Sports
Simone Biles Cruises To 9th National Title And Gives Olympic Champ Sunisa Lee A Boost Along The Way
FORT WORTH, Texas — Simone Biles used to find “beauty in the blindness” in the lead-up to the Olympics, relishing in her lack of knowledge.
That happened eight years ago, back when she was still a teenager, still sort of “ditzy.”
Those days are long over. The evidence is not only on Biles’ driver’s license or marriage certificate but also her ability to see beyond herself. The tunnel vision that most great athletes have in pursuit of greatness has faded.
And it could be the most significant difference between the national title the gymnastics star earned on Sunday night — her ninth, with an all-around score of 119.750 — and her first over a decade ago.
Simone Biles | AP News Image
Simone Biles Cruises To 9th National Title And Gives Olympic Champ Sunisa Lee A Boost Along The Way
The key moment of Biles’ triumph was a walk rather than a twist, turn, or jump.
It happened early on when Biles watched the 2020 Olympic champion and close friend Sunisa Lee twist awkwardly in the air during her vault and land on her back, a look of surprise and panic on her face.
“I was kind of thinking that this was over,” Lee stated.
Then Biles stood at her side unexpectedly. She was more aware of Lee’s exact whereabouts than anyone else.
A similar wayward vault by Biles three years ago at the Tokyo Games set off a chain of events that resulted in her withdrawing from various competitions and bringing the significance of mental health to the forefront of the discussion.
Watching Lee, who has spent the majority of the previous two years battling kidney difficulties that have caused her weight to fluctuate and complicated her training, struggle to gather herself, Biles left her World Champions Centre teammates and gave Lee the kind of support she relied on so heavily back in Japan.
“I know how traumatizing it is, especially on a big stage like this,” Biles stated. “And I didn’t want her to get in her head, so we just went and talked about it.”
The two retreated off the floor to discuss, with Biles reassuring Lee that she “could do hard things.”
When they returned, Biles stood next to the uneven bars, cheering Lee on as she rebounded with a magnificent (if slightly watered-down) routine that earned a 14.500 and helped her finish fourth.
“I know I was having a hard time and she was just there to help lift me up,” Lee recalled.
Biles is at a point in her unprecedented career where the satisfaction she derives from the sport is no longer just based on the quality of her performances.
While she quipped that she believes she is “aging like fine wine,” it is telling that she kept her biggest smile for the five World Champions Centre colleagues — the majority of whom are a decade younger — who will join her at the Olympic trials in Minneapolis later this month.
“That’s kind of what excites me because I think they have long careers ahead of them,” Biles stated. “So if I can do anything to help them, right now and in the future, that’s what I’m going to do.”
This is her way of giving back. She is well aware of the limelight that awaits her in Paris, and she is attempting to set an example for others on how to handle the pressure. She’s become a regular in therapy, even during meet weeks, and she’s determined to concentrate on what she can change.
Simone Biles | AP news Image
Simone Biles Cruises To 9th National Title And Gives Olympic Champ Sunisa Lee A Boost Along The Way
For example, consider her gymnastic abilities.
In front of an audience that included her husband, Chicago Bears safety Jonathan Owens, Biles delivered a four-rotation masterclass that bore all of the hallmarks of a typical Biles performance. There was breathtaking agility, precision, and more than a hint of arrogance.
Biles finished with the highest two-day score in all four events, a feat she had accomplished only once previously at nationals (2018).
Her only mistake on Sunday was on the vault. During warmups, she fell short of her Yurchenko double pike — two back flips with her hands clasped behind her knees — and overcompensated when it counted, generating enough force to land on her back. She nevertheless scored 15.000 for her efforts, a tribute to a vault that no other woman has ever performed in competition and has only been tried by a small group of males.
Not that it troubled her. Biles gathered herself, took a few deep breaths, and followed it up with a Cheng vault that earned her a 15.1 and placed her on track for her seventh national victory. No other gymnast in the history of the sport in the United States has achieved more than seven.
While Biles is above the fray as usual, there is fierce rivalry for the other four spots on the five-woman U.S. team. The team will travel to Paris as heavy favorites to reclaim the top spot after finishing second to Russia in Tokyo three years prior.
Skye Blakely, 19, delivered another outstanding performance and will travel to Minneapolis with lots of energy. Blakely is rising at the ideal time, three years after her effort to reach the 2020 Olympic team was cut short due to injury.
