(NEW YORK) — Here are the scores from Thursday’s sports events:
NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION
Philadelphia 105, LA Lakers 87
Golden State 124, Minnesota 115
NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE
Los Angeles 3, NY Islanders 2
Florida 4, Vegas 1
Seattle 2, Pittsburgh 1 (OT)
Anaheim 5, Montreal 4
Tampa Bay 3, New Jersey 2
Columbus 5, NY Rangers 3
Carolina 3, Ottawa 2 (SO)
Final Vancouver 5 Winnipeg 1
Final St. Louis 5 Calgary 1
Final SO Edmonton 3 Nashville 2
TOP-25 COLLEGE BASKETBALL
Gonzaga 89, Loyola Marymount 55
Purdue 83, Iowa 73
UCLA 81, California 57
Wisconsin 73, Nebraska 65
Ohio St. 75, Minnesota 64
Stanford 64, Southern Cal 61
(NEW YORK) — Here are the scores from Wedneday’s sports events:
NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION
Cleveland 115, Milwaukee 99
LA Clippers 111, Orlando 102
Charlotte 158, Indiana 126
Atlanta 121, Sacramento 104
Miami 110, New York 96
Chicago 111, Toronto 105
Denver 124, Brooklyn 118
Memphis 118, San Antonio 110
Dallas 132, Portland 112
Phoenix 105, Utah 97
NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE
San Jose 4, Washington 1
Calgary 6, Columbus 0
Toronto 4, Anaheim 3 (SO)
Chicago 8, Detroit 5
Colorado 4, Boston 3 (OT)
TOP-25 COLLEGE BASKETBALL
Providence 65, Xavier 62
Tennessee 78, Florida 71
LSU 70, Texas A&M 64
Marquette 73, Seton Hall 63
Iowa St. 84, Oklahoma St. 81
VCU 70, Davidson 68
(NEW YORK) — British-born Benjamin Alexander had never put on a pair of skis until the age of 32. Only six years later, and he’s now going for gold next month in Beijing as Jamaica’s first Olympic alpine skier.
It didn’t come easily, he said.
“I hit the ground like 20 plus times on my first time skiing. I absolutely was not a natural,” Alexander told ABC News Live Prime on Tuesday. “But I was tenacious, and I had grit and determination. I really wanted to get good enough to ski with my friends. And so I just kept trying, and little by little, one step at a time, I got better and better.”
Alexander said he was inspired by the legendary 1988 Jamaican bobsled team, which marked the first time the Caribbean nation had ever competed in the Winter Olympics. He said former Olympian Dudley Stokes, who was the pilot of the 1988 team, became a personal mentor of his.
“It’s just incredible to have someone who basically wrote the book ‘I’m Doing Outlandish Things for a Caribbean Nation in the Winter Games’ … just giving me advice along the way,” he said.
For the past two and a half years, Alexander said he’s been training as a full-time athlete in thanks to sport sponsorships. He said that despite some setbacks, such as mountain closures due to the pandemic, he’s ready to compete.
“I’ve been planning meticulously to get to this point, and sometimes when you actually get to the place you’ve been looking at for so long, it feels weird to have arrived, so surreal is the one word I’ve been using,” he said.
Alexander said his identity as a mixed-race skier is what motivated him to represent Jamaica instead of the U.K.
“You always represent the minority of any group you’re in, at any given time. That can change, second by second, room by room. So if I’m with my white friends, I’m the Black guy, and with my Black friends, I’m the white guy,” Alexander said. “As a skier, in the predominantly white sport of skiing, I was always the Black representative.”
Along with representation, Alexander said he also wants his story to prove that it’s never too late to start something new.
“You think something has passed you by, that you should have started it when you were younger … I call you on that,” he said. “You can do that thing that you thought was impossible. At least give it a try.”
