The rivalry is real.
Thứ Ba, 22 tháng 3, 2016
Moore presents the second place trophy to Williams after the women's final of the BNP Paribas Open at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden in Indian Wells, California on Sunday.
Robyn Beck / AFP / Getty Images
Women's National Basketball Association President Lisa Borders on Monday condemned sexist remarks made by the director of a tennis competition over the weekend.
When asked about the Women's Tennis Association during a press conference on Sunday, BNP Paribas Open Tournament Director Raymond Moore said that in his "next life" he would like to be reincarnated as someone in the WTA, "because they ride on the coattails of the men."
"They don't make any decisions and they are lucky, they are very very lucky," said Moore, 69, while laughing.
"If I was a lady player, I'd go down every night on my knees and thank god that Roger Federer and Rafa Nadal were born," continued Moore, referring to two top male tennis champions, "because they have carried the sport, they really have."
Later in the media session, Moore referred to female tennis champions who he thought were "physically attractive and competitively attractive."
Borders and other prominent figures in women's sports — including former World No. 1 tennis player Billie Jean King — were quick to respond blast Moore's comments.
“Female athletes are no different than their male counterparts," Borders' statement read:
They inspire millions of fans and work hard to be the best in their sports by competing at the highest levels, breaking records and winning championships. At a time when the physical and emotional benefits of athletic participation have never been more clear, we need to empower female athletes and promote opportunities for girls and women to play sports, rather than promote outdated, offensive and uninformed opinions.
Within a few hours, Moore issued an apology for his statements:
"At my morning breakfast with the media, I made comments about the WTA that were in extremely poor taste and erroneous. I am truly sorry for those remarks, and apologize to all the players and WTA as a whole.
We had a women's final today that reflects the strength of the players, especially Serena [Williams] and Victoria [Azarenka], and the entire WTA. Again, I am truly sorry for my remarks.
Afterwards, Serena Williams, the top-ranked women's player, responded on ESPN, calling Moore's statements offensive and inaccurate.
“Obviously, I don’t think any woman should be down on their knees thanking anybody like that," Williams told press, contesting the concept that women tennis players "ride on the coattails" of men.
"If I could tell you every day how many people say they don’t watch tennis unless they’re watching myself or my sister, I couldn’t even bring up that number, so I don’t think that is a very accurate statement," she said, adding that she thought there were female and male players that were equally exciting to watch.
Williams also refused to believe that Moore's comments could have been taken out of context, as some reporters present suggested.
“Well, if you read the transcript, you can only interpret it one way. I speak very good English. I’m sure he does too," she said.
"Get on your knees, which is offensive enough, and thank a man, which is not — we, as women, have come a long way," Williams concluded. "We shouldn’t have to drop to our knees at any point.”
LINK: Djokovic Respects Female Tennis Stars For Overcoming Their "Hormones"
Thứ Hai, 21 tháng 3, 2016
Novak Djokovic of Serbia speaks to the crowd post his win.
Robyn Beck / AFP / Getty Images
Novak Djokovic believes male tennis players deserve higher pay than women – but insisted he still has enormous respect for female athletes because they have to deal with “hormones”.
The world No 1 tennis player waded into the row sparked by Indian Wells Tennis Garden CEO Raymond Moore on 20 March.
Moore, who later admitted his comments were “in extremely poor taste”, said if he was a female tennis player he would “go down every night on my knees and thank God that Roger Federer and Rafa Nadal were born because they have carried this sport. They really have.”
The CEO did not mention the 21 Grand Slams won by Serena Williams – compared to Roger Federer’s 17 and Rafael Nadal’s 14.
Now Djokovic’s comments have only added fuel to the fire.
Speaking after his win over Milos Raonic in the BNP Paribas final, Djokovic said men should continue to be paid more “because the stats are showing that we have much more spectators on the men’s tennis matches”.
This is despite the fact that last year, the women’s US Open final sold out before the men’s.
But the Serbian player, who has won 11 Grand Slams, added he had “tremendous respect” for women’s achievements in tennis.
“Their bodies are much different to men’s bodies,” he told reporters. “They have to go through a lot of different things that we don’t have to go through. You know, the hormones and different stuff, we don’t need to go into details. Ladies know what I am talking about."
His comments have not gone down well.
Djokovic continued: “I have great admiration and respect for them to be able to fight on such a high level. Many of them have to sacrifice for certain periods of time, the family time or decisions that they make on their own bodies in order to play tennis and play professional sport.
"I have had a woman that was my coach and that was a huge part of my tennis career. I’m surrounded by women. I’m very happy to be married with one and to have a child."
He added: "I’m completely for women power.”
The issue of unequal pay in tennis has been long-running. Advocates of continuing pay disparity have pointed out men play two more sets than women's matches of three.
Chủ Nhật, 20 tháng 3, 2016
Thứ Bảy, 19 tháng 3, 2016
Walker, who entered the NFL last year, was 23 years old.
Baltimore Ravens football player Tray Walker died Friday night after a dirt bike accident in his hometown of Miami. He was 23 years old.
AP Photo
According to a report by Miami-Dade police, Walker had been riding his dirt bike in northeast Miami-Dade around 7:50 p.m. on Thursday "when he collided with a Ford Escape" heading in the opposite direction.
The Ravens team reported that Walker was transported to Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami, where he spent Thursday night and most of Friday in critical condition until he succumbed to his injuries.
In a statement, Ravens head coach John Harbaugh called the 23-year-old cornerback "a good man and a kind heart," adding that he loved his fellow players and being part of the Ravens' team.
"He always seemed to be next to me during the national anthem," Harbaugh recalled, "then we would give each other a big hug."
Middle Tennessee defeated Michigan State 90-81 on Friday in a stunning NCAA Tournament upset.
Michigan State's Bryn Forbes, left, lose control of the ball on his way to the basket as Middle Tennessee's Darnell Harris, center, defends Friday.
Jeff Roberson / AP
No. 15 seed Middle Tennessee beat No. 2 seed Michigan State 90-81, sending a heavily favored team packing in the first round.
The Associated Press described Michigan State's loss as one of the biggest upsets since the tournament began seeding teams in 1985.
ESPN blamed the upset on Michigan State's lackluster defense.
Middle Tennessee's Aldonis Foote, left, and Michigan State's Gavin Schilling reach for a rebound Friday.
Jeff Roberson / AP
On ESPN.com, only six people still had perfect brackets immediately after Middle Tennessee's win — a mere .000046% of the total, according to ESPN reporter Darren Rovell.
