by tyler | Apr 7, 2023 | CNN, sport
Louisiana State University star Angel Reese said she will visit the White House with her LSU team, just days after saying that she wouldn’t.
“Just going back on it, you don’t get that experience (to visit the White House) ever,” Reese said in an interview with ESPN on Friday.
“I know my team probably wants to go for sure, and my coaches are supportive of that, so I’m going to do what’s best for the team. And if they would like to go, we decide we’re going to go, then we’re going to go.”
Reese said on Wednesday that neither she, nor her team, would be visiting the White House after the Tigers defeated the University of Iowa Hawkeyes 102-85 to win their first NCAA women’s basketball national championship on Sunday.
Traditionally, the national champions would be invited to the White House.
But after comments from first lady Jill Biden suggesting that Iowa be invited as well before appearing to walk that back, Reese told “I AM ATHLETE” podcast hosts Brandon Marshall and Ashley Nicole Moss: “I don’t accept the apology because you said what you said … You can’t go back on certain things that you say … They can have that spotlight. We’ll go to the Obamas.’ We’ll go see Michelle. We’ll see Barack.”
“In the beginning, we were hurt,” Reese said. “It was emotional for us because we know how hard we worked all year for everything. Just being able to see that, that hurt us in the moment.”
Following Sunday’s national championship victory, LSU head coach head coach Kim Mulkey said she would go to the White House if the team was invited.
On Wednesday, the school’s athletics department said they would “certainly accept an invitation.”
Speaking on Monday, Biden congratulated both teams on their performance in Sunday’s national championship game, as well as specifically highlighting Iowa’s sportsmanship.
“Last night, I attended the NCAA women’s basketball championship,” said Biden, while speaking at an event at the Colorado State Capitol in Denver.
“So I know we’ll have the champions come to the White House, we always do. So, we hope LSU will come but, you know, I’m going to tell Joe [Biden] I think Iowa should come, too, because they played such a good game.”
Reese, a 20-year-old forward, responded to Biden’s comments, calling them “A JOKE” on Monday, and on an Instagram post from “The Shade Room,” the recently crowned NCAA champion commented: “WE NOT COMING. period.”
By Tuesday, Biden appeared to walk back the comments, with first lady press secretary Vanessa Valdivia saying in a tweet that they “were intended to applaud the historic game and all women athletes. She looks forward to celebrating the LSU Tigers on their championship win at the White House.”
President Biden had previously said that LSU would be invited to the White House, along with NCAA men’s champions, the University of Connecticut.
Reese’s teammate Alex Morris took to Twitter to ask Michelle Obama whether her team could celebrate their win at their house, after Barack tweeted his congratulations to the team.
A spokesperson for the Obamas declined to comment.
Meanwhile, Iowa’s Caitlin Clark said on Tuesday that Iowa shouldn’t be invited to White House.
by tyler | Apr 7, 2023 | CNN, sport
As they lifted an international trophy for a second time in nine months, England’s Lionesses advanced their impressive unbeaten run in timely fashion with the Women’s World Cup looming.
With Thursday’s Finalissima, which sees the European and South American champions go head-to-head, ending 1-1 after 90 minutes, England overcame Brazil 4-2 on penalties, further cementing its status as the form team in the women’s game.
And having never previously progressed beyond the semifinals of a World Cup, that record could change at this year’s tournament in Australia and New Zealand.
“We give everything we can to England in pursuit of this greater goal but we are going to enjoy it along the way … It just gives you the fire in the belly for the summer,” captain Leah Williamson said after the match.
The Lionesses are now unbeaten in 30 games, dating back to April 2021. In that time, they have defeated Germany in the European Championships final at Wembley Stadium and have now claimed a second trophy at the same venue.
In the first-ever Women’s Finalissima, Ella Toone finished off a brilliant team move to give England a 1-0 lead after 23 minutes.
Brazil, however, stepped up the intensity in the second half and pushed for an equalizer. Geyse saw her shot saved onto the top of the crossbar by Mary Earps but the goalkeeper then failed to gather a cross in added time, allowing Andressa Alves to score from close range.
That sent the contest straight to a penalty shootout, during which Brazil got a slight advantage when Toone’s penalty was saved by Letícia.
