Australia, NZ to host 2023 Women's World Cup
Soccer fans down under have plenty to celebrate as Australia and New Zealand will be hosting the 2023 Women's World Cup. Gloria Tso reports.
A precise Justin Rose tamed a windy Augusta National to hold a four-shot lead after the first round of the Masters on Thursday while defending champion Dustin Johnson was among a number of top players who struggled in challenging conditions. Rose, twice a Masters runner-up, had done little to excite the spectators on hand as he was two over after seven holes, but went on a scorching run to card a seven-under-par 65 that marked his career low at Augusta National. That left the 40-year-old Englishman four shots clear of Japan's Hideki Matsuyama and American Brian Harman.
Winners of six consecutive games, the visiting Toronto Maple Leafs will look to extend their hot streak against the slumping Montreal Canadiens on Monday. The Leafs are 9-0-1 over their last 10 games and are one victory away from matching the franchise's longest winning streak since an eight-game run during the 2003-04 season. The last-place Ottawa Senators threatened to spoil Toronto's fun last Saturday, but the Leafs held on for a 6-5 victory thanks to another huge performance from Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner.
Adia Barnes has a new gig and it isn't the open office next door at the Arizona facilities.
The UFC Vegas 23 weigh-in results are in with Saturday's main event fighters easily hitting the mark. The UFC Vegas 23 weigh-ins took place on Friday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. UFC Vegas 23 weigh-in results The UFC Vegas on 23 (aka UFC on ABC 2) main event pits fast-rising middleweight contender Marvin Vettori against late-replacement Kevin Holland. No. 6 ranked Vettori was originally slated to meet no. 5 ranked Darren Till, but Till had to withdraw because of a broken collarbone. Anxious to get the fight in, Vettori was first to the scale, weighing 186 pounds, the upper limit for a middleweight non-title bout. Holland followed a short time later, stepping on the scale at just 183.5 pounds. Vettori is on a four-fight winning streak. His last loss was to current champion Israel Adesanya. Vettori lost that bout via a split decision well before Adesanya claimed the UFC middleweight title. Holland had been on a ferocious five-fight winning streak prior to his last bout, which took place just three weeks ago. He lost a unanimous decision to Derek Brunson in a bout where he was heavily criticized for joking around and casually talking to cageside observers throughout the fight. Two UFC Vegas 23 fighters misses weight Norma Dumont was the lone fighter to miss weight for UFC Vegas 23. She came to the scale with about half an hour left in the two-hour weigh-in window, weighing 139.5 pounds for her bantamweight bout opposite UFC newcomer Erin Blanchfield. While Blanchfield easily made weight at 135 pounds, Dumont was 3.5 pounds over the limit for a bantamweight non-title bout. Ignacio Bahamondes was the final fighter to the scale, having run out of time to make weight. He stepped on the scale at 156.75 pounds on his second attempt, which put him 0.75 pounds over the limit for his non-title fight with John Makdessi, who made weight earlier. If Dumont and Bahamondes are medically cleared to fight and an agreement can be reached with their opponents, their bouts could potentially proceed with the likelihood that each of them would be fined 20-30 percent of their fight purses for missing weight. The fine would go to their respective opponents. UPDATE: Norma Dumont pulled from UFC Vegas 23 bout for missing weight Shortly after the weigh-in, news broke that Dumont would not be allowed to fight on Saturday. MMAWeekly.com confirmed with Blanchfield's management, KO Reps, that the Nevada State Athletic Commission would not allow Dumont to fight following her second consecutive miss of 3.5 pounds on the scale. Blanchfield's camp was prepared to accept the fight with a 30-percent penalty, according to KO Reps, but the commission would not allow it. Darren Till shreds Marvin Vettori for doubting injury UFC Vegas 23 weigh-in results UFC Vegas 23 Main Card (3 p.m. ET on ABC and ESPN+) Marvin Vettori (186) vs. Kevin Holland (183.5)Arnold Allen (145.5) vs. Sodiq Yusuff (146)Sam Alvey (186) vs. Julian Marquez (186)Nina Nunes (116)* vs. Mackenzie Dern (115) – Formerly Nina AnsaroffMike Perry (170) vs. Daniel Rodriguez (170.5) UFC Vegas 23 Prelims (12 p.m. ET on ESPN and ESPN+) Jim Miller (155.5) vs. Joe Solecki (155.5)Mateusz Gamrot (156) vs. Scott Holtzman (155.5)Erin Blanchfield (135) vs. Norma Dumont (139.5)**Ignacio Bahamondes (156.75) vs. John Makdessi (153.5)**Jarjis Danho (255.5) vs. Yorgan De Castro (261.5)Hunter Azure (135.5) vs. Jack Shore (136)Jordan Griffin (145.5) vs. Luis Saldana (145.5)Da Un Jung (205.5) vs. William Knight (205.5) UFC Vegas 23 Early Prelim (11:30 a.m. ET on ESPN+) Impa Kasanganay (170.5) vs. Sasha Palatnikov (170.5) **Norma Dumont and Ignacio Bahamondes missed weight UFC Vegas 23 weigh-in video: Marvin Vettori vs. Kevin Holland (Subscribe to MMAWeekly.com on YouTube)
