Sha’Carri Richardson crosses the finish line of the women’s 100 meter dash semi-final on Day Two of the 2024 U.S. Olympic Team Track & Field Trials Eugene, OR, June 22, 2024. (Patrick Smith/Getty Images)
(NEW YORK) — Sha’Carri Richardson is officially heading to Paris to compete in the Olympic Games for the first time.
The 24-year-old track and field sprinter qualified for the event on Saturday night with a 10.71-second 100-meter run.
Richardson’s feat, which she clocked at Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon, registered as the fastest women’s time in the competition by any woman this year, according to World Athletics.
Immediately following Richardson’s speedy feat, the runner dropped to her knees before embracing and celebrating alongside Melissa Jefferson and Twanisha Terry, who both qualified for the Paris Olympics alongside Richardson with times of 10.80 and 10.89 seconds, respectively.
Richardson will start her Olympic journey on Aug. 2 in Paris, when the women’s 100-meter run preliminary round kicks off.
In August last year, Richardson notched a 10.65-second 100-meter time in Budapest, Hungary, at the World Athletics Championships.
In 2021, Richardson won the 100 meters at the U.S. Olympic trials, making her the fastest woman in America and positioning her to compete for gold in the Tokyo Olympics. However, her chances of participating in the 100 meters at the Olympics were erased after it was announced she had tested positive for THC, a chemical found in marijuana.
Richardson told reporters at the time that she used marijuana during the Olympic trials in Oregon, which has legalized the substance for recreational use, as a way to cope with the loss of her birth mother. The U.S. Anti-Doping Agency suspended her for 30 days, citing the World Anti-Doping Agency’s ban on cannabis.
(NEW YORK) — Being back at Alabama’s Rickwood Field brought back painful memories for MLB Hall of Famer Reggie Jackson, who detailed the racism he experienced there in an appearance on a Fox Sports pregame show.
Jackson played at Rickwood Field in the minor leagues in the late 1960s. He said coming back to the area was “not easy.”
“The racism when I played here, the difficulty of going through different places where we traveled … I wouldn’t wish it on anybody,” he said.
He said that he was not allowed to enter restaurants and hotels, threatened with arson and called slurs at the time.
“I walked into restaurants, and they would point at me and say, ‘The n—– can’t eat here.’ I would go to a hotel, and they would say, ‘The n—– can’t stay here,’” said Jackson. “We went to [Kansas City Athletics owner] Charlie Finley’s country club for a welcome home dinner, and they pointed me out with the N-word: ‘He can’t come in here.’ Finley marched the whole team out.”
Jackson thanked his team that stood by him despite the discrimination: “Fortunately, I had a manager in Johnny McNamara that, if I couldn’t eat in the place, nobody would eat. We’d get food to travel. If I couldn’t stay in a hotel, they’d drive to the next hotel and find a place where I could stay.”
He also recalled the Baptist Street Church bombing in 1963 in Birmingham, in which KKK members bombed a Black church and killed four Black girls, according to the FBI. No federal charges were filed at the time.
“I was ready to physically fight some — I would have got killed here because I would have beat someone’s a–, and you would have saw me in an oak tree somewhere,” he said, referring to the racist lynchings used to terrorize the Black community in the 19th and 20th centuries.
Jackson was attending the MLB’s tribute to the Negro Leagues, which was created due to segregation and racism in the sport, on Thursday when he shared his experiences.
The MLB tribute also honored Willie Mays, who is widely considered to be one of the greatest baseball players in the history of the game.
Mays got his start in the Negro Leagues with the Birmingham Black Barons at Rickwood Field in the 1940s. He died shortly before the tribute at 93.
Coco Gauff is participating in the ecotrans Ladies Open, a WTA 500 tournament, in Berlin, Germany, on June 20, 2024. (Photo by Foto Olimpik/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
(NEW YORK) — The U.S. Tennis Association has announced its full lineup of American talent set to hit the clay courts of Roland Garros at the 2024 Paris Olympics, led by superstar Coco Gauff.
With just over one month before the Games get underway in France, Team USA tennis has locked in its final roster for singles and doubles, which includes six first-time Olympians.
Team USA Tennis roster set for Paris Olympics
Gauff previously made the team in 2020 but missed out on the pandemic-delayed Tokyo Games after testing positive for COVID-19 days before the start in July 2021.
