Sports

(INDIAN WELLS, Calif.) — Tennis player Naomi Osaka was nearly brought to tears over the weekend after a spectator heckled her from the stands at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, California.

Osaka, who is a four-time major champion and was formerly ranked No. 1 by the Women’s Tennis Association, was playing against Russian tennis player Veronika Kudermetova, when a woman in the stands shouted, “Naomi, you suck,” during the first set.

After the match, Osaka asked the chair umpire if she could borrow her mic to address the crowd to say something that was “on her heart.”

“To be honest, I’ve gotten heckled before, it didn’t really bother me,” she said. “But [being] heckled here, I watched a video of Venus and Serena [Williams] getting heckled here, and if you’ve never watched it, you should watch it. I don’t know why, but it went into my head, and it got replayed a lot. I’m trying not to cry.”

The incident Osaka referred to was when the Williams sisters were heckled by spectators at the Indian Wells Masters in 2001. Venus Williams withdrew with a knee injury from her scheduled semi-final against Serena Williams shortly before it was to begin. Amid speculation of match fixing, the crowd heckled Venus Williams and her father, Richard Williams, when they took their seats to watch Serena Williams in the final against Belgian tennis player Kim Clijsters.

The crowd continued to heckle Serena Williams when she came out to play the final and continued to boo her periodically throughout the entire match. When Serena Williams won the match, she was subsequently booed during the awards ceremony.

Following the tennis tournament and racist comments that Richard Williams alleged were directed at him during the incident, the Williams sisters boycotted the Indian Wells tournament for 14 years, even though it has been a mandatory stop on the WTA tour since 2009. Serena Williams ended the boycott in 2015 and played.

Osaka, who ended her address to the crowd by congratulating her opponent, opened up about her struggle with depression in 2021 after withdrawing from the French Open last year.

The tennis player, who said she wouldn’t be doing any press events during the tournament due to a lack of care for athletes’ mental health, created some controversy for her decision to abstain from press obligations, which resulted in a fine issued to her by French Open officials.

She ultimately withdrew and posted a statement on Twitter about her struggle with depression.

“The truth is that I have suffered long bouts of depression since the US Open in 2018, and I have had a really hard time coping with that,” she wrote. “Anyone that knows me knows I’m introverted, and anyone that has seen me at the tournaments will notice that I’m often wearing headphones as that helps dull my social anxiety.”

“I am not a natural public speaker and get huge waves of anxiety before I speak to the world’s media,” she added.

Many at the time commended Osaka for openly sharing her experience, including tennis legend Billie Jean King and even Serena Williams, who Osaka defeated in 2018 to win her first Grand Slam title.

“I feel for Naomi,” Serena Williams said about the situation after a first round win at the 2021 French Open. “I feel like I wish I could give her a hug, because I know what it’s like.”

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(NEW YORK) — Here are the scores from Sunday’s sports events:

NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION
Brooklyn 110, New York 107
LA Clippers 106, Detroit 102
Dallas 95, Boston 92
Philadelphia 116, Orlando 114 (OT)
New Orleans 130, Houston 105
Atlanta 131, Indiana 128
Memphis 125, Oklahoma City 118
Phoenix 140, LA Lakers 111

NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE
Pittsburgh 4, Carolina 2
Buffalo 5, Toronto 2
Winnipeg 4, St. Louis 3 (OT)
Columbus 6, Vegas 4
Montreal 4, Philadelphia 3 (OT)
NY Islanders 4, Anaheim 3
Nashville 6, Minnesota 2
Colorado 3, Calgary 0
Tampa Bay 2, Vancouver 1
Los Angeles 3, Florida 2 (SO)

TOP 25 COLLEGE BASKETBALL
Tennessee 65, Texas A&M 50
Iowa 75, Purdue 66
Houston 71, Memphis 53

MAJOR LEAGUE SOCCER
Atlanta 2, Charlotte FC 1
Minnesota 1, New York 0

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(NEW YORK) — Here are the scores from Friday’s sports events:

 NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION
 Final  Orlando      118  Minnesota      110
 Final  Atlanta      112  L.A. Clippers  106
 Final  Boston       114  Detroit        103
 Final  Charlotte    142  New Orleans    120
 Final  Dallas       113  Houston        100
 Final  Miami        117  Cleveland      105
 Final  Memphis      118  New York       114
 Final  San Antonio  104  Utah           102
 Final  Toronto      117  Phoenix        112
 Final  L.A. Lakers  122  Washington     109
   
 NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE
 Final  Pittsburgh      5  Vegas       2
 Final SO  Columbus        3  Minnesota   2
 Final  N-Y Islanders   5  Winnipeg    2
 Final OT  Washington      4  Vancouver   3
   
