(NEW YORK) — Here are the scores from Monday’s sports events:
MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL PLAYOFFS
Houston at Philadelphia (Postponed)
NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION
Philadelphia 118, Washington 111
Sacramento 115, Charlotte 108
Toronto 139, Atlanta 109
Brooklyn 116, Indiana 109
Milwaukee 110, Detroit 108
Utah 121, Memphis 105
LA Clippers 95, Houston 93
NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE
Buffalo 8, Detroit 3
Carolina 3, Washington 2 (SO)
Los Angeles 5, St. Louis 1
NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE
Cleveland 32, Cincinnati 13
(NEW YORK) — Here are the scores from Sunday’s sports events:
NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION
New Orleans 112, L.A. Clippers 91
Boston 112, Washington 94
Cleveland 121, New York 108
Detroit 128, Golden State 114
San Antonio 107, Minnesota 98
Dallas 114, Orlando 105
Phoenix 124, Houston 109
LA Lakers 121, Denver 110
NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE
New Jersey 7, Columbus 1
Minnesota 4, Chicago 3 (SO)
NY Rangers 3, Arizona 2
Vegas 2, Winnipeg 1 (OT)
Anaheim 4, Toronto 3 (OT)
NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE
Denver 21, Jacksonville 17
Atlanta 37, Carolina 34 (OT)
Dallas 49, Chicago 29
Miami 31, Detroit 27
Minnesota 34, Arizona 26
New England 22, NY Jets 17
New Orleans 24, Las Vegas 0
Philadelphia 35, Pittsburgh 13
Tennessee 17, Houston 10
San Francisco 31, L.A. Rams 14
Seattle 27, NY Giants 13
Washington 17, Indianapolis 16
Buffalo 27, Green Bay 17
MAJOR LEAGUE SOCCER
Los Angeles FC 3, Austin FC 0
Philadelphia 3, New York City FC 1
(NEW YORK) — Tom Brady and Gisele Bündchen have divorced after 13 years of marriage.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback and the Brazilian supermodel, who married in 2009, confirmed their split on social media.
Brady shared the news in an Instagram Stories post, writing that he and Bundchen “finalized” their divorce “in recent days” after having “arrived at this decision amicably and with gratitude for the time we spent together.”
This news comes after much speculation on the status of their relationship. Tabloid reports have hinted at alleged contention between the two due to Brady’s decision to return to football after a brief 40-day retirement earlier this year.
Bündchen shared her perspective on Brady’s return to the game in an interview with Elle, published in September.
“Obviously, I have my concerns — this is a very violent sport, and I have my children and I would like him to be more present,” she told Elle. “I have definitely had those conversations with him over and over again. But ultimately, I feel that everybody has to make a decision that works for [them]. He needs to follow his joy, too.”
She also hit back at what she felt was a false media narrative regarding her desire for him to leave football.
“I think this is the system we’ve been living in,” she told the outlet. “That’s what society has accepted and what society hasn’t accepted.”
The supermodel tweeted her support for Brady before his game on Sept. 11, writing “Let’s go @TomBrady ! Let’s go Bucs ! ✨✨✨”
The couple shared several loving posts for one another throughout 2022. They also celebrated their 13th wedding anniversary in February, with Brady describing Bündchen in a post as the “best mother and wife and supporter in the world.”
Brady and Bündchen share two children together, 12-year-old Benjamin and 9-year-old Vivian. Brady also has a 15-year-old son, Jack, from his previous relationship with Bridget Moynahan.
(NEW YORK) — Here are the scores from Thursday’s sports events:’
NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION
Dallas 129, Brooklyn 125 (OT)
Oklahoma City 118, LA Clippers 110
Memphis 116, Sacramento 99
Golden State 113, Miami 105
NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE
Philadelphia 4, Florida 3
Minnesota 4, Ottawa 2
Boston 5, Detroit 1
Montreal 3, Buffalo 2
Nashville 6, St. Louis 2
Edmonton 6, Chicago 5
Dallas 2, Washington 0
Vancouver 4, Seattle 3
San Jose 4, Toronto 3 (OT)
Winnipeg 6, LA Kings 4
(NEW YORK) — The World Anti-Doping Agency has sent a warning to Russia to resolve the ongoing doping case for teenage ice skating phenomenon Kamila Valieva, who tested positive for a banned substance ahead of the 2022 Winter Olympics.
Valieva, a former junior world champion and a top contender for a gold medal for the winter games in Beijing, was found to have tested positive for trimetazidine, a heart medication, in a sample taken on Dec. 25. The sample was taken by the Russian Anti-Doping Agency, known as RUSADA.
Witold Banka, the president of the World Anti-Doping Agency, tweeted on Thursday morning that the agency is “concerned” about the ongoing delay in the outcome of Valieva’s case and that RUSADA has been placed under formal notice that the matter will be taken to the international Court of Arbitration for Sport unless the matter is resolved promptly.
RUSADA said in a statement Friday it will not be releasing any information regarding the processes and procedures related to the investigation, including the charge and the final resolution of the matter, due to the “confidential” nature of the information.
