Author

Admin

Browsing

Today’s Sports Highlight in History:

In 2000, Tiger Woods wins the PGA Championship in a playoff over Bob May, becoming the first player since Ben Hogan in 1953 to win three majors in one year. He’s the first player to repeat as PGA champion since Denny Shute in 1937.

JUST IN: Major League Baseball player tells hilarious story of how his manager let him play 27 holes with Tiger Woods

On this date:

1921 — Molla Bjurstedt Mallory beats Mary Browne, 4-6, 6-4, 6-2 to win the U.S. women’s national tennis title at the Germantown Cricket Club in Philadelphia.

1931 — Helen Wills Moody beats Eileen Bennett Whitingstall 6-4, 6-1 to capture the women’s title in the U.S. Lawn Tennis Association championship.

1944 — Robert Hamilton upsets Byron Nelson in the final round 1 up to win the PGA Championship.

1960 — Holland’s Hairos II, driven by Willem Geersen, wins the second International Trot at Roosevelt Raceway before a record crowd of 54,861.

1990 — George Steinbrenner steps down as NY Yankee owner.

Tiger Woods

1995 — Monica Seles completes a remarkable first week back in tournament tennis, routing Amanda Coetzer 6-0, 6-1 to capture the Canadian Open. Her 74 games sets a tournament record for the fewest played by a champion.

SEE MORE: Today in Sports History: Tiger Woods becomes the youngest player to compile 50 PGA Tour wins

1999 — 7th Athletics World Championships open at Seville, Spain.

2003 — The U.S. wins the women’s overall team gold medal at the gymnastics world championships. It is the first gold for the Americans — men or women — at the biggest international event outside the Olympics.

2004 — Michael Phelps matches Mark Spitz’s record of four individual gold medals in Olympic swimming by winning the 100-meter butterfly. He edges teammate Ian Crocker to win his fifth gold medal. Shortly after winning his seventh medal of these Olympics, Phelps gives up his spot in the medley relay to Crocker.

2006 — Tiger Woods wins the PGA Championship for a five-shot victory over Shaun Micheel and his 12th career major. He becomes the first player to win the PGA twice on the same course, having done so at Medinah in 1999.

2008 — Usain Bolt of Jamaica breaks the 200-meter world record, winning in 19.30 seconds at the Beijing Games. He is the first man since Carl Lewis in 1984 to sweep the 100 and 200 at an Olympics.

2012 — Augusta National invites former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and South Carolina financier Darla Moore to become the first female members since the club was founded in 1932.

2016 — Allyson Felix and LaShawn Merritt anchor the 4×400 relay teams, and the U.S. exits the final night of action at Olympic Stadium with 31 medals — its most in a non-boycotted Olympics since 1956. The U.S. women’s basketball team beats Spain 101-72 for a sixth straight title.

2018 — Alabama becomes the second team to be ranked No. 1 in the preseason Associated Press Top 25 poll for three straight seasons. The preseason AP poll started in 1950 and since then only Oklahoma from 1985-87 had started No. 1 in three straight years.

2023 — FIFA Women’s World Cup Final, Stadium Australia, Sydney: Spanish captain Olga Carmona scores the only goal of the game as La Furia Roja score a 1-0 win over England.

RELATED: Lee Westwood hit back at Rory McIlroy and Tiger Woods and savaged PGA Tour star after LIV move…

There’s no doubt that Claressa Shields is one of the greats in the sport. Her achievements outweigh most names in the community, and in fact, she recently won a title in a fifth weight class, becoming the heavyweight champion. But Andre Berto and Andre Ward feel she still doesn’t receive the kind of respect, notoriety, and money she deserves.

JUST IN: Claressa Shields KOs Vanessa Lepage-Joanisse in 2nd round, winning 4th and 5th titles…

You see, the thing is, Shields has always been very outspoken about the things she has done in the sport. Be it her two Olympic medals, or her undisputed status in two weight classes, she never misses an opportunity to boast about herself. This doesn’t sit well with everyone and don’t forget everyone has haters as well, meaning she receives a lot of hate online. And in the face of such an instance, while appearing in the All The Smoke Fight podcast of late, the Andre duo defended Shields against her haters.

CLARESSA SHIELDS

And Claressa Shields responds in agreement

Berto emphasized his support for Shields while recognizing her achievements in the sport, stating, “I believe that she continues to feel like she has to do more and more to continue to try to gain any type of real respect.” He noted that Shields has branched out into MMA, rapping, and YouTube, not just out of passion but to create more buzz around her, “because she feels like she needs to.”

