(NEW YORK) — Soccer star Cristiano Ronaldo announced Monday that he and model Georgina Rodríguez were mourning the death of their infant son.
Ronaldo, 37, and Rodríguez, 28, announced they were expecting twins in an Instagram post from October 2021. The couple said an infant daughter arrived safely.
“It is with our deepest sadness we have to announce that our baby boy has passed away,” a joint statement from the couple shared to social media on Monday began. “It is the greatest pain that any parents can feel. Only the birth of our baby girl gives us the strength to live this moment with some hope and happiness.”
“We would like to thank the doctors and nurses for all their expert care and support,” the statement continued. “We are all devastated at this loss and we kindly ask for privacy at this very difficult time.”
The pair’s statement concluded, “Our baby boy, you are our angel. We will always love you.”
(NEW YORK) — Here are the scores from Monday’s sports events:
MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL
INTERLEAGUE
Chi Cubs 4, Tampa Bay 2
AMERICAN LEAGUE
Minnesota 8, Boston 3
Houston 8, LA Angels 3
Oakland 5, Baltimore 1
Chi White Sox at Cleveland (Postponed)
NATIONAL LEAGUE
Milwaukee 6, Pittsburgh 1
Colorado 4, Philadelphia 1
San Diego 4, Cincinnati 1
LA Dodgers 7, Atlanta 4
Arizona at Washington (Postponed)
San Francisco at NY Mets (Postponed)
NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION PLAYOFFS
Philadelphia 112, Toronto 97
Dallas 110, Utah 104
Golden State 126, Denver 106
NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE
Calgary 5, Chicago 2
Washington 3, Colorado 2
Carolina 5, Arizona 3
New Jersey 3, Vegas 2
Seattle 4, Ottawa 2
Vancouver 6, Dallas 2
(NEW YORK) — Here are the scores from Sunday’s sports events:
INTERLEAGUE
San Francisco 8, Cleveland 1
AMERICAN LEAGUE
Baltimore 5, NY Yankees 0
Boston 8, Minnesota 1
Toronto 4, Oakland 3
Tampa Bay 9, Chicago White Sox 3
LA Angels 8, Texas 3
Seattle 7, Houston 2
Detroit at Kansas City 2:10 p.m.(Postponed)
NATIONAL LEAGUE
NY Mets 5, Arizona 0
Pittsburgh 5, Washington 3
Miami 11, Philadelphia 3
Milwaukee 6, St. Louis 5
Chicago Cubs 6, Colorado 4
LA Dodgers 9, Cincinnati 1
San Diego 2, Atlanta 1
NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION PLAYOFFS
Miami 115, Atlanta 91
Boston 115, Brooklyn 114
Milwaukee 93, Chicago 86
Phoenix 110, New Orleans 99
NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE
Florida 6, Detroit 1
Buffalo 5, Philadelphia 3
Minnesota 5, San Jose 4 (OT)
St. Louis 8, Nashville 3
Toronto 4, NY Islanders 2
Anaheim 6, Columbus 4
MAJOR LEAGUE SOCCER
New York City FC 6, Real Salt Lake 0
Los Angeles FC 3, Sporting Kansas City 1
(NEW YORK) — Seventy-five years ago, Jackie Robinson debuted as a first baseman with the Brooklyn Dodgers while donning jersey No. 42. Stepping out of the dark dugout into the stadium’s bright lights, the 28-year-old rookie played in front of a crowd toppling more than 26,000 fans at Ebbets Field.
Today, fans and franchises around the league are still remembering his immeasurable contributions to America’s pastime after shattering racial barriers in the sport of baseball.
Commissioner of Baseball Rob Manfred Jr. said Robinson, the first Black baseball player in major league history, “took the field under incredibly challenging circumstances and unimaginable pressure.” Through his courage, character, skill and values, Manfred said in a statement to ABC News he believes “he brought well-needed change to our game and advanced the Civil Rights Movement in our country.”
“Our family is thrilled to see the many wonderful tributes to Jack’s historic moment 75 years ago,” Rachel Robinson, founder of the Jackie Robinson Foundation and 99-year-old widow of the beloved barrier-breaking professional baseball player, told ABC News in a statement.
Her husband died on Oct. 24, 1972, almost half a century ago.
David Robinson, 69, who sits on the Jackie Robinson Foundation’s board of directors, reflected on growing up as the youngest child in the family, in an interview with ESPN’s Jackie to Me, a 10-episode documentary series, which is a part of the season-long Jackie 75 special project to commemorate the historic diamond anniversary.