The current World No. 2 will make her Olympics debut alongside No. 5 Jessica Pegula — who missed the French Open this season due to a neck injury — No. 11 Danielle Collins in her final season, and No. 17 Emma Navarro.
The women will be led by coach and USTA Head of Women’s Tennis Kathy Rinaldi, with doubles teams featuring Gauff and Pegula, plus Collins and doubles No. 11 Desirae Krawczyk.
The clay of Roland Garros will be a familiar surface and stadium for the American women, particularly Gauff, who reached the singles semifinals and notched her first Grand Slam doubles title at the French Open earlier this month.
While the 20-year-old from Delray Beach, Florida, is the reigning U.S. Open women’s singles champion, she has won five of her nine WTA doubles titles with Pegula and reached the world No.1 doubles ranking for the first time in the summer of 2022.
The U.S. men’s team headed to Paris includes world singles No. 12 Taylor Fritz making his Olympics debut, as well as No. 13 Tommy Paul, No. 44 Chris Eubanks, and No. 53 Marcos Giron.
There will be two men’s doubles teams representing Team USA including Fritz and Paul, plus world doubles No. 6 Rajeev Ram making his third Olympic appearance and No. 14 Austin Krajicek, coached by 2012 Olympic doubles gold medalist and Davis Cup captain Bob Bryan.
Ram, 40, has four major doubles titles and also won silver in mixed doubles at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Games alongside Venus Williams.
The USTA said this week that it would announce the mixed doubles team for Paris, which “will be taken from the qualified players,” at a later date.
The U.S. has won 24 Olympic medals, 14 gold, in men’s and women’s tennis since it returned as a full medal sport in 1988, which is more than any other nation, according to the USTA.
(NEW YORK) — Here are the scores from Thursday’s sports events:
MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL
AMERICAN LEAGUE
Cleveland Guardians 6, Seattle Mariners 3 Tampa Bay Rays 7, Minnesota Twins 6 Houston Astros 5 Chicago White Sox 3 Kansas City Royals 3, Oakland Athletics 2 Baltimore Orioles 17, N.Y. Yankees 5
NATIONAL LEAGUE
Arizona Diamondbacks 5, Washington Nationals 2 L.A. Dodgers 5, Colorado Rockies 3 St. Louis Cardinals 6, San Francisco Giants 5 Milwaukee Brewers at San Diego Padres (TBD)
(NEW YORK) — Here are the scores from Wednesday’s sports events:
MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL
INTERLEAGUE Atlanta Braves 7, Detroit Tigers 0 New York Mets 3, Texas Rangers 5 Milwaukee Brewers 2, Los Angeles Angels 0
AMERICAN LEAGUE Seattle Mariners 0, Cleveland Guardians 8 New York Yankees 6, Baltimore Orioles 7 Boston Red Sox 7, Toronto Blue Jays 3 Chicago White Sox 1, Houston Astros 4 Minnesota Twins 2, Tampa Bay Rays 3 Oakland Athletics 5, Kansas City Royals 1
NATIONAL LEAGUE Cincinnati Reds 0, Pittsburgh Pirates 1 Arizona Diamondbacks 1, Washington Nationals 3 Miami Marlins 4, St. Louis Cardinals 3 Philadelphia Phillies 2, San Diego Padres 5 Chicago Cubs 6, San Francisco Giants 5 Los Angeles Dodgers 6, Colorado Rockies 7
WOMEN’S NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION Washington Mystics 81, Indiana Fever 88 Atlanta Dream 55, Minnesota Lynx 68 Seattle Storm 83, Las Vegas Aces 94
San Francisco Giants slugger Barry Bonds (L) laughs with godfather and Giants legend Willie Mays as Mays was introduced during the Giants Opening Day against the San Diego Padres on April 5, 2002 ,in San Francisco, California. (JOHN G. MABANGLO/AFP via Getty Images)
(NEW YORK) — The baseball world is in mourning following the death of Willie Mays at 93.
Major League teams across the U.S. expressed their condolences as they remembered the iconic athlete of their sport, who played 22 seasons and had 660 home runs.
The San Francisco Giants, the team Mays spent the most time on, announced the news of his death Tuesday night, going on to share the outpouring of love from across the baseball community.
“He leaves us with a lasting reminder: to work hard and find joy in this great game and this extraordinary life,” the Giants posted Tuesday evening on X. “Say Hey, Willie Mays. The best there ever was.”