Despite these efforts, Berto argued that Shields still isn’t receiving the love, recognition, or sponsorships she deserves. He pointed out that Shields feels other female athletes, who she doesn’t believe are on her level, “continue to get” the recognition she’s working hard to achieve. Berto speculated that this disparity could stem from her background or the way she speaks—whatever the reason, he suggested it’s an issue that needs to be addressed.

Championing Shields’ success, Berto asked pointedly, “What else does she need to do to get those real dollars, those real endorsement dollars?” During the same conversation, Andre Ward added his perspective on the criticism Shields faces online, saying, “I’m not standing for the blatant disrespect to this young lady from these grown men.

Later that day, clips from the podcast began circulating on X, catching Shields’ attention. She responded passionately, “Yeah! Cause wtf wrong with yall ni**as!!!” Nevertheless, Shields remains committed to proving she’s the best in women’s boxing, upholding her title as ‘The GWOAT.’

Anthony Joshua twice came up short to Oleksandr Usyk, but the Matchroom founder says he still wants to avenge those losses.

JUST IN: How much Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk will earn from heavyweight fight…

Matchroom founder Barry Hearn tells Sky Sports that his company has a responsibility to deliver a big British fight between Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury — who is currently scheduled to rematch Oleksandr Usyk while Joshua is lined up to face Daniel Dubois. But while Fury is focused on Usyk, Hearn says Joshua also has an eye on the Ukrainian who beat him in back to back fights between 2021-2022.

OLEKSANdr usyk VS TYSON FURY

“He wants to beat Usyk,” Hearn said. “Because the first fight he had with Usyk, frankly he came out second best. He went away, he regrouped, he learned, he studied and he still got beat in the second fight. That’s why he got so disappointed in the second fight.”

SEE MORE: Francis Ngannou to make long-awaited MMA comeback against 6ft 8in giant after boxing defeats to Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua…

Hearn would continue by characterizing Joshua as a special type of athlete who is motivated by much more than money, and it’s his competitive spirit that drives him to try to reach boxing’s mountaintop once again.

Anthony Joshua and  Daniel Dubois

“These people want to win and they want a legacy. I don’t think Anthony Joshua will sleep at night until he is unified.”

Joshua, however, mustn’t get distracted from the task at hand as a loss to Dubois could likely ruin the prospects for him getting the fights he’s looking towards. Joshua and Dubios will go head-to-head on September 21 at Wembley Stadium while Fury and Usyk rematch in December, and should everything go according to Matchroom’s plans, there will be another big fight for Joshua to come thereafter.

RELATED: Oleksandr Usyk vs. Tyson Fury 2 – Carl Froch makes huge retirement claim regarding heavyweight rematch…

Former Major League Baseball outfielder Jeff Francouer shared a Tiger Woods story from back in the 2005-06 timeframe when Woods was an absolute menace on the golf course and arguably the biggest name in pro sports.

“I’ve met President Bush and Obama and I was not nearly as starstruck as when I met Tiger Woods for the first time,” Francouer told ESPN’s Tim Kurkjian on his podcast Great Game or What.

Atlanta Braves Manager Bobby Cox used to allow his players to play golf during spring training. One day, they had a 1 p.m. spring training game against the New York Yankees. Francoeur was 22 and had just been named a starter. He was in no position to ask for a day off from training camp. But he didn’t have to because Cox came over to him during stretching and informed him that star pitcher and golf fanatic John Smoltz had an afternoon tee time at 1:50 with Tiger.

“I’m like, I’m fine, Bobby, I’m ready to play,” said Francoeur, 40, a right fielder who played on eight different MLB teams and serves as a TV analyst for the Braves these days. “He goes, ‘No, I’ll make you a deal.’ He said, ‘After your first at-bat today, run through first base and kind of rub your ankle like you hurt it, right?’ He’s like, ‘In two days we’re going to Bradenton.’ You need three starters to play on a road trip. And he’s like, ‘I hate Bradenton’s infield. I don’t want to get any of the guys hurt. So if you go to Bradenton, I’ll let you play with Tiger,’” Francouer recounted that Cox told him.

Tiger Woods

As instructed, the right fielder grounded out in his first at-bat and ran to first base rubbing his ankle in front of an estimated 12,000-13,000 fans in Orlando.

“Bobby, he waddles out there and he checks on me,” recalled Francoeur before pulling him from the game as a safety precaution. “I run inside, literally throw my golf clothes, didn’t shower, and I get to the golf club and they’re on the first fairway. So I hit my tee shot, we end up playing 27 holes and around 4:30 my wife sends me (a text) that there was an update that said Francouer day to day with a high ankle sprain.”

