Messi began crying even before he started speaking at his farewell ceremony at the Camp Nou Stadium, and had to stop talking to compose himself few times.

“This is very hard for me after so many years, after being here my entire life,” he said. “I wasn’t prepared.”

Messi said that, unlike last year when he asked to leave, he had his mind set on staying with Barcelona and did everything possible to make it happen. He added that he was surprised to hear he wouldn’t be able to stay because of the club’s debt and the Spanish league’s financial fair play regulations.

“In these last few days I was thinking about what I would say today, but to be honest I couldn’t come up with anything. I was blocked, like I still am right now,” Messi said. “I was convinced that we would remain with the club, which is our home.”

Messi’s family and some of his teammates were at the Camp Nou for the emotional farewell. He was applauded several times by those in the audience.

Messi called his unexpected departure from the club “the most difficult” moment of his career.

“There were many tough moments, many losses, but in the end you always went back to training and to playing again,” he said. “This is different. There is no going back. This is the end and now a new story begins.”

Messi said he hopes to return to the club in some capacity one day and that he wished he could have said goodbye to fans in a match with a capacity crowd chanting his name.

Messi avoided speaking specifically about his future, saying he received offers from several clubs after the announcement that he would leave the Catalan club. When asked about Paris Saint-Germain, Messi admitted it was “a possibility.”

Barcelona announced Thursday it could not keep its greatest player because it wasn’t able to fit a new contract within the Spanish league’s financial fair-play regulations. The club’s salary cap has been significantly slashed because of its huge debt. President Joan Laporta blamed the club’s struggles on the coronavirus pandemic and particularly on the previous administration led by Josep Bartomeu.

Messi asked to leave at the end of the 2019-20 season but had his request denied by Bartomeu. The Argentina star had agreed to stay and had reached agreement with Barcelona on a new contract, but the club wasn’t able to make it work because of its dire financial situation.

Messi spent nearly two decades with the Catalan club after arriving from Argentina as a teenager to play in its youth squads. He made his first-team debut as a 17-year-old in 2004, then played 17 seasons with the main squad. He helped the club win the Champions League four times, the Spanish league 10 times, the Copa del Rey seven times and the Spanish Super Cup eight times.

Messi leaves as Barcelona’s all-time leading scorer with 672 goals. He played in 778 matches with the club, also a record. He is also the overall top scorer in the Spanish league with 474 goals from 520 matches.

He led the Spanish league in scoring in eight seasons, and was the top scorer in the Champions League six times. His 26 goals against Real Madrid are a record for the “clasico” matches against Barcelona’s fiercest rival.

This story originally appeared on: NyPost - Author:Associated Press

Bobby’s son, Terry, confirmed to The Associated Press that his father died at home surrounded by his family early Sunday morning. Florida State also announced the news on social media.

Bobby Bowden announced on July 21 he had a terminal illness that his family later said was pancreatic cancer. He had been treated for prostate cancer more than a decade ago.

With charm and wit, Bowden piled up 357 wins during his 40 years as a major college coach, from tiny Samford — his alma mater, then known as Howard College — to West Virginia and finally at Florida State, where he went 315-98-4. The Seminoles were a force during his 34 seasons as coach, winning 12 Atlantic Coast Conference championships and national titles in 1993 and 1999.

Bowden retired following the 2009 season with a Gator Bowl win over West Virginia in Florida State’s 28th straight postseason appearance, a victory that gave him his 33rd consecutive winning season.

This story originally appeared on: NyPost - Author:Associated Press

Sue Bird and Diana Taurasi have been part of five of those gold medals. Nobody has played more Olympic games for the U.S. than Taurasi with 38. Bird is second with 36 in her final Olympics.

This golden streak started in 1996 in Atlanta with Dawn Staley a player. Staley joins the late Anne Donovan as the only Americans to help the U.S. win gold as players, assistants and then head coaches.

A’ja Wilson added 19 points and Breanna Stewart scored 14 as the Americans dominated inside again. The U.S. extended its Olympic winning streak to 55 consecutive games dating to the 1992 bronze medal game.

Japan finished with the silver in the host nation’s first appearance in the medal round. Japan finished eighth at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Games.

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This story originally appeared on: NyPost - Author:Associated Press

Barcelona announced Thursday that Messi will not stay with the club, saying that the Spanish league’s financial regulations made it impossible to sign the Argentina star to a new contract.

Barcelona said in a statement that a deal for a new contract had been reached but financial “obstacles” made it impossible for the player to remain with the club.

“Despite club and player reaching an agreement and their clear intention to sign a new contract today, this cannot happen because of financial and structural obstacles,” the club said.

It blamed “Spanish league regulations” for not allowing the club to sign a new contract with the player. His previous one had ended on June 30.

“As a result of this situation, Messi shall not be staying on at FC Barcelona,” it said. “Both parties deeply regret that the wishes of the player and the club will ultimately not be fulfilled.

“FC Barcelona wholeheartedly expresses its gratitude to the player for his contribution to the aggrandizement of the club and wishes him all the very best for the future in his personal and professional life,” the statement said.