Thứ Năm, 17 tháng 3, 2016
Yann Hufnagel, an assistant men’s basketball coach for UC Berkeley, was found to have sexually harassed a reporter.
An assistant men's basketball coach at the University of California Berkeley was fired this week after a university investigation determined he had sexually harassed a reporter who covered the team.
Yann Hufnagel admitted to investigators that he had repeatedly made sexual comments to a reporter and attempted to "'trick her into going up to his apartment to have sex." Hufnagel then cut off contact with the reporter, making it impossible for her to do her job.
The investigation found that men's basketball head coach Cuonzo Martin had been made aware by the reporter of Hufnagel's inappropriatene behavior six weeks before university officials were informed.
In a redacted report, investigators found that "over a period of time from November 2014 through May 2015, Complainant received sexually harassing communications from [Hufnagel] on a bi-weekly basis in response to Complainant's attempts to communicate with Respondent for professional purposes."
The reporter told investigators that in early 2015 she asked Hufnagel to meet with her for coffee after a basketball game, but he insisted they go to a bar. The reporter agreed to go to Jupiter, a bar and restaurant near campus, but did not consume alcohol while Hufnagel did. Hufnagel told the reporter he was too drunk to drive — which she later told Martin she didn't believe — but he "insisted that she drive him to his residence. Complainant described that she told him "no" and suggested he take a taxi, but Respondent was insistent and Complainant ultimately acquiesced."
The reporter was unable to stop in traffic in front of Hufnagel's apartment, so he opened the door to his building's garage, and she drove in to drop him off. She said Hufnagel "directed her to park in a designated spot—an elevator-operated 'lift' spot which would have suspended her car above the ground."
"Complainant said she did not park in the spot and felt Respondent was attempting to control her ability to leave. She recalled telling Respondent that she was just going to turn around; to which Respondent responded, 'You're coming up.' Complainant said she said, 'No. I'm going to leave now,' but Respondent kept insisting. Complainant said she asked Respondent, 'Are you thinking that I'm going to have sex with you?' to which Respondent said, 'Yes.'"
She said they went back and forth for 15 minutes, during which "the garage door was closed behind them with her car inside and Respondent indicated that he did not intend to let her out of the garage."
Later that year, the reporter tried to meet up with Hufnagel — her only source on the small college basketball team — for coffee. In text messages included in the university's report, Hufnagel tries to steer the conversation toward her coming over to his apartment to "have a three-way."
After the reporter was given bad information by Hufnagel, which she told investigators she "believes [Hufnagel] provided her with this misinformation as retribution for declining his sexual advances."
In an interview with university investigators in October 2015, Hufnagel said that during the incident in his apartment building's garage, he was "trying to trick her into going upstairs."
In response to the text messages about coming over to his apartment and having a three-way, Hufnagel "said the text was inappropriate, but declined to characterize it as sexual harassment and described such a text as being indicative of the relationship he had with [the reporter] — a relationship he further described as being 'playful.'" He said the text message about a three-way "was a joke."
In an email, Hufnagel told investigators that "with no clear indication whatsoever from her to stop the behavior, it would be, truthfully, almost impossible to conclude that these types of 'locker room messages' were unwanted."
In May 2015, the reporter reached out to head coach Cuonzo Martin on Twitter and "told him that she 'experienced sexual harassment'" from Hufnagel. Martin told the reporter he would talk to Hufnagel, and that he "[took] this very seriously." In a statement to investigators, Martin said the reporter did not "[provide] any details or [describe] anything as constituting sexual harassment."
In July of 2015, the reporter emailed Martin copies of text messages between her and Hufnagel, along with a follow-up request to discuss Hufnagel's behavior.
It was then that the UC Berkeley Athletic Department was made aware of the allegations, and then reached out to the "Office for the Prevention of Harassment and Discrimination."
UC Berkeley spokesperson Dan Mogulof told BuzzFeed News Wednesday that the university is conducting a "review" of how mandatory reporting processes were handled with regard to Hufnagel. "Not because we think that there was anything wrong, but because we want to make sure there wasn't." Mogulof said they will review correspondence between Martin and the reporter, but asserted that it is a "review," not an "investigation."
The reporter told investigators in a follow-up interview "that she felt very beholden to [Hufnagel] because of the dynamic of [him] having the [REDACTED] information and knowing that [she] needed that information. [She] stated that she felt [Hufnagel] tried to explain that dynamic. [She] stated that [Hufnagel's behavior pattern was a problem for her. [She] acknowledged that she played along with [Hufnagel's] behavior because she did not see a viable alternative that would also allow her to do her job."
The university determined that Hufnagel had violated the university's Sexual Harassment and Sexual Violence Policy.
Hufnagel was fired by the university Monday. In a tweet Monday, he said: "Right now, the only focus should be on our basketball team! My time to exonerate myself of a fruitless claim by a reporter will come."
The UC Berkeley men's basketball team plays Hawaii in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Friday.
Thứ Bảy, 12 tháng 3, 2016
The quarterback’s career in Cleveland is over after two seasons.
Stephen Brashear / Getty Images
Quarterback Johnny Manziel has been dropped by the Cleveland Browns, the team announced Friday.
The move was expected. The Browns issued a statement hinting at it after Manziel was accused by his girlfriend of assaulting her in Texas in January.
"We've been clear about expectations for our players on and off the field. Johnny's continual involvement in incidents that run counter to those expectations undermines the hard work of his teammates and the reputation of our organization. His status with our team will be addressed when permitted by league rules," Browns Executive VP Sashi Brown said on February 2.
Manziel was dropped by his agent later that week.
The quarterback was accused by his girlfriend of hitting her at a hotel in Dallas, then forcing her to get into a car with him. Manziel then drove back to her apartment, where she says he continued to attack her. Manziel was not arrested at the time, but the Dallas Police Department has sent the results of its investigation to a grand jury.
Manziel was pulled over by police in Ohio in October for reckless driving and was accused by his girlfriend of attacking her in the car. They were sent home together by police; there were no arrests made and no charges filed.
Manziel entered rehab for alcohol abuse in early 2015. In early February 2016, Manziel's father, Paul, told the Dallas Morning News that he "truly believe[s] if they can't get him help, he won't live to see his 24th birthday."
The Browns drafted Manziel in the first round of the 2014 draft. In two seasons with the Browns, Manziel appeared in 15 games.
Thứ Năm, 10 tháng 3, 2016
The CEO of Head, an Australian sport brand, said Thursday that he did not believe Sharapova took meldonium in order to enhance her performance.
