Browsing: Sports

The four Grand Slam tournaments reacted to Osaka’s withdrawal by pledging to do more to address players’ mental health issues. The episode also could serve as a tipping point for the professional tennis tours — and leagues in other sports — to safeguard athletes’ mental, and not just physical, health, said Windy Dees, professor of sport administration at the University of Miami.

Businesses such as restaurants and bars will face no capacity limits or other restrictions, though masks will still be required on public transit, airports, schools and hospitals — or during most public settings for those are unvaccinated. Large gatherings of all sizes can return, meaning there will be no COVID-19-related caps on parties, festivals, weddings, places of worship, conferences and sports events.

“God rest his soul. He was the best,” Marino told the network. “He took care of me all the time. He was an incredible man and head coach. He taught me how to be in the community, be a leader, work hard. But from Day 1 — which I thought was genius — he said, ‘I want you to be the starting QB, so you have to learn this quickly, and now you’re going to call all your plays in practice and exhibition games.’ It takes more work instead of a coach telling you what to run — you have to think about it beforehand, you have to prepare for it beforehand.

Rafael Ortega, 30, has appeared in 151 big-league games over parts of five seasons. The 29-year-old Patrick Wisdom, a former St. Louis Cardinal first-round pick, has gotten a taste of the majors the previous three years. The Cubs are outfielder Nick Martini’s fifth organization, with the 30-year-old logging 303 MLB plate appearances since 2018. Eric Sogard, 35, has seen an increased role, too, starting seven of the last eight games at second base.

“We’re excited to kick off the launch of training with our participants next week,” said executive race director Carey Pinkowski in a statement. “Over the next 18 weeks our team will be hard at work, much like our participants, preparing for the return of the event. After a year without a major marathon, it feels great to know the start line is once again in our sights.”

“Ted Lasso,” which returns for a second season on Apple TV+ next month, finds rich comedic tension in the relationship between a team and the media that covers it. Jason Sudeikis stars as an eternally upbeat American managing an English football (soccer) team — a sport he’s never coached! at any level! — and the show mines all kinds of humor from these press events. James Lance plays reporter Trent Crimm, and if his urbane swoop of hair didn’t immediately peg him at Ted’s kind-sorta nemesis, his introduction does, as he stands up and lists the many reasons Ted is unqualified for the job. “Is there a question in there?” Ted gently asks. Yeah, comes the response: “Is this a (blanking) joke?” In the pub, fans are watching this unfold on TV, and one bloke turns to his friends: “I love journalists.” Back in the press room, it’s pandemonium: “Can you even name any footballers?!” a reporter asks. “Who won the league last year?” says another. Ted’s ears are ringing and finally the team’s owner (played by the great Hannah Waddingham) steps in: “You must forgive my fellow countrymen,” she says. “Somewhere over the last few years we seem to have abandoned all sense of manners and hospitality.” Turning to the assembled media: “My, my, aren’t you a salty bunch.”

“My mindset in those at-bats is easy: Just try to produce,” Abreu said through an interpreter during a conference call Wednesday, before the scheduled game against the Indians was postponed because of rain. “Since I was in Cuba, I learned if you’re third, fourth or fifth in the batting order, you have to produce and you have to produce in those moments. I like those moments, I like to be in those moments and that day was a good day for me.”