Messi had asked to leave Barcelona for free at the end of last season but had his request denied by then-president Josep Bartomeu. Joan Laporta took over the presidency and appeared to have convinced Messi to stay. But Laporta had said recently that the club was struggling to fit the player’s salary — even with hefty reductions accepted by the player — into the league-controlled salary cap.

In Messi’s previous contract, signed in 2017, he reportedly earned 138 million euros ($163 million) per season.

The league had announcement on Wednesday that it secured $3.2 billion in private equity funding to help the clubs, which appeared to pave the way for Barcelona to re-sign the Argentina star. But the deal with Messi fell through after club officials met with the player’s representatives in Barcelona on Thursday. Some local reports said it was Messi who had changed his mind about staying, while others said it was the club that got upset with new demands made by the player’s staff.

Messi will be leaving after 17 seasons with the Catalan club, having won 35 titles. He helped the club win the Champions League four times, the Spanish league 10 times, the Copa del Rey seven times and the Spanish Super Cup eight times.

While with the club, Messi earned himself a record six Ballon d’Or awards as the world’s top player. He is the team’s all-time scorer with 672 goals in 778 appearances, and the top scorer in the Spanish league with 474 goals in 520 matches. He also is the player with most matches with the club.

He was the top scorer in the Spanish league in eight seasons, and the top scorer in the Champions League on six occasions. His 26 goals against Real Madrid are a record for the “clásico” matches against Barcelona’s fiercest rival.

Messi arrived at Barcelona at age 13, when he and his family came to Spain to try his luck at Barcelona’s youth academy. He made his official debut on Oct. 16, 2004, and two years later helped the club win its first Champions League in a squad led by Ronaldinho.

This story originally appeared on: NyPost - Author:Associated Press

Mourad Aliev reacted with outrage when referee Andy Mustacchio disqualified him with four seconds left in the second round Sunday. The referee determined Aliev had intentionally used his head to clash with British opponent Frazer Clarke, who had significant cuts near both of his eyes.

After the verdict was announced, Aliev sat down on the canvas just outside the ropes and above the steps leading down to the arena floor. He remained there unmoving, and French team officials came up to speak with him and brought him water.

“This was my way of showing that the decision was so unfair,” Aliev said through a translator. “I wanted to fight against all that injustice, and honestly today, also my teammates had unfair results. I trained my whole life for this, and I came into here, and because of one referee’s decision, I lost. It’s over.”

After more than 30 minutes, boxing officials emerged and spoke with Aliev and the French team. Aliev left the apron, and everyone went inside the Kokugikan Arena.

About 15 minutes later, Aliev returned to the arena and resumed his protest in the same spot for about 15 more minutes. He finally left for good, but not before ripping the referee and the oversight of the temporary Boxing Task Force running the Tokyo tournament.

“I would have won, but it had already been written that I was disqualified,” Aliev said. “I prepared my whole life for this, so getting mad about this result is natural.”

Aliev and Clarke were engaged in close fighting throughout their two rounds, and Aliev did appear to lean into his punches zealously. Clarke, who clinched a medal with the win, thought the decision was fair.

“I felt there was a couple of heads going in there,” Clarke said. “Whether it was intentional or not, that’s not for me to say. … I told (Aliev afterward) to calm down. You’re not thinking with your head. You’re thinking with your heart. I know it’s hard, but the best thing to do is go back to the changing room.”

Aliev protested vocally and emphatically immediately after the bout, yelling to the mostly empty arena: “Everyone knows I won!” Aliev claimed he hadn’t been warned by the referee about his aggressive, headfirst fighting before his disqualification, although some ringside observers thought he had.

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Aliev refused Clarke’s attempts to calm him in the ring. Aliev won the first round on three of the five judges’ scorecards in what was a close fight.

Aliev’s protest didn’t interrupt the tournament since his bout with Clarke was the final fight of the afternoon session, which meant the next bout wasn’t scheduled for more than three hours.

France won six boxing medals in Rio de Janeiro, but its talented team has come up short in a few close fights in Tokyo.

Lightweight Sofiane Oumiha was disappointed by a quick stoppage Saturday in his loss to Keyshawn Davis, who was declared the winner after staggering Oumiha with punches in the second round. Oumiha wasn’t knocked down and appeared to be capable of fighting on, but amateur boxing referees are often quicker to stop fights than pro referees.

“We went so far, but we don’t think they wanted France to get a medal,” France head coach John Dovi said. “It looks like every Olympiad there is something like that. I will quit the French team and stop coaching because of that. It’s very difficult.”

Aliev’s protest is just the latest chapter in the distasteful side story of Olympic boxing, which has been plagued for decades by a combination of inconsistent officiating from occasionally sketchy figures and poor sportsmanship from its losing fighters.

The most famous protest against a judging decision occurred in 1988 in Seoul, when South Korean bantamweight Byun Jung-il refused to leave the ring after being penalized two points for using his head illegally. Byun stayed in the ring for over an hour, and Seoul officials eventually turned out the lights.

The Tokyo Olympic boxing tournament is being run by a special task force instead of the International Boxing Association, which was suspended by the IOC in 2019.