Kevork Djansezian / Getty Images
Australian tennis racket company Head announced Thursday that it would continue to sponsor Maria Sharapova, despite her admission on March 7 that she had failed a drug test and would temporarily halt her competition.
Head is the first of Sharapova's major sponsors to continue to back her in light of her announcement.
The company's CEO Johan Eliasch told the Associated Press that he believed she had not intended to use the drug meldonium after it had been banned in January.
He called her mistake a "manifest error," and contended that there was no "evidence of any intent by Maria of enhancing her performance or trying to gain an unfair advantage."
Shortly after Sharapova said on Monday that she had failed a drug test at the Australian Open for her use of meldonium, Nike, Porsche, and watch brand TAG Heuer all announced that they had either suspended their contracts with her, or would not renew them.
In June 2014, cosmetic brand Avon named Sharapova the face of its Luck perfume line. BuzzFeed News has reached out to the company to determine the status of their affiliation with her.
Having earned a reported $29.5 million last year, the 28-year-old from Russia is the highest-paid female athlete in the world.
Maria Sharapova at the Australian Open in Melbourne on Jan. 26, 2016.
William West / Getty Images
She contended on Monday that she had unknowingly continued to take meldonium despite its January placement on the banned drug list.
Sharapova said that she had been prescribed the drug in 2006 to treat her flu-like symptoms, magnesium deficiency, irregular EKG results, and signs of early diabetes. Initially, the drug was designed to treat heart conditions.
She neglected to open an email in December announcing that it would be banned in January, and continued to take it.
"I've let my fans down, I let the sport down that I've been playing since the age of 4 that I love so deeply," she said during her Monday press conference.
The repercussions for the failed drug test remain unclear, but they could affect her ability to compete in the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.
Eliasch cited Sharapova's integrity in admitting to wrongdoing as a reason why his company would continue to sponsor her.
"The honesty and courage she displayed in announcing and acknowledging her mistake was admirable," he said. "Maria may have made a mistake, but she has earned the benefit of the doubt and we are extending it to her."
BuzzFeed News has reached out to Head representatives for more information.
Thứ Ba, 8 tháng 3, 2016
The five-time Grand Slam champion said she is not retiring.
In a press conference Monday, Russian tennis champion Maria Sharapova made a surprise announcement that she failed a drug test and will take a hiatus from the sport.
Kevork Djansezian / Getty Images
"A few days ago I got a letter from the [International Tennis Federation] that I had failed a drug test at the Australian Open," Sharapova said.
She said she had been taking a medication called Mildronate for 10 years before it was put on the federation's ban list in January. She said she didn't realize it was placed on the list.
"I was given this medicine by my doctor for several health issues I was having back in 2006," Sharapova said.
She described the issues as repeatedly catching the flu, magnesium deficiency, irregular EKG results, and the first signs of diabetes, which she is genetically predisposed to, she said.
"It made me healthy and that's why I continued to take it," she said.
The five-time Grand Slam champion has suffered numerous shoulder injuries and has played only four events in the past eight months: three WTA tournaments and the 2015 Fed Cup final. She withdrew from this week’s' BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells.
When she called the press conference, many assumed the 28-year-old was to announce her retirement.
"I don't want to end my career this way and I really hope I will be given another chance to play this game," Sharapova said in a somber tone. "If I was ever going to announce a retirement it would not be in a downtown LA hotel with a fairly ugly carpet."
Sharapova said on December 22 she received an email including a link to a list of new prohibited items. "I did not click that link," she said.
Mildronate, or "meldonium," was one of numerous medications her doctor prescribed for her symptoms, she said. She added that she did not know the alternative name for the medicine, preventing her further her from understanding it had been banned by the federation.
Sharapova does not yet know the consequences of the test failure, she said, but she said she will be taking a hiatus from competing and will work with the federation to discuss the next steps.
"I've let my fans down I let the sport down that I've been playing since the age of four that I love so deeply," Sharapova said.
Sharapova is currently the 7th ranked player on the WTA tour and has been the highest-paid female athlete for over a decade.
Chris Carlson / AP
Denver Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning announced his retirement from professional football Monday, telling fans that after 18 years, "it's time."
Between tears, Manning thanked his coaches and teammates on his two NFL teams, the Indiana Colts and the Denver Broncos. He went on to read a long list of things he will miss about a career in football.
"I’ll miss picking out the game balls with my equipment guys. I'll miss checking to see if the Giants won and calling Eli," he said, referring to his brother.
Manning spent a large part of his speech thanking fans for their near decade of support.
Paul Sancya / AP
"Football fans don’t even know how much they meant to me over the years," Manning said. "Fans you are at the core of what makes this game remarkable. The many letters you have sent me over the years that have moved me ... [You have] given me a voice that can echo well beyond the game."
Team executives and coach Gary Kubiak took turns commending Manning on his career, mourning his retirement, and telling celebratory stories about the football great.
"Every athlete out there should look at Peyton Manning and what he’s about," Broncos Executive Vice President John Elway said, growing visibly emotional. "He utilized every aspect to be the best athlete he could be, we got every ounce of ability that he has."
The 39-year-old quarterback is a five-time NFL MVP and was named Super Bowl MVL after Super Bowl XLI. He holds numerous records in passing yards and touchdowns, including for most career passing touchdowns (539) and most career passing yards (71,940).
Toward the end of the speech, Manning said he believes the end of his football career is "the beginning of something I haven't even begun to imagine yet," though he did not address exactly what that might be.
"After 18 years it’s time," Manning concluded to enthusiastic applause. "God bless all of you and God bless football."
Manning at the conference.
Doug Pensinger / Getty Images
During a follow up news conference, one reporter brought up allegations of sexual assault against Manning by female football trainer Jamie Ann Naughright. Asked if the allegations that Manning exposed himself to Naughright in 1996 had any negative affect on the day's celebrations, the quarterback said nothing could take away from the moment.
"It is sad that some people don't understand the truth," Manning said. "This is a happy day and nothing...can take away from this day."
"And as Forrest Gump said, 'That's all I'm gonna' say about that," he added.
The 2015-2016 NFL season was Manning’s 18th. He was drafted first overall in Tennessee in 1998. At the beginning of the 2015 season, Manning was one of three remaining players drafted in 1998 who were still active in the NFL. Among them, only quarterback Matt Hasselbeck remains.
Manning began his career with the Indianapolis Colts, where he spent 14 seasons before joining the Denver Broncos. Ahead of the 2011 season, Manning underwent neck surgery, but later needed spinal fusion surgery. Manning missed the entire 2011 season with the Colts and was cut at the end of the season.