(NEW YORK) — Rob Gronkowski says it’s “unfortunate” the Tampa Bay Buccaneers didn’t make this year’s Super Bowl, losing 30-27 to the Los Angeles Rams in the divisional playoff, but he tells ABC Audio he’s not dwelling on it.
“It was a good season. There’s no doubt about it. It’s unfortunate it didn’t end the way that we wanted it to end, obviously,” the tight end stressed, noting the team’s 13 wins “was the most wins in the franchise history in a single season, which is pretty incredible.”
Gronk also had an incredible season because he’s close to breaking 100 receiving touchdowns in regular season play. He currently has 92. When asked about that upcoming milestone, he cryptically replied, “That’s another season away — I would have to play another year, no doubt about that, to get over 100.” Gronk cheekily noted that he technically did hit that mark “if you include playoffs.”
Ninety of those receiving passes were thrown by Tom Brady, but Gronk says “it took a while” to build the chemistry fans see on the field.
Gronk detailed the hard work he put in during his rookie year with the Patriots to become the player Brady needed him to be. “We would throw 10 more routes after practice to get that connection, build it up every single week, and it was kind of struggling at first. I didn’t really know the plays, didn’t know my routes that well, didn’t know how Tom wanted me to run them… Then, finally, it just clicked.”
The duo have played in six Super Bowls together, winning four, the last being on their home turf in 2021. Will the two try again for a fifth Super Bowl win? On Monday, Gronk flirted with the thought of “year 12” on Twitter, but only time will tell….
As for who Gronk thinks will play in this year’s Super Bowl, he says, “It will be the 49ers versus the Kansas City Chiefs,” noting the latter team’s “offense is red hot.”
(NEW YORK) — Here are the scores from Tuesday’s sports events:
NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION
Philadelphia 117, New Orleans 107
Toronto 125, Charlotte 113
Denver 110, Detroit 105
Boston 128, Sacramento 75
LA Clippers 116, Washington 115
LA Lakers 106, Brooklyn 96
San Antonio 134, Houston 104
Golden State 130, Dallas 92
Minnesota 109, Portland 107
NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE
Pittsburgh 6, Arizona 3
Ottawa 5, Buffalo 0
Dallas 5, New Jersey 1
Carolina 4, Vegas 3 (OT)
NY Islanders 4, Philadelphia 3
Florida 5, Winnipeg 3
Edmonton 3, Vancouver 2 (OT)
Nashville 4, Seattle 2
TOP-25 COLLEGE BASKETBALL
Auburn 55, Missouri 54
Baylor 74, Kansas St. 49
Duke 71, Clemson 69
Illinois 56, Michigan St. 55
Kentucky 82, Mississippi St. 74
Villanova 67, DePaul 43
UConn 96, Georgetown 73
UCLA 75, Arizona 59
Wisconsin at Nebraska (Postponed)
Hesther Ng/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images
(MELBOURNE, Australia) — After immense international backlash, Tennis Australia has reversed course on its ban of spectators donning T-shirts in support of Chinese tennis star Peng Shuai at the Australian Open.
Peng, who was formerly ranked No. 1 globally in women’s doubles, has retreated from the public eye and social media after accusing a retired top Chinese Communist Party official of sexual assault last November. The saga has garnered international backlash over China’s handling of sexual assault claims, and attempts by Chinese state-run media to assuage international concern for Peng’s safety have only prompted further global skepticism about the case.
A Tennis Australia spokesperson confirmed the ban reversal to ABC News on Tuesday, saying the organization would take a “common sense approach” to enforcing its policy against political materials as long as there are no disruptions to the event. The apparent U-Turn came after videos on social media showed security and police confronting activists wearing T-shirts emblazoned with the words: “Where is Peng Shuai.”
Tennis great Martina Navratilova blasted the initial ban, calling it “just pathetic” on Twitter. After hearing of the reversal, Navratilova lauded Tennis Australia chief executive Craig Tiley and the tournament organizers for “doing the right thing here!”