The statement did not name Valieva but referred to a figure skater “who is a protected person.” Valieva was under the age of 16 at the time she took the test, which would have given her protected status under Russia’s under anti-doping rules.
“RUSADA does not intend to announce the date of the hearings, the decision or other details in the case of the figure skater-a member of the ROC team,” the statement read.
Last month, RUSADA told Russian News Agency TASS that the investigation had concluded and preparations were underway for a hearing.
Valieva, who was 15 at the time, won gold in the team ice skating competition before finding out that she tested positive for the banned substance before the Olympics began.
After an accredited lab for the World Anti-Doping Agency notified RUSADA of the positive test on Feb. 8, Valieva was provisionally suspended from competition. She was later cleared on Feb. 14 to continue competing by the the Court of Arbitration for Sport, which ruled that denying Valieva the opportunity would “would cause her irreparable harm.”
A medal ceremony was not held for the team event due to the uncertainty surrounding Valieva’s eligibility to compete. The international skaters waiting on the verdict include those on the American, Japanese and Canadian, which came in second, third and fourth place, respectively.
On Feb. 15, Valieva, finished first in the short program with a score of 82.16, topping her Russian teammate, Anna Shcherbakova, by just shy of 2 points. During the women’s single skating free skate program on Feb. 17, Valieva finished in fourth place after falling multiple times.
The minimum age for skaters at the Olympics has since been raised to 17 by the International Skating Union. The new rule will be in affect for the next Winter Olympics in 2026 in Milan.
ABC News’ Nadine El-Bawab and Alexandra Faul contributed to this report.
(NEW YORK) — Here are the scores from Wednesday’s sports events:
NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION
Atlanta 118, Detroit 113
Cleveland 103, Orlando 92
Toronto 119, Philadelphia 109
Milwaukee 110, Brooklyn 99
Minnesota 134, San Antonio 122
New York 134 Charlotte 131 (OT)
Chicago 124, Indiana 109
Utah 109, Houston 101
Denver 110, LA Lakers 99
Miami 119, Portland 98
NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE
NY Islanders 3, NY Rangers 0
Edmonton 3, St. Louis 1
Tampa Bay 4, Anaheim 2
(NEW YORK) — A public high school football coach in Washington state who famously lost his job for leading prayers on the field after games will be reinstated by the spring of next year, court documents show.
A joint stipulation filed in Washington state district court on Tuesday by attorneys representing Joseph Kennedy and lawyers for Bremerton School District stated that “Kennedy is to be reinstated to his previous position as assistant coach of the Bremerton High School football team on or before March 15, 2023.”
The United States Supreme Court sided with Kennedy in June, when justices ruled 6-3 that the coach was protected by the Constitution when he knelt and prayed aloud at the 50-yard-line post-game, sometimes with his players.
For years, lower courts had repeatedly sided with Bremerton School District in the case. The Supreme Court reversal in favor of Kennedy could soon expand the ability of government employees nationwide to practice their faiths more openly while on the job, according to legal experts.
“This is a right for everybody. It doesn’t matter if you’re this religion or that religion or have no faith whatsoever,” Kennedy told ABC News during an interview earlier this year. “Everybody has the same rights in America.”
The First Amendment protects free speech and free exercise of religion, but it also prohibits the establishment of religion by the government. Prior to the ruling in Kennedy v. Bremerton School District, the Supreme Court had long said that public school-sponsored prayer violates the Establishment Clause, even if the prayer is voluntary.
Kennedy and his attorneys at First Liberty Institute, a Texas-based Christian legal group, filed suit against the Bremerton School District after he was suspended seven years ago over the midfield prayers and his contract was not renewed. He insisted the prayers were brief, private individual acts of faith, while the school district argued that student participation breached constitutional prohibitions against the promotion of religion by government officials.
Kennedy had routinely prayed on the field after games for more than seven years, attracting varying levels of participation from students. He said the ritual typically lasted less than a minute.
“It was my covenant between me and God that after every game, win or lose, I’m going to do it right there on the field of battle,” he told ABC News.
It wasn’t until 2015 that the school district informed the coach of constitutional concerns. In a statement released at the time, the school district said Kennedy’s prayers violated “constitutionally-required directives that he refrain from engaging in overt, public religious displays on the football field while on duty.”
The school district said it “has a fundamental obligation to protect the rights of all of its students,” though the statement noted that no players had complained about the prayer sessions.
“It is very likely that over the years, players have joined in these activities,” the school district added, “because to do otherwise would mean potentially alienating themselves from their team, and possibly their coaches.”
(NEW YORK) — Here are the scores from Tuesday’s sports events:
NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION
Washington 120, Detroit 99
New Orleans 113, Dallas 111
Oklahoma City 108, LA Clippers 94
Phoenix 134, Golden State 105
NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE
Minnesota 3, Montreal 1
New Jersey 6 Detroit 2
Boston 3, Dallas 1
Arizona 6, Columbus 3
Colorado 3, NY Rangers 2 (SO)
Chicago 4, Florida 2
Calgary 4, Pittsburgh 1
Seattle 5, Buffalo 1
Los Angeles 4, Tampa Bay 2
Vegas 4, San Jose 2
(NEW YORK) — A Russian court has denied the appeal of WNBA star Brittney Griner, who is facing nine years in a Russian prison on drug charges.