LINK: Denver Broncos Confirm Star Peyton Manning's Retirement
Thứ Hai, 7 tháng 3, 2016
THIS. KID. IS. LUCKY.
Photographer Christopher Horner snapped these incredible pics at a spring training game between the Pittsburgh Pirates and the Atlanta Braves in Florida on Saturday.
Christopher Horner / Via Twitter: @Hornerfoto1
Just look how the hero in the sunglasses bravely deflects the flying bat as it makes it way towards the oblivious kid. WE ARE NOT WORTHY OF YOUR REFLEXES, SIR.
Christopher Horner / Via Twitter: @Hornerfoto1
Chủ Nhật, 6 tháng 3, 2016
After 18 seasons, The Sheriff is done.
Ezra Shaw / Getty Images
Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning will retire after 18 seasons, the team confirmed Sunday.
The Denver Broncos released a statement early Sunday morning in which they confirmed Manning was retiring.
"When you look at everything Peyton has accomplished as a player and person, it's easy to see how fortunate we've been to have him on our team," said Broncos General Manager John Elway said in the statement.
"Peyton was everything that we thought he was and even more — not only for the football team but in the community. I'm very thankful Peyton chose to play for the Denver Broncos, and I congratulate him on his Hall of Fame career."
The Denver Post reported Manning had told both Elway and coach Gary Kubiak about his decision to retire Saturday night.
"It was a blessing to coach Peyton Manning. Nobody worked harder at the game and nobody prepared harder than Peyton," Kubiak said in the statement.
"His preparation was the best I've ever seen with how he went about his business. There was nothing like his work habits. Each and every week, he did everything he could to get ready to play not only against the defense but even against the coordinator,"
"Being with him this season, going through what we went through and accomplishing what we accomplished — that was special. He and I battled together and along the way we talked about dreaming that it could end the way it ended. And I'll be damned, it did."
Thứ Năm, 3 tháng 3, 2016
Michael Buckner / Getty Images
Brandi Chastain told her nine-year-old son, Jaden, on Monday morning that she intends to donate her brain to science to benefit concussion research.
“Mom, that’s weird,” Jaden said. “Don’t you need your brain?”
Chastain — a two-time Olympic Gold medalist who won the World Cup with the 1999 U.S. Women’s National Soccer Team — explained to Jaden that her brain donation will happen “long after” she will be using it, and with the intention of helping others.
Chastain announced Wednesday that she will donate her brain to the Concussion Legacy Foundation after her death, a non-profit organization that works with brain researchers at Boston University.
Chastain met Concussion Legacy Foundation founder and former professional wrestler Chris Nowinski, along with Boston University researchers Ann McKee and Robert Cantu, in March 2014, when they received an award from Santa Clara University’s Institute of Sports Law and Ethics (ISLE). Chastain is a board member there.
Cantu and McKee at Boston University lead research into Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy — also called CTE, the neurodegenerative disease linked to sub-concussive trauma in athletes and military members.
Chastain was inspired by the researchers’ work and told her fellow ISLE board members she’d “like to change the rules of soccer and take heading out of youth soccer to protect our young players.” By June 2014, Chastain teamed up with the Concussion Legacy Foundation to launch an initiative called Safer Soccer that aims to reduce the practice of headers in youth soccer.
“It’s not about taking headers out of soccer forever,” Chastain told BuzzFeed News Tuesday. “It’s about protecting the players when they’re their most vulnerable so they can continue to play well into adulthood.”
“There’s so many skills that our kids will learn in the game if given a chance at longevity,” she said. “I want as many kids playing soccer in their adult lives as possible.”
Chastain was never diagnosed with a concussion during her career, though she recalls at least two instances that today she believes would have been diagnosed as mild concussions. “I’ve definitely headed the ball multiple times after the ball was punted very high. I never shied away from the ball and I definitely had my bell rung a few times.”
Chastain’s 1999 Women’s World Cup teammates Michelle Akers’ and Cindy Parlow’s careers were cut short in part due to concussions, but Chastain said she never discussed them with teammates. “It was absolutely never a conversation,” Chastain said, pointing out the enormous gap in cultural awareness about the effects of concussions on long term cognitive health between the late-1990s and today.
Immediately after Chastain famously made a penalty kick that led to the Women’s World Cup victory, she dropped to her knees and pulled her jersey over her head in victory. The image of her celebration is one of the most famous sports photos of all time.
Hector Mata / AFP / Getty Images
“Now as a parent, coach, and ambassador of the game of soccer — even though I feel like my legacy and our 1999 Women’s World Cup victory are important — leaving soccer in a better place than when we got here would be an even more impactful legacy,” Chastain said.
CTE is a neurodegenerative disease mostly associated with former NFL players and soldiers with symptoms similar to dementia. It can only be diagnosed after death, and it has not been diagnosed in the brain of a female athlete. There are records of CTE being found in two women in the 1990s: One a victim of domestic violence, and the other had a developmental disorder that led her to bang her head repeatedly.
The Concussion Legacy Foundation on Wednesday said that of 307 brains donated to Boston University for research, only 7 were from women. In an interview with BuzzFeed News in 2015, Dr. McKee said she believes there are various factors that account for the disproportionate donation rates between genders.
McKee believes families might be more reluctant to donate their daughters’ and wives’ brains, but she believes the risks to women athletes and ability to have their brains examined post-mortem are just less publicized than with male athletes.
Chastain said her intent to donate her brain to research aims to “raise awareness for the need for brain donation among athletes, especially women.”
“I’m not on a crusade to get other people to donate their brains,” Chastain said Tuesday when asked if she’d discussed donation with other members of the 1999 Women’s World Cup team. “I think it’s a very personal decision. But the brain is such a mysterious part of the human anatomy and we can’t really study it while it’s in its functioning form.”
The tennis champion also addressed her reason for returning to the Indian Wells tournament 15 years after a bitter controversy.
Venus Williams wrote a poignant essay about her return to the Indian Wells tournament 15 years after she and her sister Serena were verbally harassed by spectators.
Kin Cheung / AP
In an essay for The Players' Tribune, Venus wrote about how Serena inspired her to return to Indian Wells in California after their bitter experience in 2001.
Venus recalled the accusations hurled against them and their father after she pulled out of a semi-final match against Serena, citing a knee injury.
Their father, Richard Williams, was accused of orchestrating Venus's withdrawal from the match to let Serena win, which he refuted. He said his family was also subjected to boos, threats, and racial slurs from the crowd, including people who called him the N word.