The things professional athletes did to tee it up with the one and only Tiger Woods.

Angel Reese continues to shine in her stellar WNBA rookie campaign by notching another record on Sunday.

Despite the Chicago Sky losing, 68-86, to the Phoenix Mercury, the former LSU star recorded her 20th double-double this season. Reese led the Sky in points and rebounds, with a 19-20 performance in their losing effort.

In doing so, Reese became the fastest player to achieve 20 double-doubles in a single season in WNBA history.

Her road to the feat included 15 straight double-doubles, during which she averaged 15.3 points and 13.2 boards per game. Despite the hot stretch ended in July, she continues to fill the stat sheet with 13 games left in the regular season.

However, while Reese tallied double-doubles in both meetings with the Mercury, the Sky has lost both meetings against Phoenix.

Reese tallied 15 rebounds and 11 points against the Mercury on August 15 – a game that Chicago lost 85-65.

While Reese is winless against Phoenix this season, rival and fellow rookie Caitlin Clark’s Indiana Fever is 3-0 against Brittney Griner, Diana Taurasi and Co.

Reese and the Sky will have one more chance to get one over Phoenix when they meet at Wintrust Arena on September 15.

Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese 

With the curtains soon to be drawn on their first WNBA season, Clark and Reese are in a tight race for the Rookie of the Year honor.

Clark also got busy on Sunday and broke the record for most assists by a rookie in WNBA history.

The former Iowa Hawkeye – who came into the game with 223 assists this season – added nine more to her tally and shattered the record with 12 games left before the playoffs.

The previous record was held by Ticha Penicheiro – who served up 225 assists in 1998 with the Sacramento Monarchs.

In their clashes so far this season, Clark and the Fever have gotten the best of Chicago, leading 2-1 in the regular season series. They will meet one more time before the playoffs on August 30.

The Fever are currently seventh in the league and third in the Eastern Conference with a 13-15 record. Meanwhile, the Sky hangs behind them in both standings at 11-16.

  • Swiatek has won 8 of her last 10 matches against Sabalenka
  • Can the World No.1 continue the winning streak in Cincinnati?
  • Watch Iga Swiatek vs Aryna Sabalenka live streaming

    Iga Swiatek vs Aryna Sabalenka Preview

    Iga Swiatek has won three straight against Aryna Sabalenka and an 8-3 record in the head to head. This should be a great match with the winner to reach the final in Cincinnati.

    Stats

    • Iga Swiatek has won in 3 sets in 2 of her last 3 matches.
    • Iga Swiatek has won 8 of her last 10 matches against Aryna Sabalenka.
    • Aryna Sabalenka has lost 6 of her last 9 matches against Top 10 players.

    HTH

    Iga Swiatek is 8-3 against Aryna Sabalenka, winning the previous three encounters.
    They have met twice this year, both on clay, Swiatek winning 7-5 4-6 7-6 in the Madrid Open final and 6-2 6-3 in the Italian Open final.

    Iga Swiatek Stats

    Nationality: Poland
    Age: 23 (31 May 2001)
    Height: 5’9″ (1.76m)
    Plays: Right-Handed
    World Ranking: 1
    Career High: 1 (April 2022)
    WTA Tour Titles: 22
    2024 WTA Tour Titles: 5
    Grand Slam Singles Titles: 5 (4 French Open, US Open)
    Cincinnati Open Best Result: Semi-Finals (2023)

    Iga Swiatek Form

    Iga Swiatek is 55-6 this year, winning the Qatar Open and Indian Wells Open on hard courts alongside the Madrid Open, Italian Open and French Open on clay.
    The World No.1 exited early at Wimbledon and was on track at the Olympics before a semi-final defeat to Qinwen Zheng. She won the bronze medal match, thrashing Anna Karolina Schmiedlova 6-2 6-1.
    The Pole beat Varvara Gracheva 6-0 6-7 6-2 in her opening match in Cincinnati before showing Marta Kostyuk no mercy, winning 6-2 6-2 in 70 minutes.
    Swiatek got past Mirra Andreeva 4-6 6-3 7-5 in the quarter-finals, winning 63% of her 2nd serves and saving 2/3 break points.