Some of the biggest athletes in sports, legends in their own right, also turned to social media to share memories of the former San Francisco Giants player.
Read on to see how the baseball community and notable figures are remembering Mays:
“We join the baseball world in mourning the passing of Willie Mays,” read a post on the Mets’ X page.
Barry Bonds, Mays’ godson and whose father played with Mays on the Giants, shared his heartfelt emotions on Instagram.
“I am beyond devastated and overcome with emotion,” Bonds, also a Giants legend, wrote. “I have no words to describe what you mean to me- you helped shape me to be who I am today. Thank you for being my Godfather and always being there. Give my dad a hug for me. Rest in peace Willie, I love you forever. #SayHey”
New York Yankees alum Derek Jeter called Mays, “One of the best to ever play the game and even a better person.”
“Thoughts and prayers are with Willie’s family and loved ones,” he added on X.
The Seattle Mariners called Mays, “an icon of the sport.”
“Our hearts break at the news of Willie Mays’ passing, and we send our condolences to his family, friends and loved ones,” the team’s statement continued. “His impact on and off the field will live on forever.”
Jose Canseco wrote on X, “One of the best to ever play the game. Rest in Peace Willie Mays.”
“We join the baseball community in mourning the passing of the legendary Willie Mays.Our hearts go out to the @SFGiants and all of Willie’s family and friends,” read a post on the St. Louis Cardinals’ X page.
Former President Barack Obama posted on Threads, writing, “Willie Mays wasn’t just a singular athlete, blessed with an unmatched combination of grace, skill and power. He was also a wonderfully warm and generous person – and an inspiration to an entire generation. I’m lucky to have spent time with him over the years, and Michelle and I send our deepest condolences to his family.”
Los Angeles Lakers legend Magic Johnson shared condolences on behalf of himself and wife Cookie Johnson.
“I’m devastated to hear about the passing of the legendary Hall of Famer Willie Mays, one of the main reasons I fell in love with baseball. Cookie and I are praying for his family, friends, and fans during this difficult time,” Johnson wrote.
Former MLB pitcher CC Sabathia wrote on X, “I’ll never forget this day when I walked in and heard, ‘that’s that boy who wears his hat like this.’ RIP Willie Mays. You changed the game forever and inspired kids like me to chase our dream. Thank you for everything that you did on and off the field. Always in our hearts.”
Tennis legend Billie Jean King wrote on X, “He was a 24-time All-Star, a 12-time Gold Glover, a 2-time MVP, World Series champion, and a Hall of Famer.”
“The great Willie Mays has passed away. It was a privilege to know him. We were both honored by @MLB in 2010 with the Beacon Award, given to civil rights pioneers,” her post continued.
“He was a such a kind soul, who gifted my brother Randy a new glove and a television during his rookie year with the @SFGiants,” she wrote, adding, “My deepest condolences to his family. He will be missed.”
Actor and comedian Billy Crystal wrote on X, “The great @Willie Mays has passed away. Had the honor of talking with him several times. He loved that we mentioned his ‘54 World Series catch in @CitySlickers.The man who hit the ball and the “ Giant” who caught it signed this ball. RIP #24.. a thrill to watch you play.”
“Willie Mays was more than just a baseball icon. He broke barriers and inspired millions of Americans — setting records, bringing joy to countless fans, and becoming a role model for a generation of future athletes. The ‘Say Hey Kid’ will be dearly missed — and never forgotten,” California Gov. Gavin Newsom said in a statement on X.
The mayor of San Francisco, London Breed, shared a lengthy post commenting on Mays’ legacy.
“To a native San Franciscan, some things just go without question: it’s foggy in the summer, cable cars go halfway to the stars, and Willie Mays is the best there ever was. It was an unbelievable opportunity of a lifetime to meet someone like Willie Mays. I remember hearing about the struggles that he endured because he was black, and what he overcame to become an icon on the field and the greatest baseball player of all time. He was from a generation who faced segregation and racism, a generation that paved the way so that many of us could have the freedom to thrive. Willie Mays meant so much to this city as a player, but also as a leader, staying involved in San Francisco and the Giants organization long after he retired from the game he loved. Willie Mays will forever be the greatest of giants in the story of San Francisco,” she wrote on X.