"I think Indian Wells disgraced America," he told reporters at the time.
Venus wrote about how she never felt welcome at Indian Wells after the tournament.
I remember the pain of my knee injury, and how badly I wanted to play in the semis against Serena — before finally accepting that I wouldn't be able to. I remember the accusations toward me and my sister and our father.
I remember the crowd's reaction, as I walked to my seat, during Serena's match in the final. And I remember how I couldn't understand why thousands of people would be acting this way — to a 19-year-old and a 20-year-old, trying their best.
She also wrote about what it was like being the older sister in the family and the fame and responsibilities that come with it.
Matt Rourke / AP
"Being the big sister meant that, when I became world No. 1 in 2002, I wasn't just world No. 1. I was also the first black American woman to reach No. 1. And it meant that I had to carry with me the importance of what I had accomplished. And I was honored to do that.
Being the big sister meant that, when my little sister made her professional debut, I became a lot of new things to her — her colleague, her competitor, her business partner, her doubles partner. But I was still, first and foremost, the one thing I had always been: her family. I was her protector — her first line of defense against outside forces. And I cherished that."
Thứ Tư, 2 tháng 3, 2016
How am I sore right now?!
When you stretch just a little, every bone in your body cracks so damn loudly.
Via instagram.com
There is no pain like putting on your tights and leotard and tying up your pointe shoes — and then having to pee.
Big Machine Records
You have to dodge hundreds of stares when you go to a restaurant with your family after a recital.
Via instagram.com
Yankees pitcher Aroldis Chapman was suspended for 30 games by MLB.
Chapman with the Reds, his former team, in 2015.
Jamie Sabau / Getty Images
Yankees pitcher Aroldis Chapman has been suspended by Major League Baseball for 30 games following a league investigation into domestic violence allegations against him.
It was announced in January that Chapman would not face criminal charges for an alleged October 2015 incident in which his girlfriend told police the pitcher had "pushed her up against the wall" and "choked" her — but Chapman still faced discipline from the league.
Chapman's suspension is the first issued by MLB under the league's new domestic violence policy.
Under MLB's new domestic violence policy, a suspension is not dependent on a criminal conviction. League investigators present their findings to Commissioner Rob Manfred, who has the authority to issue a punishment "with no minimum or maximum penalty under the policy."
The 30-game suspension issued Tuesday is significant because it is potentially precedent-setting.
Players have the right to appeal suspensions to an arbitration panel. Chapman has declined appeal.
MLB is also currently investigating an incident involving Colorado Rockies shortstop Jose Reyes, who is currently on paid leave until the conclusion of a criminal trial in Hawaii for alleged domestic violence against his wife. The league has also said it is investigating Dodgers outfielder Yasiel Puig after he was reportedly involved in a fight in a Florida bar.
Chapman was traded from the Cincinnati Reds to the New York Yankees in December 2015. Earlier that month, it appeared Chapman would be traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers, but that trade fell through when a police report from the Florida incident was released to reporters.
Chapman has reported to Spring Training with the Yankees, who begin playing games Wednesday.
Shortly after the suspension was released, Chapman released a statement to Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports:
Today, I accepted a 30 game suspension from Major League Baseball resulting from my actions on October 30, 2015. I want to be clear, I did not in any way harm my girlfriend that evening. However, I should have exercised better judgment with respect to my actions, and for that I am sorry. The decision to accept a suspension, as opposed to appealing one, was made after careful consideration. I made this decision in an effort to minimize the distractions that an appeal would cause the Yankees, my new teammates and most importantly, my family. I have learned from this matter, and I look forward to being part of the Yankees' quest for a 28th World Series title. Out of respect for my teammates and my family, I will have no further comment.
MLB Commissioner Manfred released a statement on the suspension:
I asked my staff to conduct a comprehensive investigation of the incident involving Aroldis Chapman on October 30, 2015. Much of the information regarding the incident has been made public through documents released by law enforcement. Mr. Chapman submitted to an in-person interview with counsel present. After reviewing the staff report, I found Mr. Chapman's acknowledged conduct on that day to be inappropriate under the negotiated Policy, particularly his use of a firearm and the impact of that behavior on his partner. I am gratified that Mr. Chapman has taken responsibility for his conduct, that he has agreed not to appeal the 30-game suspension, and that he has agreed to comply with the confidential directives of the Joint Policy Board established under the parties' Policy to ensure that a similar incident does not occur in the future.
The MLB Players Association, which negotiated the new domestic violence policy with the league, released a statement on the suspension:
The Major League Baseball Players Association and its members do not condone the mistreatment of others by playing or non-playing personnel. At the same time, the MLBPA remains committed to protecting and ensuring the rights granted to Players under the applicable provisions of the sport's new Joint Policy on Domestic Violence. As such, the MLBPA supports Mr. Chapman's decision to forgo his right to an appeal.
Thứ Hai, 29 tháng 2, 2016
Thứ Sáu, 26 tháng 2, 2016
Scott Eklund / AP
The investigation into a domestic assault allegedly involving Cleveland Browns Quarterback Johnny Manziel has been sent to a grand jury for review, Dallas Police said Thursday.
The incident allegedly occurred on Jan. 30, when Manziel's girlfriend accused him of physically assaulting her at a Dallas hotel and in his car.
In a statement Thursday, the police department said a "Class A misdemeanor Assault/Domestic Violence case" had been referred to the Dallas County District Attorney’s Office to present to the grand jury. No details on the investigation would be released in the meantime, police added.
The case has already had personal consequences for the 2012 Heisman Trophy winner. ESPN has reported that Manziel could be cut from the Browns next month and his agent has already dropped him.
His father also spoke to The Dallas Morning News about unsuccessfully trying to get Manziel to stay at an addiction recovery facility.
LINK: Cleveland Browns QB Johnny Manziel Back Under Investigation For Domestic Violence
Thứ Sáu, 19 tháng 2, 2016
The former NFL star is accused of assaulting up to 16 women in four states over four years.
Afp / AFP / Getty Images
A federal judge in Louisiana has rejected a global plea deal that would have given former NFL player Darren Sharper a prison sentence of 9 years for serial rapes he allegedly committed in multiple states.
U.S. District Judge Jane Triche Milazzo called the sentence "inappropriate" in court Thursday, according to the Advocate.
