, Denver 88
NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE
San Jose 4, Vegas 3 (OT)
Florida 5, Montreal 2
Pittsburgh 2, Nashville 0
New Jersey 2, NY Rangers 1
Tampa Bay 5, Washington 1
Boston 2, Columbus 1 (OT)
Ottawa 5, Philadelphia 4 (OT)
Detroit 3, Carolina 2
St. Louis 5, Chicago 3
Edmonton 2, Los Angeles 0
Seattle 4, Anaheim 1
Ashan Singh, John Kapetaneas, Stephanie Fasano, Jaclyn Skurie, and Ivan Pereira, ABC News
(NEW YORK) — Student-athletes across the country are cashing in on their talents through ads, social media posts and other media, thanks to a 2021 Supreme Court decision.
Now some athletes have found a place in the spotlight through business agreements related to their “name, image and likeness,” known as NIL deals.
Hanna and Haley Cavinder, twin sisters who play for the University of Miami’s basketball team, reportedly pull in more than $1.6 million a year combined due to their sponsorships, according to On3, which tracks NIL deals among student-athletes.
“Impact x Nightline” takes a look at the debate over this trend among student-athletes in an episode now streaming on Hulu.
“We’re Champs athletes, and then we have WWE,” Haley Cavinder told “Impact x Nightline’s” Ashan Singh.
“And then, we have LifeWallet, Cigarette Racing,” Hanna Cavinder added.
“Then we also have a company called Baseline, which is college streetwear. We have equity in that,” Haley Cavinder said.
But as more young athletes continue to collect on their names and likenesses, some sports experts and coaches question if the trend is moving too fast.
“I think high school athletes, or even college athletes who want to monetize their NIL, need to understand that just highlighting your sport and those, like, action shots of you on field isn’t going to be enough,” Kristi Dosh, a sports attorney and founder of Business of College Sports, told “Impact.”
A key component that has set apart NILs from other sports earnings is the idea that the athletes still remain unpaid by their schools, but they are able to earn money on their popularity outside of games. This includes advertisements, sponsorships and promoted social media posts.
ESPN’s Ryan Smith told “Impact” that NIL sponsorship offers can come in all shapes and sizes — from local car dealerships to major corporations. In some cases, the athletes can make the brand deals themselves, according to Smith.
“When the Supreme Court handed down that decision, it changed everything,” he told “Impact.” “What it is…the student athletes, being able to go out and say, ‘Hey. I’m willing to lend my name to this particular product, and you can sell it, and you pay me for that.'”
The Cavinder twins already had a large following on TikTok prior to the Supreme Court decision and they said they decided to jump on the NIL bandwagon.
“We heard about NIL eventually being a thing. Maybe we could take advantage of the opportunity,” Hanna Cavinder said.
The twins scored a major partnership with Boost Mobile and soon other companies wanted to tap into their social media star power.
Another component of NILs is “NIL collectives,” which are usually founded by wealthy donors who are alumni and super fans who pool money together to give benefits to college athletes coming to the university they champion.
Billionaire lawyer, businessman and University of Miami alum John Ruiz has signed deals with the Cavinder twins through his companies, LifeWallet and Cigarette Racing. He dismissed critics who argued that businesses like his are buying athletes and brushed off concerns that the deals put too much pressure on them.
“That’s what life is about, right? You’re not going to have Mommy and Daddy there around you when you have to deal with real life. So you have to, you know, become a big boy or big girl real quick,” Ruiz told “Impact.”
Weeks after their interview with “Impact,” the first punishment of the NIL era was handed down to the University of Miami centered around an alleged dinner between Ruiz and the Cavinder twins when the twins were transfer prospects.
Such a meeting with someone the NCAA deems a booster prior to a student athlete’s acceptance to a school violates the association’s rules.
In February, the NCAA issued sanctions on the school’s women’s basketball program for its recruitment of the twins, claiming Ruiz provided an impermissible meal. No sanctions were imposed on the Cavinders or Ruiz.
At the time, a photograph, tweeted by Ruiz, showed the twins and their parents at Ruiz’s home prior to their commitment to the university.
The University of Miami’s women’s basketball Coach Katie Meier was suspended for three games during the NCAA investigation, which said Meier inadvertently facilitated the meeting.
Meier released a statement saying, “collegiate athletics is in transformation, and any inadvertent mistake I made was prior to a full understanding of implemented guardrails and the clarification issued by the NCAA in May.”