“Being a father was important to him. And so, every opportunity he got, he would take his children by the hand or the shoulder and try to show them life,” Robinson said in a statement to ABC News, recalling memories from the March on Washington in August 1963, “with his arm around me, leading me in front of that march to say — without words, ‘This son, is part of your inheritance.’”
Manfred said it’s a top priority to honor the National Baseball Hall of Fame inductee and “recognize the impact Rachel has made through the Jackie Robinson Foundation, and continue to keep Jackie’s memory and values alive for today’s generation of players and fans.”
In 1997, the league retired his iconic jersey number. And the MLB acknowledges April 15 of each year as Jackie Robinson Day, dating back to 2004.
The annual event is the only time when Robinson’s number is worn by on-field personnel. It’s a popular way for teams to pay homage to the trailblazing athlete, a tradition that started in 2009.
But, for the first time, major league players, coaches, managers and umpires will wear No. 42 in Dodger blue on Jackie Robinson Day.
(NEW YORK) — Here are the scores from Thursday’s sports events:
AMERICAN LEAGUE
Oakland 6, Tampa Bay 3
Seattle 5, Chicago White Sox 1
NY Yankees 3, Toronto 0
Detroit 4, Kansas City 2
Texas 10, LA Angels 5
NATIONAL LEAGUE
Milwaukee 5, St. Louis 1
Miami 4, Philadelphia 3
Pittsburgh 9, Washington 4
San Diego 12, Atlanta 1
Chicago Cubs 5, Colorado 2
LA Dodgers 9, Cincinnati 3
NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE
St. Louis 6, Buffalo 2
Detroit 3, Carolina 0
Pittsburgh 6, NY Islanders 3
Toronto 7, Washington 3
Tampa Bay 4, Anaheim 3 (OT)
Ottawa 3, Boston 2
Minnesota 3, Dallas 2 (OT)
Edmonton 4, Nashville 0
Colorado 3, New Jersey 1
Chicago 5, San Jose 4 (SO)
Vegas 6, Calgary 1
Vancouver 7, Arizona 1
(SAN FRANCISCO) — San Francisco Giants assistant coach Alyssa Nakken made history Tuesday night, becoming the first woman to coach on the field during a regular season Major League Baseball game as the Giants took on the San Diego Padres.
Padres’ first baseman Eric Hosmer welcomed Nakken to the field with a handshake after she got the call.
Nakken, in her No. 92 orange-and-white jersey, coached first base after Giants’ first base coach Antoan Richardson was ejected from the game.
In a post-game interview, Nakken said, “I was prepared for this moment. Never knew if or when it would happen but was ready to step in when the team needed me to. I think it means a lot.”
The Giants beat the Padres 13-2 in Tuesday’s game at San Francisco’s Oracle Park and are currently ranked third in the National League West.
Nakken, 31, previously coached on the field during an exhibition game back in July 2020 when the Giants played the Oakland A’s.
Nakken also made history in January 2020 when she became the Giants’ first full-time female coach hired to the MLB. She’s a former college softball star who was a four-time Academic All American player for Sacramento State’s Hornets.
(WATERBURY, Conn.) — Connecticut police are searching for the gunmen responsible for the fatal shooting of the mother of an Olympian, who was sewing inside her home when she was struck by a stray bullet.
Officers from the Waterbury Police Department responded to the home of Mabel Martinez Antongiori on Saturday around 1:15 p.m. after receiving reports of shots fired in the area near Orange and Walnut Streets, Lt. Ryan Bessette, public information officer for the Waterbury Police Department, told ABC News.
Antongiori, 56, was found with a gunshot wound to her head and taken to Saint Mary’s Hospital in critical condition, Bessette said. Shortly after, police received a call from Waterbury Hospital detailing a 35-year-old man who had been walking in the area and was struck in the leg, Bessette said. Investigators also discovered that the home at 42 Orange Street was also struck by bullets, but no one there was injured, he added.
Antongiori, the mother of Yarimar Mercado Martinez, a rifle shooter who represented Puerto Rico in the 2016 and 2021 summer games, succumbed to her injuries the next day and died, Bessette said.
She was sewing at the time she was struck, Martinez, 27, wrote on Facebook, adding that her mother “did not deserve” what happened to her.
“This pain I feel exceeds any pain I’ve felt in my life,” Martinez wrote.
Investigators were able to determine that a Black Honda Accord and white Acura sedan were involved in a drug-related altercation, in which occupants in the Honda were shooting at the other car, Bessette said.
The owner of the Honda Accord, Levi Brock, 34, of New Haven, has been named a person of interest, Bessette said, adding that he has been convicted of multiple felonies, including reckless endangerment, cruelty to animals and felony assault and is currently on probation. Investigators are currently working with Brock’s probation officer to locate him so they may question him.