Griner appeared virtually at her appeal hearing on Tuesday and urged the court of reassess her sentence, saying that people found guilty of lesser crimes were given shorter sentences.
“I beg that the court takes in all of the stakes that was overlooked in the first court and reassess my sentence here,“ Griner said, apologizing for her “mistake” and saying that it has been “traumatic” to be away from her family.
Griner, a 31-year-old Houston native who plays professional basketball for the Phoenix Mercury, was detained on Feb. 17 at Sheremetyevo International Airport in Khimki as she returned to Russia to play during the WNBA’s off-season after she was accused of having vape cartridges containing hashish oil, which is illegal in the country.
Griner pleaded guilty to drug charges in July, saying that the vape cartridges containing hashish oil were in her luggage mistakenly and that she had no “intention” of breaking Russian law.
As the U.S. works to secure the basketball star’s freedom, Griner’s attorney told ABC News earlier this month that the basketball star is worried that she may not be released.
“Her being afraid of not being released is mostly connected to the negotiations, which we are not aware of at all,” Griner’s attorney Alexandr Boikov told ABC News on Oct. 13.
After being detained in Russia for more than five months, Griner was found guilty on drug charges in a Moscow-area court on Aug. 4 and was sentenced to nine years in prison. Her attorneys filed an appeal on Aug. 15.
“She is not very much hopeful for the appeal because the first court decision — the verdict showed that the case is totally unjust even by present Russian standards, and we are not hoping for a big release, but of course we hope for the best,” Boikov previously told ABC News.
The WNBA star turned 32 behind bars in Russia on Oct. 18, but she was able to spend a few hours with her lawyers who relayed birthday messages to her, as well as speak on the phone with U.S. officials.
“Thank you everyone for fighting so hard to get me home. All the support and love are definitely helping me,” Griner said through a message shared by her attorneys.
The U.S. government classified Griner’s case on May 3 as “wrongfully detained,” meaning the U.S. will more aggressively work to negotiate her release even as the legal case against her plays out, the State Department has said.
Russia’s invasion of neighboring Ukraine began one week after Griner was detained, and some officials have expressed concern that Americans jailed in Russia could be used as leverage in the ongoing war.
State Department spokesperson Ned Price told ABC News earlier this month that securing the release of Griner and Paul Whelan — an American detained in Russia since 2019 — remains “a priority for this administration.”
(NEW YORK) — A Russian court is set to hold a hearing in the case of Brittney Griner on Tuesday after the WNBA star appealed her nine-year prison sentence.
As the U.S. works to secure the basketball star’s freedom, Griner’s attorney told ABC News earlier this month that the basketball star is worried that she may not be released.
“Her being afraid of not being released is mostly connected to the negotiations, which we are not aware of at all,” Griner’s attorney Alexandr Boikov told ABC News on Oct. 13.
After being detained in Russia for more than five months, Griner was found guilty on drug charges in a Moscow-area court on Aug. 4 and was sentenced to nine years in prison.
Her attorneys filed an appeal on Aug. 15 and a hearing is scheduled for Oct. 25.
“She is not very much hopeful for the appeal because the first court decision — the verdict showed that the case is totally unjust even by present Russian standards, and we are not hoping for a big release, but of course we hope for the best,” Boikov told ABC News.
According to Boikov, decisions on appeals are usually made during one hearing, but other hearings could be scheduled and he expects a decision by the end of October.
Griner, a 31-year-old Houston native who plays professional basketball for the Phoenix Mercury, was detained on Feb. 17 at Sheremetyevo International Airport in Khimki as she returned to Russia to play during the WNBA’s off-season after she was accused of having vape cartridges containing hashish oil, which is illegal in the country.
Griner pleaded guilty to drug charges in July, saying that the vape cartridges containing hashish oil were in her luggage mistakenly and that she had no “intention” of breaking Russian law.
The WNBA star turned 32 behind bars in Russia on Oct. 18, but she was able to spend a few hours with her lawyers who relayed birthday messages to her, as well as speak on the phone with U.S. officials.
“Thank you everyone for fighting so hard to get me home. All the support and love are definitely helping me,” Griner said through a message shared by her attorneys.
The U.S. government classified Griner’s case on May 3 as “wrongfully detained,” meaning the U.S. will more aggressively work to negotiate her release even as the legal case against her plays out, the State Department has said.
Russia’s invasion of neighboring Ukraine began one week after Griner was detained, and some officials have expressed concern that Americans jailed in Russia could be used as leverage in the ongoing war.
State Department spokesperson Ned Price told ABC News earlier this month that securing the release of Griner and Paul Whelan — an American detained in Russia since 2019 — remains “a priority for this administration.”