    Aryna Sabalenka Stats

    Nationality: Belarus
    Age: 26 (5 May 1998)
    Height: 5’11” (1.82m)
    Plays: Right-Handed
    World Ranking: 3
    Career High: 1 (September 2023)
    WTA Tour Titles: 14
    2024 WTA Tour Titles: 1
    Grand Slam Singles Titles: 2 (2023, 2024 Australian Open)
    Cincinnati Open Best Result: Semi-Finals (2018, 2022, 2023)

    Aryna Sabalenka Form

    Aryna Sabalenka is 37-11 this year, reaching the Brisbane International final and winning the Australian Open.
    The World No.3 reached finals in Madrid and Rome, beaten by Iga Swiatek on both occasions.
    The Belarusian was last seen in Toronto, beating Yue Yuan and Katie Boulter in straight sets before a 6-4 6-2 quarter-final defeat to Amanda Anisimova.
    Sabalenka hasn’t lost a set in Cincinnati, defeating Elisabetta Cocciaretto 6-3 6-4, Elina Svitolina 7-5 6-2 and Liudmila Samsonova 6-3 6-2.

Top-ranked Jannik Sinner outlasted Alexander Zverev in a third-set tiebreaker to reach the final of the Cincinnati Open, while No. 1 Iga Swiatek was defeated in the women’s semifinals by No. 3 Aryna Sabalenka. (More Tennis News)

Sabalenka will face American Jessica Pegula in Monday’s final, while Sinner will play either American Frances Tiafoe or No. 15 seed Holger Rune.

Sinner on Sunday emerged with a 7-6(9) 5-7 7-6(4) victory after 3 hours, 7 minutes, tying Casper Ruud for the ATP Tour lead by reaching his fifth final of the season. Sinner leads the tour with four titles this season.

The first set lasted more than an hour and the match also was suspended for 30 minutes by rain.

Zverev, the No. 4 seed, had won four straight meetings against Sinner. Sinner finished with a 124-121 edge in total points.

“I think we both raised our level when it counted,” Sinner said.

“The tiebreaker can go both ways. I just tried to stay there mentally. Obviously, I’m happy to be in the final.”

Sinner, who’s been dealing with a right hip issue, was seen grabbing that area early in Sunday’s match but said he came through fine physically.

“Sometimes I feel it,” Sinner said.

“I have to check after this tournament here. I haven’t had too much time to recover before coming here. I’m not worried yet. I’m happy to play.”

Iga Swiatek

Sabalenka reached the finals in Cincinnati for the first time with a 6-3 6-3 victory over Swiatek, ending the five-time Grand Slam winner’s 15-match winning streak and avenging losses in the finals in Madrid and Rome.

“Really happy with the win, especially against Iga, who is always a tough battle,” Sabalenka said.

“To get the win in straight sets, that’s kind of an achievement for me.”

Swiatek, who’s been on top of the WTA rankings for 116 weeks, was satisfied with her week in Cincinnati.

“I pretty much did better than I expected, honestly, especially on this surface,” Swiatek said.

“I’m happy with the result anyway, and already focusing on what I need to do to feel even better in New York.”

The US Open begins there on August 26. Swiatek won the title in 2022.

Pegula, the No. 6 seed, beat Paula Badosa 6-2 3-6 6-3 after their semifinal was suspended more than an hour by rain.

She is the third American to reach the finals at the Canadian and Cincinnati Open in a calendar year, the first since Serena Williams in 2013.

“We’ve had a lot of great battles in the past,” Sabalenka said.

“She’s a great player. Going to be another great match.”

The US Open gets underway in a week. Novak Djokovic and Coco Gauff will come to Flushing Meadows as the defending champions while world No. 1s Jannik Sinner and Iga Swiatek look to add to their trophy cabinets.

But not everyone will be playing the last Grand Slam of the season, including Rafael Nadal. The four-time US Open champion is one of seven big names who have been forced to miss the tournament this year.

Express Sport takes a look at the key players who will be absent in New York.

Rafael Nadal

The 22-time Grand Slam winner put his name on the entry list but admitted this was just a formality in case he decided to play. Nadal has competed in just seven tournaments this year due to ongoing injury setbacks. He hasn’t played a match away from clay courts since January.

After the Olympics – where he reached the second round in singles and the quarter-final in doubles – he pulled out of the US Open. “I will miss those electric and special night sessions in NYC at Ashe, but I don’t think I would be able to give my 100 per cent this time. Thanks to all my US Fans in particular, will miss you all and will see you another time,” he wrote. Nadal’s next tournament will be the Laver Cup.

Cameron Norrie

The British No. 2 is carrying a forearm injury and has not played since losing to Nadal in Bastad a month ago. He travelled to the Olympics but withdrew hours before his match. Norrie then headed to Cincinnati but was also forced to pull out. He has since announced his US Open withdrawal, saying: “I have been working hard to get my body to full health – unfortunately my forearm injury is not recovering as soon as I would have hoped.”