The momentum quickly shifted as Earps produced an excellent save against Tamires and Rafaelle hit the bar, before Chloe Kelly – the scorer of the winning goal in last year’s Euro 2022 final – fired home the winning spot kick, sparking celebrations among the home fans in London.
“I think we are made of great people – this team, the staff and the players. It’s about being ready for [the World Cup in] July,” said Kelly.
“It was another different challenge again tonight and we’re building momentum and will keep moving forward now.”
The US has dominated women’s soccer for most of the past decade, defending its Women’s World Cup title in France in 2019.
After a run of three consecutive defeats against England, Spain, and Germany last year, the US has enjoyed more success this year and has won its past five games, conceding only once.
Vlatko Andonovski’s team will be considered by many as the favorite to win the World Cup, which begins on July 20, but will face strong opposition from European opponents – notably England.
The Lionesses next face Australia on Tuesday as they continue their World Cup preparation – an opportunity to test themselves against a team that has just returned to the top 10 in the world rankings.
England’s players have now had to hold their nerves twice to win major trophies and are accustomed to playing in front of huge crowds at Wembley.
Thursday’s sold-out game of 83,132 fans no exception, and the Finalissima victory against Brazil provided more credence and experience for a team now accustomed to winning.
“I feel privileged,” said England coach Sarina Wiegman. “It’s such an incredible group, the team is so committed and we want to learn every day. It’s so nice to be a part of.”
by tyler | Apr 7, 2023 | CNN, sport
Whether it’s a change in the baseballs themselves, better analytics or more robust player training, many have speculated about what could be behind the upward trend in Major League Baseball home runs in recent years.
But new research released Friday raised another potential factor: climate change.
The study, published in the Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society, found that more than 500 home runs since 2010 can be linked to unusually warm temperatures. If temperatures continue to warm rapidly because of planet-cooking pollution, climate change could end up accounting for 10% of all home runs by the end of the century.
That’s hundreds of more home runs per season compared to this century’s first two decades.
Christopher Callahan, lead author of the study and a doctoral student in climate modeling and impacts at Dartmouth College, spent his early years in downtown Chicago within walking distance of Wrigley Field, home of the Chicago Cubs.
And as a “baseball nerd,” he wanted to see how climate change could be altering his favorite sport.
“I remember being surprised at how strong the finding was,” Callahan told CNN. “We’re not saying that every home run now is because of climate change, but you take the data and slice it any way you want, you find the same thing.”
“And as a fan, I indeed am a little bit frustrated that home runs may continue to dominate, as it does now,” he added.
The physics at play here are relatively simple. Warmer temperatures make air less dense. Molecules in the air are energized when they warm up – they bounce around more and spread out, meaning there’s more empty space between them.
This is why a batted ball will carry farther in warmer, less-dense air, making it all the more likely that a solid hit will result in a home run.
“Passenger jets fly at 30,000 feet, because air density is really low up there, and it just means that planes are more efficient, given the same fuel,” Justin Mankin, an assistant professor of geography at Dartmouth and co-author of the study, told CNN. “We don’t fly passenger jets low in the atmosphere because there’s just so much more stuff in the way.”
Callahan said he was always hearing speculation on the connection between warmer temperatures and home runs from physicists and sports writers, but no one had actually sat down and combed through all the data to prove it.
So he analyzed more than 100,000 MLB games and 220,000 individual hits and overlaid it with unseasonably warm temperatures and found a clear connection: games that were held in open stadiums during the day, when the sun is out, saw a spike in home runs, while games held at night or in domed stadiums would see a smaller number of home runs.
At the Chicago Cubs’ open-air Wrigley Field, for instance, where only a limited number of games are held at night, researchers would expect to see the largest increase in future home runs, with more than 15 additional home runs per season if global average temperature climbs to 4 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels. (Global temperature is already around 1.2 degrees warmer than it was in the late 1800s.)
The domed Tropicana Field stadium of the Tampa Bay Rays, however, would not see a meaningful increase, no matter how warm it gets, according to the study.
Ethan Coffel, assistant professor of geography at Syracuse University, who is not involved with the study, said the research succeeded in ruling out other potential factors and homing in on the influence of temperature.
