(NEW YORK) — Here are the scores from Wednesday’s sports events:
MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL
Pittsburgh 7, Cleveland 5
Baltimore 8, L.A. Dodgers 5
Texas 5, Tampa Bay 1
St. Louis 6, Miami 4
Houston 4, Colorado 1
Oakland 6, Boston Red Sox 5
Milwaukee 5, Philadelphia 3
L.A. Angels 7, New York Yankees 3
San Diego 2, Toronto 0
Cincinnati 3, San Francisco 2
New York Mets 5, Chicago White Sox 1
Arizona 5, Atlanta 3
Chicago Cubs 8, Washington 3
Detroit 3, Kansas City 2
Minnesota 6, Seattle 3
(NEW YORK) — Here are the scores from Tuesday’s sports events:
MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL
INTERLEAGUE
Cleveland 10, Pittsburgh 1
San Diego 9, Toronto 1
LA Dodgers 10, Baltimore 3
NY Mets 11, Chi White Sox 10
Colorado 4, Houston 3
AMERICAN LEAGUE
Kansas City 11, Detroit 10
Texas 5, Tampa Bay 3
LA Angels 5, NY Yankees 1
Oakland 3, Boston 0
Minnesota 10, Seattle 3
NATIONAL LEAGUE
San Francisco 4, Cincinnati 2
Philadelphia 4, Milwaukee 3
Arizona 16, Atlanta 13
St. Louis 5, Miami 2
San Francisco 11, Cincinnati 10
Chi Cubs 17, Washington 3
WOMEN’S NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION
Atlanta 82, Minnesota 73
Phoenix 72, Connecticut 66
(NEW YORK) — As millions of people around the world tune in for the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup this week, second gentleman Doug Emhoff will be in New Zealand representing the United States.
Emhoff, the husband of Vice President Kamala Harris, departed Monday for New Zealand, where he will lead the U.S. delegation at the opening ceremony of the 2023 Women’s World Cup later this week.
Emhoff will also attend the U.S. Women’s National Team’s first World Cup game on Friday against Vietnam.
At this year’s World Cup, the USWNT will be attempting to win their third consecutive title.
“I’m going to be rooting so hard,” Emhoff said Monday on ” Good Morning America,” adding of the team’s chances of a third title, “I really believe they’re going to bring it home.”
Emhoff, a father of two, described attending the World Cup on behalf of the U.S. as a full-circle moment from when he used to coach and referee his own kids’ games. Emhoff also played soccer himself as a child.
“I was a soccer dad … [a coach] with my kids and then I became a referee wearing that yellow outfit with the whistle and those short shorts and the big socks,” Emhoff said, with a laugh. “To go from that on those fields, watching all these kids play and the parents rooting them on, to now be representing our country on this presidential delegation and seeing all these athletes now representing their countries, I’m just so honored and proud to be here.”
While in New Zealand, Emhoff will not just be focusing on soccer but also bigger world issues that the sport has found itself at the center of.
He is scheduled to deliver remarks to young women and girls as part of a panel discussion on gender equity and women in sports.
Last year, the USWNT scored a landmark equal pay win with a new agreement that sees them receiving the same pay, including appearance fees and game bonuses, and the same working conditions as the U.S. Men’s National Team.
The two teams will also pool their World Cup prize money, which is unequally distributed by FIFA, the international governing body, and share the money equally, becoming the first soccer federation in the world to do so, according to a collective bargaining agreement announced by U.S. soccer and the unions for both the men’s and women’s teams.
Emhoff will also join former New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern in a roundtable of faith, community and other leaders on combatting hate and promoting tolerance.
The second gentleman said he sees sports, specifically the World Cup, as an entity that can bring people together.
“As we all know, we all have way more in common than what divides us. There is so much hate out there and people are just fed up with it,” Emhoff said. “As the first second gentleman, one of the big things I’ve been working on is pushing against this epidemic of hate and finding ways to bring people together.”
He continued, “Honestly, sports is one of those things. Sports unifies us and that’s one of the reasons why I’m so excited to be on this trip to support our women’s team. It’s going to bring our entire country together.”
(NEW YORK) — Gabby Douglas is returning to competitive gymnastics, with an eye for the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Douglas, 27, announced on Instagram Thursday that she is returning to the sport she “absolutely love[s] doing.”
“I know i have a huge task ahead of me and i am beyond grateful and excited to get back out on the floor,” she wrote, in part, adding, “there’s so much to be said but for now….💪 😎let’s do this.”
Douglas ended her post with the hashtag 2024.
She previously competed in the 2012 and 2016 Olympic games, making history as the first U.S. gymnast to win the all-around and team titles at the same Olympic Games and the first African American to take home individual Olympic all-around gymnastics gold, according to her official Olympics bio.