Nick Kyrgios

The former Wimbledon finalist has played just one singles match since October 2022 after struggling with persistent knee and wrist injuries. He is set to make a comeback at the Ultimate Tennis Showdown exhibition tournament this week and will play another exho match in Flushing Meadows during US Open fan week but has not entered the main draw.

Simona Halep

Halep has barely played since having her four-year suspension reduced to nine months. She immediately returned at the Miami Open in March following a successful appeal but lost in the first round.

Rafael Nadal

The former world No. 1 then entered a WTA 125 event in Paris in May but retired during her opening match. She has been sidelined by a knee injury ever since. Halep also failed to receive a wildcard for the French Open and did not apply for a Wimbledon one due to her physical issues.

Marketa Vondrousova

The world No. 18 has been plagued by injuries this summer. She fell and retired with a hip injury during the Berlin Championships in June but prematurely rushed back for her Wimbledon title defence though she lost in the first round. Vondrousova pulled out of the Olympics with a hand injury and has since withdrawn from the US Open.

Kei Nishikori

Nishikori reached his only Grand Slam final at the US Open a decade ago. But he won’t be able to return this year after his injury-protected ranking ran out. The Japanese tennis star recently reached the Canadian Open quarter-final and upset Stefanos Tsitsipas en route. But he is not ranked high enough to get into the US Open main draw or the qualifying event and did not receive a wildcard. He will compete in a series of Challenger tournaments instead.

Milos Raonic

Another former Grand Slam finalist, Raonic reached the championship match at Wimbledon in 2016. But the Canadian has been plagued by injuries over the last few years. He recently missed his home tournament at the Masters 1000 in Montreal and has since pulled out of the qualifying event in Flushing Meadows, where he was set to fight for a US Open main draw spot.

Rafa Nadal speaks out about his future while enjoying his vacation in Mallorca. The Spaniard confirms his participation in the Laver Cup, although he doesn’t reveal anything yet about the upcoming months: “I’m not in a rush to make a decision about my future. What’s certain is that I’ll be at the Laver Cup and then we’ll see,” as reported by Marca.

NEWS:-Rafael Nadal set to copy Roger Federer as his retirement date confirmation edges closer

Nadal thus confirms once again his presence at the tournament to be held in Berlin, although we’ll have to wait to learn more about his future.

This news is an automatic translation. You can read the original news, Nadal: “No tengo prisa en tomar una decisión sobre mi futuro”

The gymnast received the special greeting as she dined out with her husband on Aug. 17

Simone Biles is being celebrated everywhere she goes!

The 11-time Olympic medalist, 27, received a very warm welcome while dining at Maple & Ash restaurant in Chicago with her husband Jonathan Owens after watching his team, the Chicago Bears, beat the Cincinnati Bengals in the city on Saturday, Aug. 17.

In a boomerang clip reposted on her Instagram Stories, Biles posed with Owens, 29, as she held up a special custom menu for her with the words “Olympic F—— Champion!” printed across it (with some letters in the curse word replaced with symbols), referring to her multiple medal-winning turn at the 2024 Olympics in Paris.

Biles also shared a close-up photo of the menu, zooming in on the words, and a boomerang clip of the group she was with toasting during the meal.

The warm welcome from the restaurant comes after Biles returned home from Paris on Aug. 12 following her record-breaking performance at the Olympics, after winning three gold medals and one silver in gymnastics.

Earlier on Aug. 17, Biles attended Owens’ Chicago Bears game in support during the team’s preseason game against the Cincinnati Bengals. The team won 27-3 against the Bengals in the match.

The gymnast posted a photo of her outfit for the game on her Instagram Stories, which showed her wearing a black Prada bucket hat with a black and white oversized jacket printed with an image appearing to depict her husband in a No. 34 jersey — which was his number playing with the Green Bay Packers.

Simone Biles

“Bear Down,” Biles captioned the photo.

The PEOPLE Puzzler crossword is here! How quickly can you solve it? Play now!

The champion gymnast also modeled another accessory — a black ankle brace on her left foot — in a boomerang video, which she has been rocking these past few days and during the Olympics, after sustaining an injury to her calf in warmups for the games.

Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer​​, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

On Thursday, Aug. 15, Biles posted a photo of her reunited with Owens for the first time since returning home from the 2024 Olympics. The gymnast shared a snap of husband styling his hair while standing in a bathroom mirror alongside one of their bulldogs.

“🥰🥵🤍,” Biles captioned the shot of the NFL player.

Verified by MonsterInsights