(NEW YORK) — Here are the scores from Thursday’s sports events:
MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL
INTERLEAGUE
Chicago Cubs 10, Detroit Tigers 2
AMERICAN LEAGUE
N-Y Yankees 6, Cleveland Guardians 0 Tampa Bay Rays, Oakland Athletics Toronto Blue Jays 5, L-A Angels 3 Houston Astros 6, Baltimore Orioles 0
NATIONAL LEAGUE
Washington Nationals 8, Colorado Rockies 3 St. Louis Cardinals 3, Milwaukee Brewers 0 Pittsburgh Pirates 7, Cincinnati Reds 0 Atlanta Braves 3, Philadelphia Phillies 2 N-Y Mets at San Diego Padres (TBA)
NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE PRESEASON
Indianapolis Colts 27, Cincinnati Bengals 14 Chicago Bears 34, Kansas City Chiefs 21
(LONDON) — Tennis legend Rafael Nadal has announced his retirement from the sport at the age of 38.
In a statement posted to social media, Nadal — who has won 22 Grand Slam men’s singles titles, including a record 14 French Open titles — said that “in this life everything has a beginning and an end.”
“I am here to let you know that I am retiring from professional tennis,” Nadal said in the video. The reality is that it has been some difficult years, these last two especially. I don’t think I have been able to play without limitations. It is obviously a difficult decision, one that has taken me some time to make … and I think it is the appropriate time to put an end to a career that has been long and much more successful than I could have ever imagined.
Nadal’s prowess on the tennis court is unparalleled in the history of the sport, particularly on clay. He is one of only three men to complete the Career Golden Slam in singles and has won 92 ATP-level singles titles — 63 of these coming on clay courts — including 36 Masters titles and an Olympic gold medal.
“I am very excited that my last tournament will be the final of the Davis Cup and representing my country,” Nadal said. “I think I have come full circle since one of my first great joys as a professional tennis player was the Davis Cup final in Sevilla in 2004. I feel super, super lucky for all the things I have been able to experience.”
From 2005 to 2014, Nadal won nine out of 10 French Open titles, and managed to put together another streak in Paris from 2017 to 2022 where he won five out of six on the hallowed grounds of Court Philippe Chatrier.
Nadal took a moment to thank his family, his team and the rivals he played against on the courts for more than two decades.
“I want to thank the entire tennis industry, all the people involved in this sport, my life-long colleagues, especially my great rivals,” Nadal said. “I have spent many, many hours with them and I have lived many moments that I will remember for the rest of my life.
In his more than 20 years in the sport, Nadal has earned an estimated $135 million, which places him second all-time in career earnings.
“I can’t thank you enough for what you have made me feel,” Nadal said, addressing his fans around the world. “You have given me the energy I needed at every moment. Really, everything I have experienced has been a dream come true. I leave with the absolute peace of mind of having given my best, of having made an effort in every way. I can only end by saying a thousand thanks to all and see you soon.”
Australia’s Rachael Gunn, known as B-Girl Raygun, competes in the breaking competition at the 2024 Paris Olympics, Aug. 9, 2024. (Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)
(NEW YORK) — When breaking, or breakdancing, made its debut at the 2024 Paris Olympics, the sport quickly had its breakout star, b-girl Raygun, a 36-year-old Australian college professor.
Raygun, whose birth name is Rachael Gunn, went viral after her performance Friday in Paris, where she took on b-girls in their late teens and early 20s with unique dance moves that quickly became the focus of memes and jokes on social media.
Gunn did not earn a medal in Paris, losing her three round-robin battles by a score of 54-0.
The online criticisms of Gunn’s performance led her to defend her skills, telling reporters that what she brought to her performance was “creativity.”
“I was never going to beat these girls on what they do best — their power moves,” Gunn said, according to ESPN. “What I bring is creativity.”
“All of my moves are original,” she continued. “Creativity is really important to me. I go out there, and I show my artistry. Sometimes it speaks to the judges, and sometimes it doesn’t. I do my thing, and it represents art. That is what it is about.”
On social media, some users dubbed one move by Gunn “the kangaroo,” while others compared her dance moves to when a child asks you to watch their performance.
“I’d like to personally thank Raygun for making millions of people worldwide think ‘huh, maybe I can make the Olympics too,'” one user wrote on X, alongside a photo of Raygun’s Olympic performance.
The online critiques of Gunn’s performance led Australia’s Chef de Mission, Anna Meares, to issue public support Saturday for her performance.
“I love Rachael, and I think that what has occurred on social media with trolls and keyboard warriors, and taking those comments and giving them airtime, has been really disappointing,” Meares said at a news conference, according to ESPN. “Raygun is an absolutely loved member of this Olympic team. She has represented the Olympic team, the Olympic spirit with great enthusiasm. And I absolutely love her courage. I love her character, and I feel very disappointed for her, that she has come under the attack that she has.”
On Sunday, the head judge of the breaking competition in Paris defended Gunn, while the head of the World DanceSport Federation said officials are looking out for her “mental safety” after the online criticism.
According to her Olympics biography, Gunn is a former jazz and ballroom dancer who entered the sport of breaking through her husband, Samuel, who had been breaking for the past decade.
Gunn started breaking in her mid-20s and went on to become the top-ranked b-girl in Australia in 2020 and 2021.
Last year, she won the QMS Oceania Championships in Sydney to earn Australia’s first-ever spot in the b-girl competition at the Olympics, according to her bio.
When not breaking, Gunn, who holds a Ph.D. in cultural studies, is a researcher and lecturer at Macquarie University in Sydney, where she studies the “the cultural politics of breaking,” according to her university biography.
As both a breaker and a researcher, Gunn told the podcast “The [Female] Athlete Project” that her bag, “always has two main things, my knee pads and my laptop.”
While in Paris, Gunn shared a photo of herself on Instagram in Team Australia’s uniform along with the caption, “Don’t be afraid to be different, go out there and represent yourself, you never know where that’s gonna take you.”
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(NEW YORK) — Here are the scores from Sunday’s sports events:
MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL
INTERLEAGUE Miami 3, Toronto 1 NY Yankees 6, Pittsburgh 4 Kansas City 4, Atlanta 2
AMERICAN LEAGUE Houston at Cleveland (Canceled) Boston 3, Tampa Bay 1 Texas 8, LA Angels 0 Baltimore 6, Minnesota 2 Seattle 6, Oakland 4 Chi White Sox 9, Detroit 5
NATIONAL LEAGUE St. Louis 6, San Francisco 1 LA Dodgers 2, Colorado 1 NY Mets 5, Milwaukee 0 Philadelphia 6, Washington 3 Arizona 11, San Diego 2 Cincinnati 3, Chi Cubs 0
NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE PRESEASON Pittsburgh 5, Ottawa 2 Dallas 4, Minnesota 2 Utah 6, Colorado 3
NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE Atlanta 26, New Orleans 24 Chicago 24, LA Rams 18 Cincinnati 34, Carolina 24 Denver 10, NY Jets 9 Houston 24, Jacksonville 20 Indianapolis 27, Pittsburgh 24 Minnesota 31, Green Bay 29 Tampa Bay 33, Philadelphia 16 San Francisco 30, New England 13 Washington 42, Arizona 14 Kansas City 17, LA Chargers 10 Las Vegas 20, Cleveland 16 Baltimore 35, Buffalo 10
WOMEN’S NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION PLAYOFFS New York 87, Las Vegas 77 NY leads series 1-0) Connecticut 73, Minnesota 70 (Conn. leads series 1-0)