Douglas did not compete in U.S. trials for the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo, which took place in 2021 due to the coronavirus pandemic.
In an Instagram post last August, Douglas wrote that she was taking time to focus on her mental health.
On Thursday, she wrote that she spent her time off journaling, reflecting and soul-searching and “found myself back where it all began.”
“For many years, i’ve had an ache in my heart but i didn’t want to keep carrying anger, pain, sadness, or regret and through my tears and hurt, i’ve found peace,” she wrote. “I wanted to find the joy again for the sport that i absolutely love doing.”
The U.S. Olympic Team Trials for both men’s and women’s gymnastics are scheduled to take place next June in Minneapolis.
Douglas’ return to competition means that the 2012, 2016 and 2020 Olympic individual all-around champions will all be competing to make the 2024 U.S. women’s gymnastics Olympic team. In addition to Douglas, both Simone Biles, the 2016 champion, and Suni Lee, the 2020 champion, are expected to compete in Minneapolis.
The 2024 Olympics are scheduled to begin in Paris next July.
(LOS ANGELES) — The biggest names in professional sports slowed their pace for an evening to walk the red carpet at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles for the 2023 ESPY Awards, which celebrated an impressive year of athletic achievements with a dash of Hollywood glamour.
Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James took home the award for best record-breaking performance after he broke Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s all-time scoring record of 38,387 points during a game against the Oklahoma City Thunder on Feb. 7, 2023.
“Nobody works harder, nobody cares more and nobody does more for the game of basketball than Lebron James,” his wife Savannah James said Wednesday night.
LeBron James took the opportunity during his big onstage moment to announce that he’s not going anywhere and will return for his 21st NBA season.
“The real question for me is, can I play without cheating this game? The day I can’t give the game everything on the floor is the day I’ll be done. Lucky for you guys, that day is not today,” James said as the theater erupted with applause.
Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes paid a visit to the GMA set after his team won the award for best team.
“We grew up playing sports. I don’t know if we ever grew up thinking we’re going to be one of the best team and being the best team of the world,” Mahomes, who also won the award for best athlete, men’s sports, and the award for best NFL player, said after the win.
The Muhammad Ali Sports Humanitarian Award went to Milwaukee Bucks guard Jrue Holiday and his wife Lauren Holiday — a former soccer midfielder, two-time Olympic gold medalist and World Cup winner — for the millions of dollars in charitable support the couple has given to minority-owned businesses.
“Jrue and I are not good with awards or attention on us. [Neither] of us — that’s not our favorite thing,” she said with a laugh, speaking with GMA Wednesday night. “Really, it’s about the people that we’re helping.”
After two-time Olympic gold medalist and seven-time World Cup champion alpine skier Mikaela Shiffrin won best athlete, women’s sports, she told GMA backstage she was “sweating,” adding that she’s rather be flying down an icy hill.
Following in GMA co-anchor Robin Roberts’ footsteps, former members of the U.S. Women’s National Soccer team accepted this year’s Arthur Ashe Award for Courage for their years-long fight for equal pay.
“Our fight is not over. When you play for the U.S. Women’s National Team, you are handed a torch,” team member Christen Press said onstage Wednesday night. “Now, we are looking to build a world where we create thousands of torches.”
Backstage, former team member Julie Foudy told GMA, “We want every girl out there, every boy out there to understand that both of you have an equal chance of being able to do whatever you want to dream. Now these young girls can go, ‘Oh, I can do that, and I can see that. And I can, most importantly, be that.'”
The night hit an emotional apex when Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin presented the Pat Tillman Award for Service to the athletic trainers who saved his life after the 24-year-old went into cardiac arrest on the field following a tackle during a game against the Cincinnati Bengals in January.
“Damar, first and foremost, thank you for staying alive brother,” Nathan Breske, the Bills’ head athletic trainer, said as he accepted the award.
Continue below for a full list of winners from this year’s ESPYS.