Tiley confirmed to the Sydney Morning Herald that T-shirts supporting Peng will be permitted, but banners are still barred due to safety concerns.
“What we’ve said is that if anyone comes on site with an intent to disrupt and use the Australian Open as a platform for themselves and really disrupts the comfort and the safety of our fans, then they’re not welcome,” Tiley told the local newspaper. “However, if someone wants to wear a T-shirt and make a statement about Peng Shuai, that’s fine.”
Tiley continued: “But what’s not fine is if that someone brings in a big banner and it’s got big poles attached to it and it’s used as something [which is dangerous], it really takes away from the comfort and safety of the fans. We’ll stick to those terms and conditions.”
International tennis superstars including Serena Williams and Naomi Osaka have lent their voices to the growing chorus of concerns for Peng, with both athletes sharing posts about the saga on Twitter using the hashtag #whereispengshuai.
Peng re-emerged at a public event in the run-up to the Beijing 2022 Olympics in mid-December, and the International Olympic Committee released a photo last month of her participating in a video call with IOC head Thomas Bach. Correspondence purportedly from Peng that backtracks her sexual assault claim have also been published by Chinese state-run media outlets.
Despite the purported evidence that she is safe, the global Women’s Tennis Association announced last month that it was suspending all WTA tournaments in China, including in Hong Kong.
“Chinese officials have been provided the opportunity to cease this censorship, verifiably prove that Peng is free and able to speak without interference or intimidation, and investigate the allegation of sexual assault in a full, fair and transparent manner,” WTA Chairman and CEO Steve Simon said in a lengthy statement on Dec. 1 announcing the suspension. “Unfortunately, the leadership in China has not addressed this very serious issue in any credible way. While we now know where Peng is, I have serious doubts that she is free, safe and not subject to censorship, coercion and intimidation.”
Simon said the WTA has repeated its calls for a full and transparent investigation, without censorship, into Peng’s accusation. He also called on other international leaders to “speak out so justice can be done for Peng, and all women, no matter the financial ramifications.”
(NEW YORK) — Here are the scores from Monday’s sports events:
NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION
Cleveland 95, New York 93
Chicago 111, Oklahoma City 110
New Orleans 117, Indiana 113
Phoenix 115, Utah 109
NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE
Dallas 3, Philadelphia 1
Anaheim 5, Boston 3
Vegas 1, Washington 0
NY Rangers 3, Los Angeles 2 (SO)
Minnesota 8, Montreal 2
Calgary 7, St. Louis 1
Colorado 2, Chicago 0
TOP-25 COLLEGE BASKETBALL
Kansas 94, Texas Tech 91
Southern Cal 78, Arizona St. 56
(NEW YORK) — Here are the scores from Sunday’s sports events:
NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION
New York 110, L.A. Clippers 102
Boston 116, Washington 87
Portland 114, Toronto 105
Orlando 114, Chicago 95
Miami 113, LA Lakers 107
Philadelphia 115, San Antonio 109
Atlanta 113, Charlotte 91
Dallas 104, Memphis 91
Minnesota 136, Brooklyn 125
Denver 117, Detroit 111
Golden State 94, Utah 92
NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE
Pittsburgh 3, Winnipeg 2 (SO)
Ottawa 2, Columbus 1
Los Angeles 3, New Jersey 2
Seattle 5, Florida 3
St. Louis 3, Vancouver 1
NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE PLAYOFFS
LA Rams 30, Tampa Bay 27
Kansas City 42, Buffalo 36 (OT)
TOP-25 COLLEGE BASKETBALL
Arizona 96, California 71
Purdue 80, Northwestern 60
Marquette 75, Xavier 64
Providence 69, Butler 62
(NEW YORK) — Here are the scores from Thursday’s sports events:
NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION
New Orleans 102, New York 91
Final Phoenix 109, Dallas 101
Indiana 121, Golden State 117 (OT)
NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE
Columbus 2 Philadelphia 1
Boston 4, Washington 3
Dallas 5, Buffalo 4
Pittsburgh 6, Ottawa 4
Nashville 5, Winnipeg 2
Florida 6, Edmonton 0
Colorado 4, Los Angeles 1
Seattle 3, San Jose 2
Vegas 4 Montreal 3 (OT)
TOP-25 COLLEGE BASKETBALL
Gonzaga 78, San Francisco 62
Arizona 85, Stanford 57
Indiana 68, Purdue 65
Southern Cal 61, Colorado 58
Providence 83, Georgetown 75
UConn 75, Butler 56
UCLA 63, Utah 58
Gonzaga at Pacific (Postponed)
(NEW YORK) — As Shaun White gears up to go for his fourth and final gold in Beijing, the Olympic halfpipe snowboarder said his training has become “more calculated” and that he’s got “some new moves” to debut in February.