Ruiz told ABC News in a statement that the twins didn’t have an impermissible meal at his home and that any meal took place after the twins transferred to the school.
“The facts contained in the NCAA’s findings were incorrect in several ways,” he said in a statement. “Coach Meier did nothing more than express her excitement about the fact the twins were coming to Miami. No one ever attempted to entice the Cavinders into attending UM.”
A representative for the Cavinders told ABC News “the twins were found to have done nothing wrong” and they did not want to comment on other’s infractions.
Dosh, a former ESPN analyst, said there is even more debate about the use of NIL deals at the high school level.
“Now we have more than half of the states that have changed their rules at their state high school athletic association to allow NIL,” she said.
Bronx teen Johnuel “Boogie” Fland, who plays basketball for Archbishop Stepinac, a private school in White Plains, Westchester County, became one of the first New York City high school athletes to receive a NIL deal.
Fland said he couldn’t tell “Impact” how much he’s raked in with his sponsorships, but said he estimated it was “six figures.”
“It changed my family. It changed the way we looked at things, you know?” he told “Impact.” “Being from the Bronx, we aren’t that wealthy, it definitely changed my life.”
The landscape for NIL has potentially changed financial outcomes for some student-athletes and families, some of whom may have may come from lower income communities, according to a 2020 study by the Hope Center at Temple University.
Researchers found that nearly 14% of Division 1 athletes had experienced homelessness in the previous year… and nearly a quarter were food insecure in the prior 30 days.
Al Crosby, who has been coaching high school football in Philadelphia for 20 years, told “Impact” he has had players come from low-income households and acknowledged that they are looking for ways to help their families.
However, he said he was concerned that NIL deals may cause issues for athletes from inner city neighborhoods. Crosby noted that a lot of inner-city student-athletes are already targets of violence and harassment.
“All of a sudden this guy gets this deal, this NIL deal, that says, ‘You got a NIL deal for $500,000.’ Well, now, all of a sudden, he’s not only a target, but he’s got a price tag with him, too,” Crosby told “Impact.”
Crosby maintains that proper management and education is needed for high school athletes to thrive in the NIL era.
On Wednesday, the House Subcommittee on Energy and Commerce held a hearing about NILs, the first in more than two years. Up for discussion was a potential federal NIL law that would provide clarity and transparency for athletes.
“In short, we must strike a delicate balance between the rights of college athletes to profit from their own NIL while keeping the amateur status for all college athletes,” Rep. Gus Bilirakis (R-Fla.), the subcommittee’s chairman said.
ABC News’ Kevin Rochford and Kyle Rollins contributed to this report.
(NEW YORK) — Here are the scores from Wednesday’s sports events:
NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION
Milwaukee 149, Indiana 136
New York 101, Miami 92
Brooklyn 123, Houston 114
Philadelphia 116, Dallas 108
LA Lakers 121, Chicago 110
LA Clippers 141, Memphis 132
Oklahoma City 107, Detroit 106
Sacramento 120, Portland 80
Utah 128, San Antonio 117
Phoenix 107, Minnesota 100
NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE
Minnesota 4, Colorado 2
NY Islanders 2, Washington 1 (SO)
Florida 3, Toronto 2 (OT)
(NEW YORK) — Here are the scores from Tuesday’s sports events:
MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL SPRING TRAINING
INTERLEAGUE
Washington 3, NY Yankees 0
Philadelphia 6, Toronto 5
Minnesota 7, Pittsburgh 5
Atlanta 7, Boston 5
Chi Cubs 8, Chi White Sox 5
Arizona 3, Cleveland 1
LA Angels 13, LA Dodgers 5
AMERICAN LEAGUE
Texas 5, Kansas City 3
Houston 5, Sugar Land 1
NATIONAL LEAGUE
Milwaukee 8, Colorado 1
NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION
Golden State 120, New Orleans 109
Washington 130, Boston 111
Toronto 106, Miami 92
Atlanta 120, Cleveland 118
Memphis 113, Orlando 108
Charlotte 137, Oklahoma City 134
NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE
Edmonton 7, Vegas 4
San Jose 3, Winnipeg 0
Philadelphia 3, Montreal 2
NY Rangers 6, Columbus 2
Tampa Bay 4, Carolina 0
Nashville 2, Boston 1
Detroit 7, Pittsburgh 4
St. Louis 6, Vancouver 5 (OT)
Dallas 4, Chicago 1
Calgary 2, Los Angeles 1