The Philadelphia Phillies posted, “We join the Giants and all of baseball in mourning the loss of Hall of Famer Willie Mays.Our hearts go out to his family and loved ones.”
(NEW YORK) — Willie Mays, widely considered to be one of the greatest baseball players in the history of the game, has died at 93.
“It is with great sadness that we announce that San Francisco Giants Legend and Hall of Famer Willie Mays passed away peacefully this afternoon at the age of 93,” the San Francisco Giants posted in a message on X announcing the news on behalf of Mays’ family.
In his own statement, Willie Mays’ son, Michael Mays, offered his gratitude for fans’ “unwavering love” for his father.
“My father has passed away peacefully and among loved ones,” Michael Mays said in his statement. “I want to thank you all from the bottom of my broken heart for the unwavering love you have shown him over the years. You have been his life’s blood.”
From his start in the Negro Leagues with the Birmingham Black Barons to winning rookie of the year with the New York Giants in 1951 and through 24 All-Star Game appearances, including one in his final season, Mays dazzled fans with his combination of power, speed and joy on the field. He was the personification of a “five-tool” player, excelling at the five basic skills of baseball: throwing, fielding, power-hitting, hitting for average, and base running.
Known as “the Say Hey Kid” — the moniker’s origin has remained ambiguous — Willie Howard Mays Jr. was born in Westfield, Alabama, on May 6, 1931. He was a star athlete in many sports in high school and played with the Black Barons starting at 16 years old. He signed with Major League Baseball’s New York Giants after high school graduation two years later and won Rookie of the Year his first season. Mays was named the National League MVP twice, in 1954 and 1965, and was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1979.
Mays called it a career after 22 seasons with 660 home runs, which was the third-highest of all-time when he retired in 1973, and posted a career batting average of .301. He finished with 2,062 runs scored, 1,323 extra-base hits, 6,066 total bases and 136.6 offensive wins above replacement — all in the top 10 of all-time.
“The Hall of Fame is something that you play baseball for,” Mays said in an interview with the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2001. “You start off playing and you say to yourself, ‘if you get to the Hall of Fame you got good numbers.’ … To me, to be a part of the Hall of Fame and be a part of all the guys that come through it, it’s tremendous.”
Despite being one of the greatest hitters of all-time, Mays — also one of the sport’s greatest defensive outfielders — will always be remembered for one of baseball’s greatest catches.
The Giants were playing the Cleveland Indians in game one of the 1954 World Series when Mays made a running, over-the-shoulder basket catch on a deep fly ball hammered by Cleveland’s Vic Wertz into the New York City Polo Grounds’ immense center field.
The catch in the eighth inning with two runners on base preserved a 2-2 score and allowed the Giants to ultimately win in extra innings. It also instantly became seared in the minds of baseball fans. Now known simply as “The Catch,” its legacy has lived on in references made after thousands of over-the-shoulder catches since.
Though many baseball historians believe “The Catch” is the best defensive baseball play ever, Mays was always humble about it.
“When Vic hit the ball to center field, I never was worried about catching the ball,” Mays told MLB Network in 2010. “I was worried about getting the ball back into the infield. And I’m saying to myself, ‘I gotta get this ball back in the infield or Larry [Doby]’s gonna score.”
But, Mays said, “As the ball was coming down, I knew I had the ball.”
Mays won 12 career Gold Glove awards for exceptional fielding, one each season from 1957 to 1968. He also remained in the top five in career home runs from 1965 to 2020.
Mays would’ve finished with even more records had he not missed most of 1952 and all of 1953 due to military service. He was drafted in the Army in 1951, during the Korean War, but didn’t see combat overseas, instead spending most of his service at Fort Eustis in Virginia.
Mays was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor, by President Barack Obama in 2015. Perhaps more fitting, MLB in 2017 — 63 years after ‘”The Catch” — renamed the World Series MVP Award to the Willie Mays World Series MVP Award.
Mays was set to be honored in a game at historic Rickwood Field in Alabama, the home of the Black Barons on Thursday, when his former team, the San Francisco Giants, take on the St. Louis Cardinals.
“I’m not able to get to Birmingham this year but will follow the game back here in the Bay Area,” Mays said in a statement to the San Francisco Chronicle. “My heart will be with all of you who are honoring the Negro League ballplayers, who should always be remembered, including all my teammates on the Black Barons.”