“The authors show that the effect of warming on home runs is less for indoor stadiums and night games, making a somewhat controlled experiment,” Coffel told CNN. “There may have been other changes to gameplay or equipment which could have also affected trends in home runs, but one might not expect those things to differ between indoor and outdoor stadiums or night versus day games.”
Alan Nathan, a professor emeritus of physics at the University of Illinois who led a study to examine a spike in home runs between 2015 and 2017, praised Friday’s research for taking several factors into account, and noted that his less-comprehensive analysis suggested about the same result: that a 1-degree Celsius increase in air temperature would lead to a roughly 2% increase in home runs.
“While the study is very interesting and almost surely correct, a two-ish percent increase in home runs due to a 1-degree Celsius rise in temperature is tiny compared to the actual year-to-year changes, especially during the 2015-2022 period,” Nathan noted.
Still, Mankin and Callahan said the league could use this study as evidence to advocate for climate solutions.
“Global warming is already affecting gameplay for professional baseball. And that’s just going to continue in the future and that effect will get stronger,” Mankin said. “A billion-dollar organization can also start to put its mic towards advocating for mitigation measures. And I think that’s really important – a powerful sports organization coming out and saying, ‘Hey, this is affecting one of the most important cultural touchstones in America.’”
MLB declined to comment on the study, but pointed to their environmental sustainability efforts, including its “Green Glove Award,” which goes to the team with the highest recycling rate.
Callahan said there are two things MLB could change in the near-term to limit the effect: switching to more domed stadiums to insulate the game from rising temperatures, or shifting schedules to more night games – though the latter could be difficult to implement and run up against city ordinances.
At Wrigley Field, for instance, city rules limit the Cubs to a certain number of night games each year. The city council also banned the stadium from hosting games on Friday and Saturday nights so the bright lights don’t interfere with other business and events.
“The simplest thing to do is to take games that are going to be during the hottest parts of the day and move them to milder parts of the day,” Callahan said. “If you are interested in reducing the number of climate-driven home runs, that would pay dividends for that.
“And I think there are going to be increasing calls for adaptations to ensure the safety of people in ballparks given rising temperatures.”
Indeed, extreme heat is expected to become more deadly as the planet warms – a more significant threat to humanity than its impact on the game of baseball.
If the worst-case climate change scenario becomes a reality, “I think the human species has far more problems to worry about than home runs,” Nathan said. “Just my opinion, but I’m not a climate scientist.”
by tyler | Apr 6, 2023 | CNN, sport
The DP World Tour, previously known as the European Tour, has won in arbitration against members of the LIV Golf series, after players had appealed following the European Tour’s decision to discipline them for wanting to play in the inaugural event of the breakaway golf league.
Sport Resolutions, a UK-based arbitration and mediation group, upheld the DP World Tour’s conflicting tournament release regulation and its ability to sanction members who breached it.
The decision was made Monday, and the result was announced Thursday. The case was heard by a three-person panel. Appeals brought by the players have been dismissed, and the £100,000 fines originally imposed must now be paid within 30 days.
Ian Poulter and two other players had appealed when they were denied a release to play in the first LIV Golf event in London in July last year. More players subsequently had joined the appeal.
Sport Resolutions said the panel “ultimately found that the Appellants committed serious breaches of the Code of Behaviour of the DPWT Regulations by playing in the LIV Golf Invitational (London) and LIV Portland events respectively, despite their release requests having been refused.”
DP World Tour chief executive Keith Pelley said in a statement released Thursday: “We welcome today’s decision by Sport Resolutions which upholds our regulations and our ability to administer them.
“We are delighted that the panel recognised we have a responsibility to our full membership to do this and also determined that the process we followed was fair and proportionate.
“In deciding the level of these sanctions last June, we were simply administering the regulations which were created by our members and which each of them signed up to.
“It is, of course, regrettable that resources, both financial and staffing, which could have been otherwise deployed across our organisation, have been impacted by this lengthy arbitration process.
“However, with the clarity provided by today’s decision, we look forward to continuing to focus on our 2023 global schedule, whilst also continuing to plan for 2024 with the valued support of our many partners and stakeholders.
“We will now carefully consider the details of today’s decision with our Board, our Tournament Committee and our legal advisors and take the appropriate action in due course.”
Following the decision, LIV Golf’s counsel, Matthew Schwartz of Gibson Dunn, issued a statement.
