Sports
Simone Biles cruises to 9th national title and gives Olympic champ Sunisa Lee a boost along the way
The defining moment of Biles’ victory wasn’t a twist, a turn or a jump, but a walk.
FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) — There used to be a time when Simone Biles would find “beauty in the blindness” ahead of the Olympics, reveling in not knowing what she didn’t know.
That was eight years ago. Back when she was still just a teenager. Still kind of “ditzy.”
Those days are long gone. The evidence isn’t just on Biles drivers’ license or her marriage certificate but in how the now 27-year-old is able to see beyond herself. The tunnel vision that most great athletes have in pursuit of greatness has fallen away.
And maybe that’s the biggest difference between the national title the gymnastics star won on Sunday night — her ninth, this one with an all-around total of 119.750 — and her first over a decade ago.
The defining moment of Biles’ victory wasn’t a twist, a turn or a jump, but a walk.
It came early on, when Biles watched 2020 Olympic champion and good friend Sunisa Lee spin awkwardly in the air during her vault and landed on her back, a mixture of surprise and fear spreading across her face.
“I was kind of thinking that this was over,” Lee said.
Then Biles appeared at her side, unprompted. She knew exactly where Lee was in that moment better than anyone.
Three years ago at the Tokyo Games, a similar wayward vault by Biles started a chain of events that led to her withdrawing from multiple competitions and dragging the discussion on the importance of mental health front and center.
Watching Lee, who has spent most of the last two years battling kidney issues that have made her weight yo-yo and complicated her training, try to gather herself, Biles left her World Champions Centre teammates and gave Lee the kind of support Biles relied on so heavily back in Japan.
“I know how traumatizing it is, especially on a big stage like this,” Biles said. “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 talk, with Biles reminding Lee she “could do hard things.”
To read this article in its entirety, visit The Associated Press
Sports
Coco Gauff wins her 2nd Grand Slam tennis tourney
Gauff became the youngest tennis player to win their first singles and doubles Grand Slams in almost 20 years
Tennis sensation Coco Gauff rejoiced after winning her second Grand Slam tournament. But it wasn’t exactly in the tournament that she really craved.
Gauff, 20, became the youngest woman tennis player to win her first Grand Slam singles and doubles in 20 years title after she fellow tour member Katerina Siniakova defeated Italians Jasmine Paolini and Sara Errani 7-6 (5), 6-3 on Court Philippe Chatrier at the French Open on Sunday.
Coco Gauff accomplishes another momentous tennis feat
With the conquest, Gauff becomes the youngest player to win Grand Slam singles and doubles titles since Svetlana Kuznetsova in 2005, according to Tennis.com.
This was Gauff’s third trip to a Grand Slam doubles finals, losing the previous two at Roland Garros in Paris in 2022 and the U.S. Open in New York in 2021.
“Third time’s a charm. Thank you, Katerina, for playing with me. We decided two days before the tournament to play together,” Gauff said during her victory speech. “Thank you to the fans. I know 11:30 Sunday morning is early for most people. It’s early for me.”
To read this article in its entirety, visit RollingOut
Justice
UVA to pay $9 million related to shooting that killed 3 football players, wounded 2 students
The University of Virginia agreed to pay $9 million to families affected by a 2022 shooting on campus. But the mother of one of the football players killed said the university should release their report into security issues that led up to the shooting.
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (AP) — The University of Virginia will pay $9 million in a settlement related to a 2022 campus shooting that killed three football players and wounded two students, a lawyer representing some of the victims and their families said Friday.
But some of the families are calling for more: The immediate release of an independent probe into the shooting that was completed last year. Its focus included efforts by the university to assess the potential threat of the student who was eventually charged with murder as well as recommendations from what was learned.
Kimberly Wald, an attorney who represents some of the families, said the university should have removed the alleged shooter from campus before the attack because he displayed multiple red flags through erratic and unstable behavior.
“This settlement today is only one small step for these families — there is much to be done,” said Wald, an attorney with the Miami-based Haggard Law Firm. “If there is one lesson, even one lesson that we can learn from that report, we need to know it now … We need to protect lives now.”
University officials postponed the report’s release last year over concerns that it could affect the alleged shooter’s upcoming trial.
“We are committed to providing it as soon as we can be sure that doing so will not interfere in any way with the criminal proceeding,” UVA President Jim Ryan said last fall.
To read this article in its entirety, visit The Associated Press
Business
Shaquille O’Neal is giving 100% effort in his role with Reebok
O’Neal opens up about his intentions to bring basketball back at Reebok.
As Reebok gears up for a triumphant return to basketball with Shaquille O’Neal at the helm, the Hall of Famer is pledging his full devotion to the mission.
“Listen, we’re getting back into basketball,” O’Neal said during Reebok’s annual brand summit in March, per The New York Times. “And I want everyone in here to understand there are no excuses. Everyone needs to be 100% in on this because I’m 100% in on this.”
In October, the brand named O’Neal president of basketball and announced another NBA legend, Allen Iverson, as vice president. Both Iverson and O’Neal have history with Reebok, particularly during its heyday in basketball apparel during the ’90s and early ’00s. Reebok hopes to recapture that era’s success with O’Neal and Iverson, who each played a major role back then.
To read the article in its entirety, visit TheGrio
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