Simone Biles | AP News Image
Simone Biles Cruises To 9th National Title And Gives Olympic Champ Sunisa Lee A Boost Along The Way
Lee remains a vision of beauty on bars and beams, her greatest events. She was heartened by her first elite all-around competition since winning in Tokyo, with Biles cheering from the stands.
Olympians Jordan Chiles and Jade Carey are still in contention despite both falling on the beam on Sunday. Kayla DiCello, who finished in third place, tumbled off the uneven bars.
Shilese Jones, widely regarded as the best all-around gymnast in the United States without the surname Biles, withdrew from the championships on Friday due to a shoulder issue, though she stated on Sunday that she was feeling better and would be available for trials. So will 18-year-old Kaliya Lincoln, who chose not to compete on Sunday after a minor adjustment during Friday night’s opening session.
Both (Jones in particular) appear to be genuine prospects for a Paris invitation if healthy.
Biles’ ticket is punched. Everything is the same as it has always been.
SOURCE -(AP)
As seen by attendance, the Olympics have progressed significantly in the 12 years since golf returned to the program.
This year, very few people are staying at home.
Bernd Wiesberger was one of two qualified players who chose not to play, which was unusual.
Wiesberger was Austria’s third-ranked player until tying for second place in the European Open, where he unexpectedly passed Matthias Schwab. He then withdrew almost quickly, which was not surprising given that Wiesberger previously withdrew from the Tokyo Games.
Cristobal Del Solar of Chile also withdrew, citing the fact that he is on the verge of receiving his first PGA Tour card and did not want to miss time on the Korn Ferry Tour.
The remaining qualified players have all confirmed their participation in Paris.
Adam Scott opposed golf in the Olympics from the outset and withdrew again. Brooks Koepka and Tyrrell Hatton also withdrew, though neither was eligible.
This contrasts sharply with the Rio Olympics, where the top four players in the world—Dustin Johnson, Rory McIlroy, Jordan Spieth, and Jason Day—were among the dozen or so who stayed home.
This was mainly due to concerns about the Zika virus. McIlroy later stated that he despised the Olympics for making him choose between Ireland and Britain, but he eventually changed his mind and played for Ireland in Tokyo.
Golf | AP News Image
Men’s Golf Will Have A Good Attendance Record At The Paris Olympics
The Tokyo Games, which were postponed a year to 2021, had no fans due to the pandemic and daily COVID-19 exams. Eleven players, including Johnson, Sergio Garcia, Matt Fitzpatrick, Louis Oosthuizen, Francesco Molinari, and Camilo Villegas, elected not to play.
Villegas, Fitzpatrick, and Emiliano Grillo, three players who elected not to participate in Tokyo, will travel to Paris. The others were ineligible.
Jon Rahm and Bryson DeChambeau were scheduled to play in Tokyo until they tested positive for COVID-19 and were forced to withdraw. Rahm will be in Paris, and DeChambeau is the second alternate.
But it’s a welcome difference that no one is discussing who isn’t going to the Olympics, at least among the males. It was never an issue for the women, who have been out in full force since the beginning.
The men’s Olympic field will have eight of the top ten players and thirteen of the top 25. Countries are allocated two players — a maximum of four if all are in the top 15 — ensuring that every eligible player attends Le Golf National.
Open and close?
Cam Davis of Australia won the Rocket Mortgage Classic, moving up to No. 38 in the global rankings. That may be needed to qualify him for the British Open.
Davis is almost set to be the highest-ranked player in the Official World Golf Ranking next week, which the R&A indicated it will use as a reserve list. Thomas Detry of Belgium is next on the OWGR, at No. 50 among those not previously exempt.
The question is whether a reserve list is necessary.
As of Tuesday, the field for the British Open was 132 participants (assuming Todd Hamilton does not compete since he has not since 2018). Two spots are available at the John Deere Classic, five for the top 20 players in the Race to Dubai following this week, and three for the Scottish Open.
Following Tuesday’s 36-hole qualifying round, 16 additional slots were added to the field. That brings the field to 158 players (or 159) when it should be 156. A reserve list or room for Davis may be unnecessary.
According to the R&A, two to three players often withdraw for various reasons, bringing the field back to 156. However, the Open will go with that number if it arrives at 158 (or 159).