Sharper entered a guilty plea in 2015 to charges that he committed nine rapes in California, Arizona, Nevada, and Louisiana over the course of 4 years. As part of a proposed plea deal, the football star was to receive a sentence of 10 years in federal prison with credit for more than a year of time already served and a concurrent 10-year sentence in a California state prison. Prior to the plea, Sharper was facing life in prison.
Sharper played in the NFL for 14 seasons and won a Super Bowl with the New Orleans Saints in 2010. He was working as an analyst for NFL Network at the time he was charged.
Judge Milazzo said Thursday that sentence guidelines in Sharper's case called for 15-20 years in prison, up to twice as long as the proposed 9-year sentence deal. The judge allowed Sharper and his attorney until March 3 — the day of Sharper's sentencing — to revoke his guilty plea.
Sharper also has the option to negotiate a new plea deal that imposes a longer prison sentence, more consistent with sentencing guidelines. If the original plea is not withdrawn or a new plea is not reached, Sharper could be tried in court for his alleged crimes and information he gave during plea discussions could be used against him.
Sharper's 9-year sentence deal, announced in 2015, was heavily criticized for appearing too lenient for a man accused of up to 16 sexual assaults during a 4-year span. Judge Milazzo's ruling reflects that sentiment: "This court cannot accept this plea agreement," Milazzo said, according to the AP.
Thứ Năm, 18 tháng 2, 2016
All hail Coach K.
Let's start with the obvious: Coach K... the man, the legend, and our fearless leader to five NCAA championships.
Sara D. Davis / Getty Images
DUKE FANS ARE A FAMILY.
And you're proud to be among the most loyal and intense fanbase in the entire world.
Grant Halverson / Getty Images
We call one of the greatest and most competitive stadiums home base.
CAMERON FOR LIFE.
Grant Halverson / Getty Images
Seth Wenig / AP
Sports brand Nike ended its sponsorship deal with Manny Pacquiao on Wednesday after the Filipino boxer said people who are attracted to the same sex are "worse than animals."
Pacquiao, a member of the Philippines House of Representatives who is currently running for a Senate seat, made the controversial comments in a local television interview released Monday.
"It's common sense. Do you see animals mating with the same sex?" he said. "Animals are better because they can distinguish male from female … If men mate with men and women mate with women, they are worse than animals."
In a Facebook post on Tuesday, the conservative Christian initially defended the comments: "I rather obey the Lord's command than obeying the desires of the flesh. Im not condemning anyone, but I'm just telling the truth of what the Bible says."
However, just seven hours later, the former world champion made a follow-up post in which he apologized for hurting the LGBT community.
"I'm sorry for hurting people by comparing homosexuals to animals," he wrote. "Please forgive me for those I've hurt. I still stand on my belief that I'm against same sex marriage because of what the Bible says, but I'm not condemning LGBT. I love you all with the love of the Lord. God Bless you all and I'm praying for you."
On Wednesday, Pacquiao sponsor Nike announced it "no longer [has] a relationship" with the boxer.
"We find Manny Pacquiao's comments abhorrent," a spokesperson told BuzzFeed News in an emailed statement. "Nike strongly opposes discrimination of any kind and has a long history of supporting and standing up for the rights of the LGBT community."
Forbes lists Nestlé and Foot Locker as the boxer's other major sponsors. Foot Locker representatives did not return a request for comment from BuzzFeed News, while a Nestlé spokesperson said the company is not a current sponsor, having sponsored him briefly in 2015.
Pacquiao's initial comments drew support from many in the Catholic-dominated country, but LGBT political party Ladlad condemned the remarks.
"To say that animals are better because males of the species sniff and have sex only with females of the species is to be ignorant of the fact that homosexuality is also found in all forms of creation — from plants to animals, and yes, even to people," party chairman Danton Remoto said in a statement. "This fact just goes to show that homosexuality is part of nature, and not some repulsive idea that the fundamentalist mind of Pacquiao finds perverse."
This isn't the first time Pacquiao has drawn the ire of the LGBT community by making anti-gay comments.
In 2012, he gave an interview with the National Conservative Examiner in which he spoke out against same-sex marriage. The interview included a reference to a biblical chapter about gays being put to death, but Pacquiao later denied he specifically quoted the verse.
LINK: 22 Incredibly Touching Reactions To Manny Pacquiao’s Comments On Homosexuality
Thứ Tư, 17 tháng 2, 2016
The UFC star also added that being “undefeated” is a state of mind.
UFC fighter Ronda Rousey appeared on the The Ellen DeGeneres Show Tuesday to talk about how she felt after her loss to Holly Holm.
Rousey suffered her first, and only, professional loss to Holm at UFC 193 in November.
Quinn Rooney / Getty Images
"I got clipped in the first exchange, so I was knocked out on my feet the first time I got hit," Rousey said.
Quinn Rooney / Getty Images
Rousey then went on to describe how she felt immediately after the fight.
NBA All Star Weekend in Toronto was lit despite being -86 degrees (celsius).
If you didn't see any of the NBA All-Star festivities, you missed Aaron Gordon doing this:
He jumped over a mascot and put the ball under both legs. What?!?!
People basically consider this to have been the second best dunk contest of all time.
The final between Zach LaVine and Aaron Gordon is second only to the legendary battle between Michael Jordan and Dominique Wilkins in 1988.
But like, Jordan dunked from the freethrow line. Zach LaVine went under the leg from the freethrow line.
And Aaron Gordon showed everyone what a perfect double-clutch dunk looks like.
He went behind the head, then all the way down, then back up into a reverse dunk. Go try that on your 8-foot hoop if you think it's easy.
Thứ Hai, 15 tháng 2, 2016
What is gravity really anyway?
The NBA All-Star Game on Saturday night in Toronto also featured a slam dunk contest FOR THE AGES.
USA Today Sports
Very quickly, though, the competition came down to just two players: Aaron Gordon with the Orlando Magic...
USA Today Sports
And Minnesota Timberwolves guard Zach LaVine.
USA Today Sports
Thứ Bảy, 13 tháng 2, 2016
Each year, a group of brave surfers ride the huge swells off Half Moon Bay, California, for what’s considered one of the most hazardous competitions in the world.
A brave group of surfers attempted to claim top spot Friday at the Titans of Mavericks big wave surf contest in California.
Ben Margot / AP
Some of the waves were reported to be as high as 35 feet, creating dangerous conditions for surfers and thrills for onlookers, who have faced danger themselves in the past.
Spectators have been banned from watching the competition from the beach or adjacent bluff after 13 people were injured by a rogue wave during the 2010 Mavericks competition.
The winner of Friday's contest was Nic Lamb, of nearby Santa Cruz.