“I’m so honored to make the team; it is just incredible and I get to be an Olympian again. Get to run out of the tunnel with Team USA, it’s just so exciting,” White told Good Morning America on Thursday. “To be atop a sport like this for this long, I feel so honored to be doing that. And it’s so wild because when I look around, everybody in the area are all people I used to compete with, you know, they’re coaches now.”
Ahead of the February opening ceremonies, White recently announced this will be his final Olympics, which he confirmed on GMA, saying, “I’ve got this last dance sort of glow to it.”
“You know, you look for those little signs and I was having a little knee injury here, a little ankle injury there, just these little things. And I remember my back hurting one day and my buddies were like, ‘what happened? And I was like, ‘Nothing, it just hurts,” he laughed.
The winter Games will look different for all the athletes this year as the International Olympic Committee takes precautions to safely allow competition, without fans.
“I’ll never forget winning and sliding down and seeing my whole family and they’re just crying and tears of joy — the whole crowd and that feeling you get, so it’s going to be different. But honestly, I salute them for putting this on in such a challenging time,” White said. “We’ve been trying to keep in our little bubble, so select friends and family, a physical therapist I have with me … Everybody’s testing and doing the best they can and I think that’s all you can really do.”
Since notching his first Olympic gold in 2006 when he was 19, White said he prepares at a different pace now.
“I had longer hair back then, so it’s a little easier routine these days,” he joked. “I think every single time I go to the Olympics, it’s just a different process.”
“I always think, ‘What got me to this point in my career won’t necessarily take me the rest of the way.’ So not only have I been focusing a lot on my physical health, but just like the mental health of it all,” White, 35, said. “Staying positive and staying motivated.”
The training has become “more calculated practice sessions,” and he explained that “it’s more like a power window than I used to be up there all day long — I don’t have that much energy as I used to. I’m not an old guy by any means — but at the last competition, one of my competitors was like 15, I was like, ‘Oh my goodness.’ So I’m definitely like pacing it out a bit more and take a lot more time to recover.”
At his last appearance in PyeongChang, White stunned fans and judges with back-to-back 1440s and ended the run with a frontside double cork 1260 to grab gold.
“There’s talk of triple corks now, these triple flips that are happening. A lot of the Japanese riders have been attempting those. There’s talks of doing a 16, which is 180 [degrees] past the 1440. But it’s gonna be incredible. I don’t want to give anything away, but working on some new moves and I’m hoping that everything really peaks once I get to the competition.”
Outside of the Olympics, White started a snowboarding and activewear company with his brother called Whitespace.
“It’s so much fun. You know, all my experience over the course of my career — I get to put that into a new product and a new brand and all my focus and attention and it’s been such a rewarding thing to work on with family,” he said. “I was 7 when I first got a snowboard from Jake Burton, who unfortunately passed away recently, but, you know, he gave me that start and I keep thinking — ‘Wow, if I could be that for the next generation,’ some young boy or girl or whoever is starting up and has that spark and excitement for the sport and I could be there to support it with my wisdom and experiences.”