Police have found both cars, which are pending search warrants, and the Honda Accord was located in New Haven Monday with a firearm inside, Bessette said. The owner and other occupants of the Acura sedan are “all known to Waterbury PD,” Bessette said.
Twenty-five shell casings, some from a 9-millimeter firearm and others from a 45-caliber, were recovered from the scene, Bessette said.
(NEW YORK) — Here are the scores from Tuesday’s sports events:
MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL
INTERLEAGUE
Cleveland 10, Cincinnati 5
LA Angels 4, Miami 3
St. Louis 6, Kansas City 5
Milwaukee 5, Baltimore 4
Colorado 4, Texas 1
LA Dodgers 7, Minnesota 2
Houston 2, Arizona 1
AMERICAN LEAGUE
Boston 5, Detroit 3
Chicago White Sox, 3 Seattle 2
NY Yankees 4 Toronto 0
Tampa Bay 9, Oakland 8
NATIONAL LEAGUE
Chicago Cubs 2, Pittsburgh 1
NY Mets 2, Philadelphia 0
Atlanta 16, Washington 4
San Francisco 13, San Diego 2
NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION
Brooklyn 115, Cleveland 108
Minnesota 109, LA Clippers 104
NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE
Buffalo 5, Toronto 2
Carolina 4, NY Rangers 2
Washington 9, Philadelphia 2
Florida 3, Anaheim 2 (OT)
St. Louis 4, Boston 2
Ottawa 4, Detroit 1
NY Islanders 5, Pittsburgh 4 (SO)
Minnesota 5, Edmonton 1
Nashville 1, San Jose 0 (OT)
Los Angeles 5, Chicago 2
Calgary 5, Seattle 3
Dallas 1, Tampa Bay 0
New Jersey 6, Arizona 2
Vancouver 5, Vegas 4 (OT)
(NEW YORK) — As seven-time WNBA All-Star Brittney Griner enters her 54th day in Russian custody, the WNBA Players Association has a new message amid concerns over her safety and mental health.
Nneka Ogwumike, president of the WNBA Players Association, joined ABC News’ Good Morning America Tuesday to shine a new light on Griner’s detainment and explain the overall mood among her fellow WNBA players.
“We move intentionally and given the nature of Brittney’s situation — it was very important for us to be intentional about doing the best thing to ensure that we don’t compromise her coming home,” Ogwumike told Robin Roberts in an exclusive interview. “A lot of that had to do with educating ourselves about the details of what was going on. As much as we could know. But then understanding how important it was for us to be strategic about when and how we speak about her.”
The 31-year-old Phoenix Mercury star and two-time Olympic gold medalist was arrested in February, one week before Russia invaded Ukraine. Russian customs released video that appeared to show Griner going through security at an airport near Moscow and an airport employee removing a package from her bag. Griner had vape cartridges containing hashish oil — an offense punishable in Russia by up to 10 years in prison — according to Russian state media.
“It’s tough — that could have been us,” Ogwumike said, who has also played overseas during the off-season. “We’re really most concerned about her health and safety. Especially her mental health. We’re hearing that … she’s OK. But we want her home.”
In a statement, the U.S. State Department told ABC News: “We are closely engaged on this case and in frequent contact with Ms. Griner’s legal team,” adding that Griner has not received a consular visit since March 23 but she was in “good condition.”
“The consular officer who visited with Brittney Griner was able to verify that she is doing as well as can be expected under these very difficult circumstances,” Ned Price, a spokesperson for the State Department, said.
Ogwumike said she believes there is a gender issue at play in Griner’s case.
“When is it not? It’s disappointing that the question of it being a gender issue is top of mind now when it comes to this type of circumstance and the reality is she’s over there because of a gender issue, pay inequity,” she said. “I played in Russia for four years and played in Poland for one year and China for two years. We go over there to supplement our incomes and quite frankly to maintain our game. Our teams encourage us to keep up with our game by going over there and being more competitive. There’s so much that’s at play that, you know, we live politically intrinsically.”
The top WNBA salary is $228K, whereas star NBA players can make upwards of $1 million a year.
While Ogwumike said “we’re treated well,” she explained that “we don’t want to play 12 months out of the year — we don’t want to feel as though we have to go over there to get what we want to get at home.”
On Monday night, WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert immediately addressed Griner’s situation overseas at the WNBA Draft and called her freedom a top priority.
“Before we get into tonight’s events, I want to take a moment to reiterate the WNBA’s support for Phoenix Mercury star Brittney Griner. Please know that getting her home safely continues to be our top priority,” she said.