 TOP-25 COLLEGE BASKETBALL
 Final  (2)Arizona      82  Colorado            72
 Final  Texas A&M       67  (4)Auburn           62
 Final  (5)Kentucky     77  Vanderbilt          71
 Final  (6)Kansas       75  TCU                 62
 Final  (7)Duke         80  Miami               76
 Final  (8)Villanova    63  (20)UConn           60
 Final  (9)Tennessee    72  Mississippi St.     59
 Final  (9)Purdue       69  Penn St.            61
 Final  Creighton       85  (11)Providence      58
 Final  Michigan St.    69  (12)Wisconsin       63
 Final  (13)UCLA        69  (21)Southern Cal    59
 Final  (14)Texas Tech  56  Oklahoma            55
 Final  (15)Arkansas    79  LSU                 67
 Final  Indiana         65  (16)Illinois        63
 Final  (18)Houston     69  Cincinnati          56
 Final  (24)Iowa        84  Rutgers             74
 Final  Virginia Tech   72  (25)North Carolina  59
 

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(NEW YORK) — Baseball fans rejoice: Your favorite teams will be taking the field in just under four weeks.

Major League Baseball and the MLB Players Association announced Thursday that they have reached a new collective bargaining agreement. The deal was approved by the MLBPA and later ratified by team owners unanimously Thursday night, bringing an end to the three-month lockout.

The news comes after the league had announced a day earlier that it was scrapping a second week of games, pushing Opening Day until April 14, because both sides had failed to reach an agreement.

With the new CBA in place, the 2022 regular season will begin on April 7, with Spring Training games beginning next week.

“I am genuinely thrilled to be able to say that Major League Baseball is back and we’re going to play 162 games,” MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred said at a press conference Thursday.

“I do want to start by apologizing to our fans,” he continued. “I know that the last few months have been difficult. There’s a lot of uncertainty, at a point in time when there’s a lot of uncertainty in the world. [It’s] sort of the way the process of collective bargaining works sometimes, but I do apologize for it.”

“One of the good things about collective bargaining is that it gives our players an opportunity to have input on what their workplace and the game is going to look like going forward. And they took full opportunity to provide that input during these negotiations,” Manfred added. “Our players are great, great athletes. I respect them. And I respect the input that we received from them during this process. And we really did learn a lot.”

Under the new five-year CBA, the postseason will expand to 12 teams, minimum salaries will be increased, competitive balance tax thresholds will be raised and a universal designated hitter will be introduced, among other changes.

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(NEW YORK) — Here are the scores from Thursday’s sports events:

NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION
Brooklyn 129, Philadelphia 100
Golden State 113, Denver 102

NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE
Winnipeg 2, New Jersey 1
Arizona 5, Toronto 4 (OT)
Final Carolina 2, Colorado 0
Buffalo 3, Vegas 1
Ottawa 4, Seattle 3 (OT)
Boston 4, Chicago 3
Florida 6, Philadelphia 3
Minnesota 6, Detroit 5 (SO)
NY Islanders 6, Columbus 0
St. Louis 6, NY Rangers 2
Nashville 4, Anaheim 1
Calgary 4, Tampa Bay 1
San Jose 4, Los Angeles 3 (OT)

TOP-25 COLLEGE BASKETBALL
Arizona 84, Stanford 80
Oklahoma 72, Baylor 67
Kansas 87, West Virginia 63
Duke 88, Syracuse 79
Villanova 66, St. John’s 65
Providence 65, Butler 61
UCLA 75, Washington St. 65
Texas Tech 72, Iowa St. 41
UConn 62, Seton Hall 52
TCU 65, Texas 60
Colorado St. 53, Utah St. 51
Iowa 112, Northwestern 76
North Carolina 63, Virginia 43
Southern Cal 65, Washington 61

Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(NEW YORK) — Baseball fans will have to go yet another week without watching their favorite teams take the field.

After two days at the negotiating table, Major League Baseball and the MLB Players Association failed to reach a new collective bargaining agreement.

As a result, the league announced on Wednesday that it was scrapping a second week of games, pushing Opening Day until April 14. In total, each team will be missing out on the first four series of the regular season.

The biggest obstacle during the latest round of talks appeared to be on a proposed international draft.

“In a last-ditch effort to preserve a 162-game season, this week we have made good-faith proposals that address the specific concerns voiced by the MLBPA and would have allowed the players to return to the field immediately,” MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred said in a statement. “The Clubs went to extraordinary lengths to meet the substantial demands of the MLBPA. On the key economic issues that have posed stumbling blocks, the Clubs proposed ways to bridge gaps to preserve a full schedule. Regrettably, after our second late-night bargaining session in a week, we remain without a deal.”