Julian Marquez, Sam Alvey, Mackenzie Dern, and Mateusz Gamrot topped the UFC Vegas 23 bonuses, each of them taking home an additional $50,000 bonus check for their efforts on Saturday in Las Vegas. Marquez and Alvey took home the Fight of the Night bonuses, while Dern and Gamrot were awarded the Performance of the Night honors. UFC Vegas 23 Fight of the Night: Julian Marquez def. Sam Alvey Julian Marquez continued to prove that he is more than a Miley Cyrus callout with his victory over Sam Alvey, which earned the Fight of the Night award. Marquez showed great hand speed early and cracked Alvey, wobbling him. But Alvey returned fire, hurting Marquez, as well. Marquez dropped Alvey in the second round, kept after him, and eventually finished the bout with a rear-naked choke that put him to sleep. The win was his second in the early goings of 2021. https://twitter.com/espnmma/status/1380981261867626503?s=20 UFC Vegas 23 Performance of the Night: Mackenzie Dern Mackenzie Dern put on perhaps the best performance of her UFC tenure on Saturday. She took the fight to Nina Nunes (formerly Nina Ansaroff) from the opening bell. Though Dern was outstriking Nunes, she took the fight to the ground, where she methodically worked to secure Nunes's arm before locking it out in an armbar for the finish with just seconds to go in the first round. Dern believes she is now on championship form. Her win over Nunes certainly seemed to indicate as much, as she was rewarded with a UFC Vegas 23 Performance of the Night bonus. https://twitter.com/espnmma/status/1380974110868639757?s=20 UFC Vegas 23 Performance of the Night: Mateusz Gamrot Mateusz Gamrot redeemed himself for a split-decision loss in his first UFC bout by landing a blistering knockout of Scott Holtzman at UFC Vegas 23. Gamrot cracked Holtzman with a one-two combination, sending him to the canvas. Gamrot followed with a few short punches to his downed opponent to finish the fight and earn his Performance of the Night bonus. https://twitter.com/espnmma/status/1380950298999599105?s=20 UFC Vegas 23 bonuses Fight of the Night: Sam Alvey vs. Julian MarquezPerformances of the Night: Mackenzie DernPerformances of the Night: Mateusz Gamrot Kamaru Usman: ‘I didn’t break Jorge Masvidal the way I wanted to’
Injury expert Jeff Stotts of RotoWire.com breaks what fantasy managers can expect from some of the NBA's biggest injured stars.
Julian Edelman doesn't warrant a Hall of Fame conversation, much less enshrinement.
After a weekend at the Masters when PGA Tour professional Billy Horschel got more attention for his bare feet than his play at Augusta National, he apologized for his fiery behavior. Horschel, who stumbled to a 50th-place finish at Augusta, Ga., following a 4-over-par 76 on Sunday, referenced his behavior without mentioning a specific incident. "I apologize to Augusta National, the Members of the Club and to the patrons for any conduct that may have crossed the line," Horschel said in the second of consecutive apology posts at Twitter.
Mike Lombardi created headlines last week when he suggested the Washington Football Team "loved" North Dakota State quarterback Trey Lance.
Umpire Joe West was awarded $500,000 plus interest Monday by the New York Supreme Court in his defamation lawsuit against former player Paul Lo Duca.
After 12 years with the Patriots, wide receiver Julian Edelman has been released. The Patriots officially terminated Edelman’s contract today, with a “failed physical” designation on the NFL’s transaction wire. ESPN reported that Edelman’s next step may be retirement. The failed physical is not a big surprise, given last week’s news that Edelman wasn’t expecting [more]
Buffalo Bills CB Tre'Davious White on QBs Cam Newton, Sam Darnold, Tua Tagovailoa, Drew Lock.
Bernard landed with the Bucs, but the Seahawks pulled out all the stops to get him.
With Lonzo Ball out, Zion Williamson has initiated the Pelicans' offense with great success, scoring 37 and 38 points in his past two games.
McGregor called off his fight with Poirier after being called out for not making good on his donation to Poirier's foundation.
As explained on Friday night, I’ve seen enough from Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers as the guest host of Jeopardy! to believe that they should just give him the full-time job. This week, he gets a chance to strengthen his case to succeed the late Alex Trebek. Jeopardy! executive producer Mike (not Michael) Richards spoke with [more]
NFL Twitter exploded with reactions and tributes to Julian Edelman after the Patriots wide receiver announced his retirement from football on Monday.
Despite seismic changes in sports media, #Longreads persist. The question is whether anyone ever reads every word of any of them. I’ll wager that far fewer than 4,312 people read all 4,312 words of a three-byline opus from TheAthletic.com regarding the disintegration of the Eagles, only three years after the team won Super Bowl LII. [more]
Green jacket winners: They sit around in airports just like us!
Masters champion Hideki Matsuyama casually hung out at Atlanta's airport with the green jacket after his win at Augusta National.