“We disagree with the procedural opinion from the DP World Tour’s arbitral body, which has failed to address in reasonable substance why competitive forces must be upheld. By punishing players for playing golf, the DPWT is seeking to unreasonably control players and it is the sport and fans that suffer. There are no winners.
“This is a sacred week in the global sports calendar and the on-course competition is what matters. LIV remains focused on its decades-long vision to enhance the game and is looking forward to its upcoming tournament in Australia in front of 70,000 fans.”
Sport Resolutions said that Poulter, Adrian Otaegui and Justin Harding made the initial appeal in July, and the three received a stay pending the outcome.
Appeals were later issued by Lee Westwood, Sam Horsfield, Richard Bland, Shaun Norris, Laurie Canter, Wade Ormsby, Patrick Reed, Bernd Weisburger, Graeme McDowell, Sergio Garcia, Charl Schwartzel, Branden Grace and Martin Kaymer.
In January, Garcia, Schwartzel, Grace and Otaegui withdrew their appeals. The hearing was held in February in London.
by tyler | Apr 5, 2023 | CNN, sport
LSU star Angel Reese says that neither she, nor her team, would be visiting the White House after the Tigers defeated the Iowa Hawkeyes 102-85 to win their first basketball national championship.
Traditionally, the national champions would be invited to the White House. But after comments from first lady Jill Biden suggesting that Iowa be invited as well before appearing to walk that back, Reese told “I AM ATHLETE” podcast hosts Brandon Marshall and Ashley Nicole Moss: “I don’t accept the apology because you said what you said … You can’t go back on certain things that you say … They can have that spotlight. We’ll go to the Obamas.’ We’ll go see Michelle. We’ll see Barack.”
Reese, who was named the women’s NCAA tournament’s Most Outstanding Player as a result of her standout performances, also said separately: “I just know if the roles were reversed, they wouldn’t be the same. If we were to lose, we would not be getting invited to the White House.”
Speaking on Monday, Biden congratulated both teams on their performance in Sunday’s national championship game, as well as specifically highlighting Iowa’s sportsmanship.
“Last night, I attended the NCAA women’s basketball championship,” said Biden, while speaking at an event at the Colorado State Capitol in Denver.
“So I know we’ll have the champions come to the White House, we always do. So, we hope LSU will come but, you know, I’m going to tell Joe [Biden] I think Iowa should come, too, because they played such a good game.”
Reese responded to Biden’s comments calling them “A JOKE” on Monday, and in a comment on an Instagram post from “The Shade Room” which included a comment from Reese, the recently crowned NCAA champion said: “WE NOT COMING. period.”
By Tuesday, Biden appeared to walk back the comments, with first lady press secretary Vanessa Valdivia saying in a tweet that they “were intended to applaud the historic game and all women athletes. She looks forward to celebrating the LSU Tigers on their championship win at the White House.”
President Biden had previously said that LSU would be invited to the White House, along with NCAA men’s champions, the University of Connecticut.
Reese’s teammate Alex Morris took to Twitter to ask Michelle Obama if her team could celebrate their win at their house, after Barack tweeted his congratulations to the team.
After LSU’s victory on Sunday, head coach Kim Mulkey said she would go to the White House if the team was invited.
A spokesperson for the Obamas declined to comment. CNN has reached out to LSU for comment.
Meanwhile, Iowa’s Caitlin Clark said Tuesday that Iowa shouldn’t be invited to White House.
“I don’t think-runner ups usually go to the White House. I think LSU should enjoy that moment for them and congratulations, obviously, they deserve to go there. Maybe I could go to the White House on different terms though,” Clark said. “That’s for LSU. That’s a pretty cool moment and they should enjoy every single second of being a champion.”
by tyler | Apr 5, 2023 | CNN, sport
Iowa’s Caitlin Clark has said LSU’s Angel Reese shouldn’t be “criticized” for the gesture she directed at her.
Near the end of LSU’s victory over Iowa in the NCAA women’s basketball national championship game on Sunday, Reese could be seen approaching Clark before moving her open hand in front of her face – popularized by WWE star John Cena to mean “you can’t see me” – before pointing to her ring finger in a gesture some interpreted as a reference to the place her newly acquired championship ring might sit.