“Because of the logistical realities of the calendar, another two series are being removed from the schedule, meaning that Opening Day is postponed until April 14th,” Manfred continued. “We worked hard to reach an agreement and offered a fair deal with significant improvements for the players and our fans. I am saddened by this situation’s continued impact on our game and all those who are a part of it, especially our loyal fans.”

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(NEW YORK) — Here are the scores from Wednesday’s sports events:

NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION
Boston 115, Charlotte 101
Chicago 114, Detroit 108
Phoenix 111, Miami 90
Milwaukee 124, Atlanta 115
Minnesota 132, Oklahoma City 102
Orlando 108, New Orleans 102
Houston 139, LA Lakers 130 (OT)
Toronto 119, San Antonio 104
New York 107, Dallas 77
Utah 123, Portland 85
Denver 106, Sacramento 100
LA Clippers 115, Washington 109

NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE
Edmonton 4 Washington 3 (OT)
Vancouver 5, Montreal 3

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(NEW YORK) — Sitting in his living room at home in the U.S., Maurice “Mo” Creek holds his mother’s hand days after escaping Ukraine as she holds back tears.

“I still sit here and I cry every day,” Pammy Morgan told ABC News. “Maurice was over there and it was not looking good. It was sickening. I mean, I’ve lost like 10 pounds. We couldn’t sleep. We couldn’t eat — phone’s ringing off the hook.”

Creek, who played for the University of Indiana and George Washington University, spent last Saturday and Sunday in and out of a bomb shelter in Mykolaiv, Ukraine. He said he then traveled 130 miles to Odessa on Monday before arriving at the Moldovan border, where he spent nine hours in the immigration line.

By Tuesday, Creek was in Iasi, a city in eastern Romania, miles away from the madness with plans of catching the first flight to the United States. He was reunited with his family last Thursday.

“When he made it here, it was a breath of fresh air. I knew he was safe” his mom said.

“The thing that kept me together was my spiritual glue,” Morgan said. “I had to keep it strong for him and I was telling people please pray, fast pray. You know, I know media doesn’t like to hear that a lot. I didn’t care. I needed my son home.”

Creek, who moved to Mykolaiv in December to play basketball for MBC Mykolaiv, a professional basketball team in Ukraine, said he is grateful that he got to escape. However, he still thinks about his teammates and friends who remain at war.

“I just pray for them every day and their families,” Creek told ABC News. “Because when I saw them for the last time, I shedded some tears because it’s like not only will I maybe not ever see you again on the basketball level. I may not never see you on the livelihood level because of what’s going on right now.”

While in Ukraine, Creek said what he saw reminded him of the popular military combat video game, Call of Duty. Hearing sirens, seeing pilot jets dart above his head, and having to stay at a bomb shelter himself, Creek said being terrified was an understatement.

“You start really feeling the actual effects of the war. Like, I was getting jets going across my building, then I have to go to the bomb shelter and I look on social media, you see one jet hit one lady’s house like with a bomb like you know, with a missile,” Creek said. “And it’s like, dude, I’m not sleeping today. I’m not doing that. I’m paranoid, terrified.”

But Creek said that wasn’t the scariest part of being an American trapped in Ukraine. He said he was scared every night since the city was pitch black due to Marshall law.

“The scariest moments for me that I felt was when it hit at nighttime and it’s no light; it is no lights,” he said. “I’m talking about it looked like if you had a plug, and you could plug every light to the city like somebody just took the plug out and the whole city was black.”

“So now you can’t feel nothing and you can’t see nothing. I’m like, ‘Yo, I can’t even see if a Russian is coming up in my building trying to shoot,'” he said

“Because they have night vision,” his mom said.

“Exactly,” he echoed. “They are going to see everything and you ain’t going to see them because they have dark suits on because they are trying to figure out where are the Ukrainians and shoot them and Ukrainians are trying to do that back.”

Creek said what got him through his time in Ukraine was the phone calls, emails, texts, social media outreach and most importantly, the prayers from people. Creek said his biggest advice for anyone who is currently stuck in Ukraine and is losing hope as he once felt, is to keep your hope alive.

“Don’t lose faith and keep hope,” said Creek. “My motto is strive or starve. You either strive and do what you need to do or you are going to starve by not doing what you need to do, but always keep hope, anything is possible at the end of the day.”

The Russian invasion of Ukraine began on Feb. 24, when Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a “special military operation.”