Mays was married twice, the second time in 1971 to wife May Louise Mays. The two remained together until her death in 2013.
Giants Chairman Greg Johnson addressed Mays’ “profound influence” on America and baseball.
“Today we have lost a true legend” Johnson’s statement read. “In the pantheon of baseball greats, Willie Mays’ combination of tremendous talent, keen intellect, showmanship, and boundless joy set him apart. A 24-time All-Star, the Say Hey Kid is the ultimate Forever Giant.”
“He had a profound influence not only on the game of baseball, but on the fabric of America,” Johnson’s statement continued. “He was an inspiration and a hero who will be forever remembered and deeply missed.”
Major League Baseball shared a message on X on Tuesday, saying the organization was “heartbroken.”
“We are heartbroken to learn of the passing of Hall of Famer Willie Mays, one of the most exciting all-around players in the history of our sport,” the MLB post read.
Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland reacts after finishing the 18th hole during the final round of the 124th U.S. Open at Pinehurst Resort, June 16, 2024, in Pinehurst, North Carolina. (Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images)
(NEW YORK) — Rory McIlroy came up one stroke short of ending his decade-long major drought at Pinehurst on Sunday. Despite the visceral disappointment on display as he departed the parking lot without taking questions from the press, his sights are now set on Scotland with a resilient mentality.
Rory McIlroy taking time off golf until The Open, describes ‘resilient’ outlook
McIlroy announced on X Monday that he will “take a few weeks away from the game to process everything and build myself back up for my defense of the Genesis Scottish Open and The Open at Royal Troon.”
“The one word that I would describe my career as is resilient. I’ve shown my resilience over and over again in the last 17 years and I will again,” he stated.
The four-time major champion lost the 124th U.S. Open to Bryson DeChambeau after taking three bogeys over his final four holes, which included two missed short putts on the 16th and 18th holes.
He called Sunday’s round “probably the toughest I’ve had in my nearly 17 years as a professional golfer.”
“As I reflect on my week, I’ll rue a few things over the course of the tournament, mostly the 2 missed putts on 16 and 18 on the final day. But, as I always try to do, I’ll look at the positives of the week that far outweigh the negatives. As I said at the start of the tournament, I feel closer to winning my next major championship than I ever have,” he continued.
After congratulating DeChambeau, who notched his second U.S. Open title in five years, McIlroy said, “He is a worthy champion and exactly what professional golf needs right now. I think we can all agree on that.”
“Rory is one of the best to ever play. Being able to fight against a great like that is pretty special,” DeChambeau said after his win on Sunday. “For him to miss that putt, I’d never wish it on anybody. It just happened to play out that way.”
McIlroy has been at the heart of the PGA Tour-LIV Golf divide over the last couple of years, acting as the prominent voice for players in the U.S. organization who declined or opposed the Saudi-backed league. He, along with many fellow PGA Tour players, was blindsided last summer when Jay Monahan did a complete 180-degree pivot from banning LIV players from competition to announcing a merger with help from Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund.
The Northern Irish golfer will look to secure the final major of the season and his fifth ever later this summer on the links at Royal Troon.
(NEW YORK) — Here are the scores from Tuesday’s sports events:
MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL
INTERLEAGUE Atlanta Braves, 2 Detroit Tigers 1 New York Mets 7, Texas Rangers 6 Milwaukee Brewers 6, Los Angeles Angels 3
AMERICAN LEAGUE Seattle Mariners 8, Cleveland Guardians 5 New York Yankees 4, Baltimore Orioles 2 Boston Red Sox 4, Toronto Blue Jays 3 Chicago White Sox 2, Houston Astros 0 Minnesota Twins 7, Tampa Bay Rays 6 Oakland Athletics 7, Kansas City Royals 5
NATIONAL LEAGUE Cincinnati Reds 2, Pittsburgh Pirates 1 Arizona Diamondbacks 5, Washington Nationals 0 Miami Marlins 9, St. Louis Cardinals 8 Philadelphia Phillies 4, San Diego Padres 3 Chicago Cubs 5, San Francisco Giants 2 Los Angeles Dodgers 11, Colorado Rockies 9
NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE PLAYOFFS Edmonton Oilers 5, Florida Panthers 3
WOMEN’S NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION Connecticut Sun 79, Los Angeles Sparks 70 Phoenix Mercury 99, New York Liberty 93