Nic Lamb on Friday.
Ben Margot / AP
The contest, which has a $125,000 prize pool, is made up of heats, during which surfers try to ride the large waves.
Ken Collins, left, and Tyler Fox surf a giant wave during the second heat.
Ben Margot / AP
New York Mets reliever Jenrry Mejia was issued a lifetime ban by MLB Friday after failing his third drug test in a year.
Alex Goodlett / Getty Images
New York Mets pitcher Jenrry Mejia was hit with a lifetime ban from baseball Friday after failing his third test for performance enhancing drugs in a year. Mejia is the first player ever to be get lifetime ban for steroid use.
Mejia was given an 80-game suspension in April 2015 after a failed test for performance enhancing drugs. His suspension ended July 7, 2015 and he made seven appearances for the Mets before failing a second test and receiving a 162-game suspension.
The right-handed pitcher made his MLB debut with the Mets in 2010. He underwent Tommy John surgery in 2012. Mejia became the Mets' designated closer in 2014.
In a statement, the Mets said they were "deeply disappointed" to hear of Mejia's third failed test. The Mets are the reigning National League champions and pitchers and catchers report to spring training on February 18.
Thứ Năm, 11 tháng 2, 2016
“I think Eli was analyzing the game.”
At Super Bowl 50, Peyton Manning and the Denver Broncos became Super Bowl champions after defeating the Carolina Panthers 24–10.
Ezra Shaw / Getty Images
While everyone else in the Manning family rejoiced and celebrated, Eli didn't look all that thrilled.
And everyone on the internet made fun of his super serious face.
So when Peyton Manning stopped by The Tonight Show last night, Jimmy Fallon took the opportunity to ask him about it.
Thứ Ba, 9 tháng 2, 2016
Hot damn!!!
This past weekend while MOST of us were being collectively blown away by Beyoncé and Lady Gaga, UCLA senior Sophina DeJesus delivered a BREATHTAKING floor routine in a meet against Utah that you need to see to believe:
She does some pretty insane gymnastics stuff, like this flippy-dippy thing that probably should have been in the Super Bowl Halftime Show...
Pac 10 Network / Via youtube.com
...this split that makes us all collectively go, "WTF!!!"...
Pac 10 Network / Via youtube.com
...and ALSO some LIT dance moves, like this Nae Nae...
Pac 10 Network / Via youtube.com
Thứ Hai, 8 tháng 2, 2016
The yellow shorts still have Gary O’Sullivan’s blood on them.
It’s mid-January, exactly a month since 26-year-old Chris Eubank Jr defeated the Irish boxer in the final for the WBA middleweight title. O’Sullivan’s corner pulled their fighter out of the ring after the seventh round.
Jr didn’t bleed that night.
In their high-speed back-and-forth, the Sky Sports commentators said that Eubank Jr had “that thing that his father had – you just can’t ignore him”. “There’s substance behind the hype,” they said, “just as it was with his father, of course.” “Shipped off to Vegas at 16,” says another. “His father said, 'If you wanna do this — go and prove it.'”
His father, his father, his father.
As the victorious Eubank Jr posed in the middle of the ring – flexing his sweaty biceps, holding his gloves aloft, staring down the cameras with a snarl – his father ducked through the ropes. He planted his feet wide and spread the union jack behind his son as the flashes popped below, hiding himself. In the papers the next day, at the top corners of every photograph, you could just make out the fingers of the old boxer curled around the top.
Today, Jr is shirtless and holding the yellow shorts up under the fluorescent lights of the gym, inspecting the damage. The dots of blood are fractionally smaller than the decorative red beads they surround in a radial spray. There’s a nickname on the back, also embroidered in red: “Next Gen”.
Jr’s trainer, Ronnie Davies, rubs him down in baby oil for a photo – glistening now, he looks like a textbook diagram of where muscles should go. Davies is almost 70, bald and thickset. After a lifetime of punches his hands, craggy and swollen, won’t hold the pads any more. He’s gentle and methodical as he laces up Jr’s red gloves; a dad fixing his kid’s shoes at the school gate.
Red on yellow, over and over. They’re the same colours Jr’s father wore to defeat Michael Watson in their first controversial fight, in 1991. He wore them again two years later in his super-hyped grudge match against Nigel Benn that ended in a draw watched by more than 16 million people on national TV. In Creed, Adonis wore red, white, and blue – the same ones his father, Apollo, collapsed on the mat and died in. But not everything is Hollywood-significant: Eubank Sr wore many colours over a boxing career that won him 45 bouts out of 52.
He is legendary, and he is alive.
In the UK, Eubank Sr is more than a sportsman. He’s an eccentric in winkle pickers with an affected, lisped upper-class English accent, a bankable caricature of himself. He’s a retired pro boxer, not an untouchable god like Apollo Creed. He is real and human and makes mistakes on the scale of both bankruptcy and bad shirts. His legacy casts a big shadow, but it still moves.
I’m in Hove to watch Jr train and to do what every jerk does: to ask him about his father, and what it's like having everyone ask about his father.
James Hole
It’s the day after the premiere of Creed in the London. Jr sits beside me and dabs Second Skin from a glass dropper on to a circle of pink broken flesh on his left knuckle. Last night, Warner Bros PRs made him punch a bag as many times as he could in 60 seconds – impromptu, without wraps, in the middle of Leicester Square.
He blows on his knuckle to dry it.
Jr finishes wrapping his hands in tape and foam and puts "Jumpman" by Drake on the stereo. Constantly audible over the bass is the steady toc-toc-toc of someone jumping an old rope in the corner.
Inspirational quotes crawl along the brick walls in red and black spray paint: “Champions are made from something they have deep inside them — a desire, a dream,” and “It’s not about how hard you hit, it’s about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward.” The first is Muhammed Ali. The second, Rocky Balboa. He’s as real as anything in the room.
Other fighters stay to watch Jr train. They’ve grown up together in this gym. Tom Welch, a 20-year-old amateur boxer (and son of former pro heavyweight Scott “The Brighton Rock” Welch) assumes control of Jr’s phone, filming him shadowbox for Snapchat.
The gym sits beneath King Alfred Leisure Centre, a 1930s relic that “no longer meets modern expectations and service requirements” according to city planners. Across a narrow street is the sea – when it swells and invades this basement, the boxers just step over it. Go left down the pebble beach and you’ll reach the point where the burned-out skeleton that was Brighton Pier once touched land. Today on the edge of England it’s freezing, and the heater in the gym has died.