Since then, more than two million refugees have fled the country, including more than 1.2 million children, according to the United Nations Children’s Fund. About half of those who have fled the country have gone to bordering Poland.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told the U.K. Parliament Tuesday that his country will not give up the fight.

“We will not give up. We will continue fighting for our land whatever the costs. We will fight in the fields, in the seas, in the streets. We will fight on the banks of different rivers,” Zelenskyy said.

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(NEW YORK) — Here are the scores from Tuesday’s sports events:

NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION
Brooklyn 132, Charlotte 121
Cleveland 127, Indiana 124
Phoenix 102, Orlando 99
Memphis 132, New Orleans 111
Milwaukee 142, Oklahoma City 115
Golden State 112, LA Clippers 97

NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE
Florida 4, Pittsburgh 3
New Jersey 5, Colorado 3
Philadelphia 2, Vegas 1
Arizona 9, Detroit 2
Toronto 6, Seattle 4
Ottawa 4, St. Louis 1
Minnesota 5, NY Rangers 2
Winnipeg 7, Tampa Bay 4
Nashville 2, Dallas 1
Chicago 8, Anaheim 3
Washington 5, Calgary 4

TOP-25 COLLEGE BASKETBALL
Gonzaga 82, Saint Mary’s (Cal.) 69

Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(NEW YORK) — Ali Krieger and Ashlyn Harris have been relishing their new roles as moms.

The dynamic duo undoubtedly learned a lot in their soccer careers, having reached the pinnacle already, winning the FIFA Women’s World Cup twice with the U.S. women’s national team in 2015 and 2019. But there’s always room to grow, and motherhood has notably taught them even more lessons both on and off the pitch.

Krieger and Harris, who married in December 2019, adopted their first child, a daughter named Sloane Phillips, last February.

“Our journey to becoming new moms and parents started when COVID hit. The Olympics were postponed and it really stripped away a lot of layers for Ali and I,” Harris told ABC News’ Good Morning America, saying that it was a “no-brainer” decision for them to become parents.

The couple signed up with an adoption agency, and, to their surprise, were matched with a baby girl within weeks.

“We ended up matching in about three weeks, so our life changed very quickly and very unexpectedly,” Harris recalled. “(The) adoption process is probably one of the most stressful experiences and tack COVID and isolation on, that was a really hard time for us but now having her and being able to say that she’s ours has been the greatest gift and we just are so lucky.”

Krieger and Harris say adopting Sloane opened their eyes to the nutritional needs of expectant mothers. They’re now paid spokespeople for Vitamin Angels, a charity working to provide essential vitamins to underserved moms and kids who are at risk of malnutrition around the world.

“It just really hit home for Ali and I, who adopted a baby who didn’t have access to those things, who was born very small and underweight, who didn’t have good nutrition,” Harris said. “Now, we are trying to reverse the clock to set her up for a successful life.”

To hear Krieger and Harris talk about motherhood, it has enriched their lives immensely, and not just their personal ones.

“I think something that’s translated from motherhood to the soccer field for us, I can probably say for me, patience and a little bit more strength,” Krieger said.

She and Harris signed with Gotham FC in December and are gearing up for their first game with the New Jersey and New York club on March 19.

“I think just having that patience and finding that joy for the game surprised me the most because I’m so happy at home, not only with Ash, my wife, but also just as a family with Sloane,” Krieger said.

Harris says welcoming Sloane into their life has helped ground her and put things into perspective.

“When I walk through the door, Sloane doesn’t care if I won a world championship, she just wants her mom,” Harris said. “I feel like that’s really taken a lot of pressure off for me and my job and I enjoy it a lot more because when I walk home, I’m not thinking about a bad performance or that goal I should have saved or if we won or lost, I’m just thinking about being the best version of myself, to be a good mom when I come home.”

Harris and Krieger are determined to support Sloane no matter what life throws at them.

“I don’t think we want to ever tell her what to do or how to do anything but we just want to set her up for success by just giving her tools that we’ve learned through our experiences and ultimately support and love her unconditionally,” Krieger said.

It’s also not just Sloane who they want to lift up. Krieger and Harris are also doing their part to support the next generation of young girls and soccer stars, continuing to advocate for more equity in the sport.

Krieger said last month’s settlement between the U.S. women’s national team and the U.S. Soccer Federation was a step in the right direction.

“We’re going to continue to fight for more but I do think it was a win and I think it’s great that even if we don’t see the benefits of that, our youth will be able to dream big and be able to profit from their hard work as well,” she said. “This also is a win, like Megan Rapinoe had said, for all women, not just in our country but around the world and all women in all industries.”

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