Having a field of more than 156 players in the United Kingdom is not an issue because it only grows dark around 10 p.m. in the summer. The last time the field topped 156 participants was in 1995 when there were 159 at St. Andrews.
Davis’ sole path to Royal Troon could be to win one of the two spots available at the Scottish Open next week.
The wonderful life of Richard Bland
Richard Bland has won two of golf’s most prestigious senior majors, the U.S. Senior Open in a playoff at Newport and the Senior PGA Championship.
And now? We’re heading to Andalucia.
That is the next stop for LIV Golf. Bland has been a member of the LIV since its inception in 2022, with Saudi funding. He competed on the rival tour but has no status as one of the PGA Tour Champions.
Senior majors are only granted an exemption for the following year (2025). Even if Bland wanted to play the PGA Tour Champions, he’d have to wait a year after his last appearance on LIV Golf. If he stops now, it will be next July.
But why would he want to do this?
Bland can now compete in the two biggest senior majors next year. Bland has already earned slightly more over $2.3 million on LIV Golf this year, with his best finish of tied for seventh. It’s a tight timetable with big money.
Bland made $4.4 million on LIV last year, and he earned just more than $3.5 million in seven tournaments during the 2022 season. Steve Stricker had to win six times, including three majors, to earn under $4 million on the PGA Tour Champions last year.
Golf | AP News Image
Men’s Golf Will Have A Good Attendance Record At The Paris Olympics
A true rock star.
Fast-talking Rocco Mediate now broadcasts a twice-weekly show on SiriusXM PGA Tour Radio. Now he’s bringing in a true rockstar.
Media and shock rock superstar Alice Cooper have teamed up for a monthly show called “Rolling the Rock with Alice Cooper and Rocco Mediate,” which premieres on Tuesday at 6 p.m. EDT.
Cooper began playing golf 50 years ago while recovering from alcoholism, has a handicap index of 4, and claims to be on the course six days a week, including while traveling.
Cooper and Mediate, a six-time PGA Tour champion best known for losing a U.S. Open playoff to Tiger Woods at Torrey Pines, will share stories from their careers, welcome guests from the golf and entertainment sectors, and discuss current golf topics.
“It’s a completely improvised ‘anything goes’ show. Cooper stated, “We don’t know what we’re going to talk about until we start.” “We’re quite literally just ‘rolling the rock.'”
Divots
This is Deere & Co.’s 25th year as title sponsor of the John Deere Classic, making it the PGA Tour’s second-longest continuous title sponsor after the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am (39 years). Cameron Young has 18 top-10 finishes in his three full PGA Tour seasons. He is still waiting for his first win. Richard Bland got $800,000 for his U.S. Senior Open triumph, the third-highest salary of his career. He won $1.175 million in a three-way tie for third place at LIV Golf events in Thailand and Greenbrier last year.
Stat of the Week
Florida State sophomore Luke Clanton tied for tenth place in the Rocket Mortgage Classic, becoming the third amateur this year to finish in the top ten on the PGA Tour. This features American Express winner Nick Dunlap.
Final word
“It simply made me a better player. You will not always play your best golf, but I am the best player I have ever been.” ― Richard Bland about his experience playing LIV Golf.
HAMBURG, Germany — Cristiano Ronaldo has declared that he will retire after this year’s European Championship.
The 39-year-old Portuguese legend is competing in the Euros for the sixth time and has helped his side advance to the quarterfinals, where Kylian Mbappé and France will face off on Friday in Hamburg.
Ronaldo | AP News Image
Ronaldo Says He Is Playing His ‘Last European Championship’
Ronaldo told Portuguese public radio RTP following the penalty shootout triumph over Slovenia on Monday: “It is, without a certain, my final European Championship.
“But I am not emotional about it. I’m moved by everything football represents—the enthusiasm I have for the game, the excitement of seeing my supporters, my family, and the devotion people have for me.”
Ronaldo, one of the most prolific scorers in soccer history with a record 14 goals at the European Championships, stated that his major drive today is “making people happy.” During the Slovenia game, he burst into tears when a penalty was saved in overtime.
Ronaldo | AP News Image
Ronaldo Says He Is Playing His ‘Last European Championship’
“It’s not about leaving the world of football,” he informed me. “What else can I do or win?” It will not come down to one point more or less.”
SOURCE – (AP)
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