James Hole
There’s a primal, desperate romance in boxing. It’s why training montages are the beating heart of a Rocky movie, why watching Stallone sneer through sit-ups and sweaty drills will give the true believer a lump in their throat and a buzz in their veins.
In the gym, in the flesh, you see human bodies being trained and conditioned for the sole purpose of being ruined. When a boxer steps through those ropes, they know they will leave that ring somewhere on the scale of bruised to dead. That’s what they signed up for. In gyms like this, they learn how not to die.
This is the week David Bowie died, and it’s hard to have a conversation without talking about what we leave behind. Our bodies are weak: Why build them up just to smash them down? In the words of Rocky, standing in a restaurant named after his dead wife, looking at a framed photo of his dead friend – why choose a fighter’s life when you don’t have to?
I never get a straight answer. We’re sitting in the middle of the ring and every four minutes or so the interval timer screams five short beeps. Welch passes by with an iPhone recording video. I ask Jr if it bothers him having people watching him work. “Don't look at them,” he says, looking at me, seeing that it bothers me. “Get in the zone.”
When Jr talks about “the zone” he means the place where emotions don’t exist. Fights are business, they are strategy, they are in the mind. Boxing is the art of mental exclusion.
Jr says he feels no nerves when he’s walking up to the ring. For the O’Sullivan fight, he emerged between the two lit screens, draped in a union jack, "Still D.R.E." blasting from the speakers, and stood stock still while his dad swayed to the beat behind him. Everything around him is white noise.
What is going on in his mind at that moment, if not fear? “I’m ready to cause mayhem — calmly,” he says. “But you’re getting ready to do the least calm thing you can possibly imagine.”
Viewers see the fights, not the slump in the dressing room, nor the quiet drive home. Jr remembers his dad arriving home with huge black eyes, with bumps all over his head. The son of a boxer is more equipped to deal with the reality of it than another kid coming at it cold. Even so, Jr’s father didn’t want him in the ring. For years he said no, do something else.
“I don’t know whether he thought I didn’t have that toughness in me to be able to do that, or just if he didn’t want me to go through it,” he says.
Eubank Sr’s last fight was in July 1998 when Jr was 8 years old, and he never saw any of the fights live. He and his siblings (a younger sister and two brothers) were kept away from the ring, and weren’t allowed to watch them on TV either. At a friend’s sleepover he watched a VHS tape that had his dad’s face on the cover. “And there he was, boxing. I thought, this was why every time we go out people are running up to him and taking pictures and screaming and signing autographs. This is what he’s been doing.”
Jr had no idea.
James Hole
A fighter’s origin story makes and shapes them – and above all, it endures – and everyone knows the silver spoon tale won’t win any easy points. But Eubank Jr says the name is anything but a burden. He uses it to push himself further, training and fighting more intensely than he otherwise would.
From the age of 16, he spent four years in Las Vegas training under the radar with Mike “The Bodysnatcher” McCallum, and later Floyd Mayweather Jr and his father – former pro boxer “Big” Floyd Mayweather Sr, who stood in his son’s corner for the Fight of the Century, wearing his TMT cap.
Watch Jr fight now and it’s clearly a different style to his father’s: He’s faster, he’s cleaner, he’s more textbook than pure instinct. Davies says he’s more Sugar Ray Robinson that Eubank Sr.
When he started his professional career four and a half years ago, not many people knew or cared that he’d put the time in.
“Even after winning 21 fights, I still have people say, ‘You’re only where you are because of the things that he did, and if it wasn’t for him you never would have made it.'”
He’s rolling his eyes: as if it’s that easy. “It doesn’t matter what your name is — if you don’t have any talent, then you can be Muhammad A-Bruce-Lee and you’re not going to be able to win fights, which I have. You’re not going to be able to win titles, which I have. And you’re not going to be able to inspire the public and get people talking about you, or make headlines, which are things that I have done already.”
Jr doesn’t believe the cliche that there’s no such thing as bad publicity, but he says in this case it’s true. The people who want to see him fail are vocal about it, and build his profile. Right now, Eubank Jr has 140,000 followers on Instagram and 186,000 followers on Twitter, where he follows just one account: his father’s.
White noise.
James Hole
In September 1991, 14 million viewers watched Eubank Sr face Michael Watson again, defending his WBO super-middleweight title. In the last 20 seconds of the 11th round, Eubank swung a surprise right uppercut to Watson’s chin. It connected with such force that Watson’s feet left the mat and he fell backwards, straight and limp, on a course no one could stop. He landed neck-first on the unusually slack ropes. Watson got to his feet, but something was wrong. When the referee stopped the fight minutes later, Watson collapsed in his corner.
While Watson lay in the ring, his brain starved of oxygen, the two oblivious commentators began discussing his legacy – wondering if Michael Watson would be remembered as a “nearly man”. When he awoke from his coma 40 days later, his muscles had withered and he couldn’t hear, nor speak, nor move.
Boxing is safer now because of what happened – new rules and regulations were introduced: It’s a requirement to have an anaesthetist and two teams of trauma paramedics at the ringside, among other things. Fighters have died since Watson, but others who probably would have died have lived.
For years afterward, Eubank Sr struggled to finish a fight. If your fist started the fall that nearly ended a man, wouldn’t you be afraid to swing it? Does it get to Jr? He pauses and looks at the floor.
“It might sound a bit cold, but I don’t really have that,” he says. “If I see an opportunity, I’m gonna take the guy out. And I’m not going to feel any way about it. It’s nothing personal. It’s me or you. And it’s definitely not going to be me.
“Not in front of all these people.”
James Hole
In March Jr will fight Nick Blackwell for the British title. Even when he doesn’t have a fight coming up, Jr trains like he does – a perpetually loaded gun. Strength and conditioning training is at midday, boxing in the afternoon.
He runs at dawn. Just like in Creed, like in Rocky II, like Ali in Zaire for real, the neighbourhood kids follow behind on foot and bike. Sometimes they try and talk to him, but Eubank can’t hear them over his headphones. He sprints on a track, he runs through the valleys and hills of the South Downs, through the cows and sheep, and he runs on the stones by the sea because it’s good for the legs.
Brighton is in his blood, like Philadelphia is in Rocky’s.
In the whole time I talked to Eubank Jr, the only thing that seemed to intimidate him was the unpredictable nature of the cows. Not his dad’s legacy, not his opponents, not the risk of injury in front of millions: just sleepy cows on a hillside in Sussex.
It’s 5pm and Eubank Jr is getting tired. He's stifling yawns with a taped fist.
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