2023 ESPY Award Winners
Best WNBA Player: A’ja Wilson, Las Vegas Aces
Best UFC Fighter: Jon Jones
Best Comeback Athlete: Jamal Murray, Denver Nuggets
Best Athlete, Men’s Sports: Patrick Mahomes, Kansas City Chiefs
Best Athlete, Women’s Sports: Mikaela Shiffrin, Skiing
Best Championship Performance: Lionel Messi, Argentina — World Cup Final
Best Boxer: Claressa Shields
Best Breakthrough Athlete: Angel Reese, LSU Tigers Women’s Basketball
Best Play: Justin Jefferson with the catch of the century
Best Record-Breaking Performance: LeBron James surpasses Kareem Abdul-Jabbar for NBA career scoring record
Best College Athlete, Men’s Sports: Caleb Williams, USC Football
Best College Athlete, Women’s Sports: Caitlin Clark, Iowa Women’s Basketball
Best Athlete with a Disability: Zach Miller, Snowboarding
Best NFL Player: Patrick Mahomes, Kansas City Chiefs
Best MLB Player: Shohei Ohtani, Los Angeles Angels
Best NHL Player: Connor McDavid, Edmonton Oilers
Best NBA Player: Nikola Jokic, Denver Nuggets
Best Driver: Max Verstappen, F1
Best Soccer Player: Lionel Messi, Argentina/PSG
Best Golfer: Scottie Scheffler
Best Tennis Player: Novak Djokovic
Arthur Ashe Award for Courage: U.S. Women’s National Soccer Team
Jimmy V Award for Perseverance: Liam Hendriks, Chicago White Sox
Pat Tillman Award for Service: Buffalo Bills training staff
Muhammad Ali Sports Humanitarian Award: Jrue and Lauren Holiday
Billie Jean King Youth Leadership Award: Jordan Adeyemi, Ashley Badis, Rishan Patel
(NEW YORK) — Former USA Gymnastics team doctor Larry Nassar was stabbed in prison after a comment he allegedly made while watching the women’s Wimbledon tennis tournament with other inmates, according to sources familiar with the case.
Nassar, who was convicted of sexually assaulting U.S. gymnastics team members, allegedly said to other inmates on Sunday, “I wish there were girls playing,” according to sources.
That comment, according to sources, led a fellow inmate to go to Nassar’s cell later in the day and stab him at least six times with a manufactured weapon, according to sources.
Several inmates then ran into Nassar’s cell and took the suspect off of the former doctor, sources said.
Two sources familiar with the situation told ABC News on Monday that Nassar was listed in stable condition.
The Bureau of Prisons confirmed that an inmate was assaulted on Sunday at the United States Penitentiary Coleman II, a high security federal facility in Florida, and said no one else was injured.
The suspect has not been charged formally by investigators.
Nassar was arrested in 2016 and convicted of state and federal charges for sexually assaulting members of the U.S. gymnastics team. His sentences total hundreds of years.
(NEW YORK) — Here are the scores from Wednesday’s sports events:
WOMEN’S NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION
Connecticut 84, Chicago 72
New York 95, Indiana 87 (OT)
Dallas 107, Minnesota 67
Atlanta 85, Seattle 75
Las Vegas 97, Los Angeles 78
MAJOR LEAGUE SOCCER
New England 2, Atlanta 1
Cincinnati 2, New York 1
Chicago 3, CF Montreal 0
Minnesota 3, Houston 0
Real Salt Lake 2, Sporting Kansas City 2 (Tie)
Philadelphia 2, Nashville 0
San Jose 2, Seattle 0
Vancouver 2, Austin FC 1
Los Angeles FC 3, Saint Louis City SC 0
(WASHINGTON) — With families of victims of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks watching from just feet away, two top executives from the PGA Tour faced blistering criticism from Senate Democrats over their tour’s proposal to work with LIV Golf, the tour backed by a Saudi government both Democrats and Republicans argued has committed egregious human rights abuses.
“Today’s hearing is about much more than a game of golf,” said Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., the chairman of the Subcommittee on Investigations for the Senate’s Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs. “It’s about how a brutal, repressive regime can buy influence and, indeed, even take over a cherished American institution to cleanse its public image.”
Blumenthal said there was a “feeling of betrayal” from PGA players when they learned of the agreement with LIV Golf — an agreement seeking to create a subsidiary within the PGA Tour that would host golf tournaments around the world.
But the PGA Tour’s chief operating officer, Ron Price, and a member of its board, Jimmy Dunne, insisted to lawmakers that the PGA Tour was facing “an unprecedented attack” and an “existential threat” when LIV Golf was launched two years ago.
Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wisc., agreed, noting that the PGA Tour has estimated assets of $1.25 billion, while the Saudi Private Investment Fund financing LIV Golf is worth more than $600 billion — “it’s not a fair fight,” Johnson said.
“LIV Golf would have continued to recruit our players and put our tour in jeopardy, and they could have become the leader of professional golf, and operated it for the benefit of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia,” Price, the PGA Tour’s COO, testified.
So “instead of losing control of the PGA Tour, we pursued a peace,” Price said, insisting that no final deal has been reached and that any joint venture would have to let the PGA Tour retain control overs its operations and tournaments.
A key part of the framework agreement reached so far is an end to all pending litigation, including pausing an antitrust lawsuit that LIV Golf filed against the PGA Tour after the PGA Tour suspended players for joining LIV Golf. Such litigation had already cost the PGA Tour tens of millions of dollars, according to Price.
But Blumenthal and other Democrats weren’t sympathetic.