Clark made a similar gesture to another player earlier in the tournament.
The gesture sparked much debate, especially on social media. Some criticized Reese, while others defended her actions, highlighting how there was no public outrage in response to Clark’s gesture earlier in the tournament.
In the press conference after claiming LSU’s first NCAA women’s basketball national championship, Reese referenced the difference in reaction she received as a result of her gesture compared to the one Clark received.
Clark, who had 30 points in the national championship game, said that trash talking is a part of basketball.
“I don’t think Angel should be criticized at all,” Clark said in an ESPN interview on Tuesday. “I’m just one that competes, and she competed. I think everybody knew there was going to be a little trash talk in the entire tournament. It’s not just me and Angel.
“We’re all competitive. We all show our emotions in a different way. You know, Angel is a tremendous, tremendous player. I have nothing but respect for her. I love her game – the way she rebounds the ball, scores the ball, is absolutely incredible. I’m a big fan of her and even the entire LSU team. They played an amazing game.”
She added: “Men have always had trash talk … You should be able to play with that emotion … That’s how every girl should continue to play.”
Clark also echoed what she said in the immediate aftermath of Sunday’s game, saying that she didn’t see the gesture Reese made at the time.
“I haven’t been on social media a ton since we lost,” Clark said. “But I think the biggest thing is, it was a competitive, super, super fun game. That’s what’s going to bring more people to our game. I think the viewership speaks for itself.
“I’m just lucky enough that I get to play this game and have emotion and wear it on my sleeve, and so does everybody else. So that should never be torn down. That should never be criticized because I believe that’s what makes this game so fun. That’s what draws people to this game. That’s how I’m going to continue to play. That’s how every girl should continue to play.”
Clark’s comments come a day after first lady Jill Biden appeared to walk back suggestions that the White House might invite both LSU and Iowa’s women’s basketball teams.
Speaking on Monday, Biden congratulated both teams on their performance in Sunday’s national championship game, as well as specifically highlighting Iowa’s sportsmanship.
It is traditional for the national champions to be invited to the White House, but not for the runners-up. Reese tweeted a link to the story which included Biden’s comments, calling it “A JOKE” along with three rolling-on-floor-laughing emojis.
In a comment on an Instagram post from ‘The Shade Room’ which included Reese’s tweet, the recently crowned NCAA champion said: “WE NOT COMING. period.”
Press secretary to the first lady Vanessa Valdivia sought to clarify Biden’s comments on Tuesday, saying in a tweet that they “were intended to applaud the historic game and all women athletes. She looks forward to celebrating the LSU Tigers on their championship win at the White House.”
Hawkeyes junior guard Clark weighed in on the matter, saying that she believed LSU should celebrate their moment in the sun alone.
“I don’t think runner-ups usually go to the White House. I think LSU should enjoy that moment for them and congratulations, obviously, they deserve to go there. Maybe, I could go to the White House on different terms though,” Clark said.
“That’s for LSU. That’s a pretty cool moment and they should enjoy every single second of being a champion.”
Iowa coach Lisa Bluder agreed with Clark’s thoughts. “I gratefully acknowledge the First Lady’s sentiments, but a day at the White House should belong solely to the champion, LSU and Coach Mulkey,” Bluder tweeted.
“We would welcome the First Lady and President to come to Iowa’s ‘House’ – Carver Hawkeye Arena – any time!”
On Tuesday, Clark earned yet another award for her record-breaking season – the 2023 John Wooden Award for most outstanding player in women’s college basketball.
Clark and Reese both had outstanding individual seasons and, through their own unique skillsets and personalities, helped popularize women’s college basketball to a whole different level.
After Sunday’s national championship, Reese acknowledged that she’s grown the game; a sentiment Clark echoed.
“It’s honestly probably pretty hard for me to wrap my head around [the last season],” Clark said. “It will probably take me a few weeks to reflect on the whole year. Just the last month in general has been kind of a wild whirlwind, and I’m lucky to be a part of it.
“I just want to inspire young boys and young girls to be able to dream and do the same things that I have done. I was just that young girl. I looked up to WNBA players, NBA players, college athletes, even other pro sport athletes. All you have to do is dream, work really hard and be surrounded by really, really good people that believe in you, too.”