“There is something that stinks about this path that you’re on right now, because it is a surrender, and it is all about the money,” Blumenthal told Price and Dunne, accusing Saudi Arabia of killing journalists, fostering war in Yemen, and jailing and torturing dissidents.
Blumenthal and Sen. Tom Carper, D-Del., expressed particular concern over whether any deal with LIV Golf could end up stifling anyone associated with the PGA Tour from speaking out against the Saudi government for its horrific history of human rights abuses, including its alleged role in the 2018 murder of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
When Blumenthal specifically asked Price whether the PGA Tour would commit to ensuring that players could freely speak their minds, even if that meant supporting players in court if need be, Price didn’t initially offer a definitive answer, saying, “We would try to protect their interests.”
“Well you know, the answer to that question should be, ‘Yes, we’ll do it proudly. We’ll protect our players,'” Blumenthal said.
“We will protect our players proudly,” Price replied.
“Our players will be freely able to speak about Saudi Arabia,” he added later.
Blumenthal suggested the PGA Tour’s previous opposition to LIV Golf may have been softened by Saudi Arabia’s plans to pour huge sums of money into the new joint venture — with the Arab state agreeing to funnel “north of $1 billion” into the new golf entity, Price revealed at Tuesday’s hearing.
“What happened that led the PGA to change its position? Was it only the hope of ending litigation? Or was it also the unspecified amount Saudi investment that would come of it? Just how much money did PIF offer the PGA Tour?” he asked prior to Price’s revelation.
Price and Dunne repeatedly said that assuring the future of the PGA Tour was the only thing driving them.
“LIV put us on fire. LIV put us in an incredibly difficult position,” Dunne said.
At one point, Dunne seemed to get emotional about the subject, his voice cracking as he spoke of his love for the game of golf, its potential as “a force throughout the world,” and the “18 million young men and Saudi women” who might not think “every American hated them” if they were exposed more to something like the PGA Tour.
Dunne tried to defend the agreement by saying only “some men” from Saudi Arabia were part of 9/11, and that he lost 66 friends and colleagues to the attacks that day.
“If any person had the remotest connection to an attack on our country and the murder of my friends, I am the last guy that would be sitting at a table,” he insisted.
But for some families of 9/11 victims, the potential deal opens fresh wounds.
Terry Strada, 9/11 Families United chairwoman, lost her husband in the North Tower on 9/11 and has been fighting for Saudi Arabia to be held accountable for the attacks for years. Strada told ABC News that learning about the proposed deal felt personal to her.
“It was very upsetting. It was like a gut punch. Just like the floor falls out from beneath your feet,” Strada said.
“It sets you back quite a bit,” she said. “It’s like ripping the Band-Aid off again and it’s very raw to understand that now like you said this company is doing business with the kingdom.”
Strada called the deal between the PGA Tour and LIV Golf “appalling” and said she hoped the Senate hearing would shed light on the PGA’s seemingly sudden about-face on LIV Golf.
“I want Jimmy Dunne and I want the other man that’s testifying to look at families and see that the pain that he has caused all of us,” Strada told ABC News. “We aren’t going to forget, and we aren’t going to let the American people forget.”
In June 2022, a group of nearly 2,500 survivors of family members killed or injured in the terrorist attacks wrote an open letter to PGA Tour members to thank them for not joining LIV Golf, accusing those who joined LIV Golf of accepting “blood money.”
“Thank you for standing up for decency. Thank you for standing up for the 9/11 Families. Thank you for resisting the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s efforts to cleanse its reputation by buying off professional athletes,” the letter, published roughly a year before the deal was announced, said.
Blumenthal told ABC News that members of Congress are prepared to act unilaterally to derail a final deal if necessary.
“We certainly have tools at our disposal if either representatives of the Saudi sovereign wealth fund or other witnesses refuse to come forward. I’m not going to prejudge how those tools may be used because we are continuing to hope for their cooperation, but we can produce reports recommendations legislation and the DOJ can use facts that we adduce here in their investigation of antitrust issues that could lead to blocking the deal,” he said.
(NEW YORK) — Larry Nassar, a former USA gymnastics team doctor, has been stabbed in prison, according to a law enforcement source.
Nassar was stabbed in the back and neck multiple times, according to a source. He currently has what one source described as “substantial injuries,” including what appears to be a collapsed lung.
He is listed in stable condition, according to two sources familiar with the situation.
The Bureau of Prisons confirmed that an inmate was assaulted on Sunday afternoon at the United States Penitentiary Coleman II, a high security federal facility in Florida, and said no one else was injured.
Nassar was convicted of state and federal charges for sexually assaulting members of the USA gymnastics team. He’s serving his sentences, which total hundreds of years, at USP Coleman.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