This story originally appeared on: NyPost - Author:Associated Press

Dressel swam the butterfly leg as the Americans set a world record in the 4×100-meter medley relay with a time of 3 minutes, 26.78 seconds — eclipsing the mark of 3:27.28 they set at the 2009 Rome world championships in rubberized suits.

Ryan Murphy, Michael Andrew and Zach Apple joined Dressel on the winning team, ensuring the Americans closed out the swimming competition with another gold in a race they’ve never lost at the Olympics.

Earlier in the session, Dressel won the 50 freestyle for his third individual title of the games. He also won two golds on the relays.

Dressel starred at the pool with Australia’s Emma McKeon, who won two more golds Sunday to push her overall total to seven — four gold and three bronze.

Mirroring Dressel’s final day, McKeon won the 50 free and took the butterfly leg on the Aussies’ winning 4×100 medley relay team on the women’s side.

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McKeon became the first female swimmer to win seven medals at a single games. The only men to do it are Michael Phelps, Mark Spitz and Matt Biondi.

This story originally appeared on: NyPost - Author:Associated Press

The American gymnastics superstar withdrew from Thursday’s all-around competition to focus on her mental well-being.

USA Gymnastics said in a statement on Wednesday that the 24-year-old is opting to not compete. The decision comes a day after Biles removed herself from the team final following one rotation because she felt she wasn’t mentally ready.

Jade Carey, who finished ninth in qualifying, will take Biles’ place in the all-around. Carey initially did not qualify because she was the third-ranking American behind Biles and Sunisa Lee. International Gymnastics Federation rules limit countries to two athletes per event in the finals.

The organization said Biles will be evaluated daily before deciding if she will participate in next week’s individual events. Biles qualified for the finals on all four apparatuses, something she didn’t even do during her five-medal haul in Rio de Janeiro in 2016.

The 24-year-old came to Tokyo as arguably the face of the Games following the retirement of swimmer Michael Phelps and sprinter Usain Bolt. She topped qualifying on Sunday despite piling up mandatory deductions on vault, floor and beam following shaky dismounts.

She posted on social media on Monday that she felt the weight of the world on her shoulders. The weight became too heavy after vaulting during team finals. She lost herself in mid-air and completed 1 1/2 twists instead of 2 1/2. She consulted with U.S. team doctor Marcia Faustin before walking off the field of play.

When she returned, she took off her bar grips, hugged teammates Sunisa Lee, Grace McCallum and Jordan Chiles and turned into the team’s head cheerleader as the U.S. claimed silver behind the Russian Olympic Committee.

“Once I came out here (to compete), I was like, ‘No mental is, not there so I just need to let the girls do it and focus on myself,’” Biles said following the medal ceremony.

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The decision opens the door wide open for the all-around, a title that was long considered a foregone conclusion. Rebeca Andrade of Brazil finished second to Biles during qualifying, followed by Lee and Russians Angelina Melnikova and Vladislava Urazova. The four were separated by three-tenths of a point on Sunday.

Carey now finds herself in the final, capping a remarkable journey for the 21-year-old from Phoenix. She spent two years traveling the globe in an effort to pile up enough points on the World Cup circuit to earn an individual nominative spot, meaning she would be in the Olympics but technically not be part of the four-woman U.S. team.

Carey posted the second-best score on vault and the third-best on floor during qualifying, earning trips to the event finals in the process. Now she finds herself competing for an all-around medal while replacing the athlete considered the greatest of all-time in the sport.

This story originally appeared on: NyPost - Author:Associated Press

Ledecky won the 1,500-meter freestyle, which made its Olympic debut for women this year. That helped the American star make up for what has so far been the worst showing of her Olympic career.

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About an hour after finishing fifth in the 200-meter freestyle, Ledecky held off teammate Erica Sullivan to win the metric mile in 15 minutes, 37.34 seconds.

Sullivan claimed the silver in 15:41.41, while Germany’s Sarah Kohler grabbed the bronze in 15:42.91.

This story originally appeared on: NyPost - Author:Associated Press

Naomi Osaka lost to former French Open finalist Marketa Vondrousova of the Czech Republic 6-1, 6-4 in the third round of the Tokyo tennis tournament on Tuesday.

The second-ranked Osaka, who was born in Japan and grew up in the United States, struggled with her usually reliable groundstrokes.

The 42nd-ranked Vondrousova produced a series of drop-shot winners and other crafty shots that drew Osaka out of her comfort zone.

Osaka won her opening two matches in straight sets following a two-month mental-health break. But conditions were different Tuesday with the roof closed because it was raining outside.

This story originally appeared on: NyPost - Author:Associated Press

Australia’s Ariarne Titmus chased down Ledecky to win one of the most anticipated races of the Summer Games, capturing the gold medal with the second-fastest time in history Monday.

Titmus, who trailed by nearly a full body-length at the halfway mark of the eight-lap race, turned on the speed to touch in 3 minutes, 56.69 seconds.

Ledecky was the defending Olympic champion and world-record holder. She settled for the silver this time in 3:57.36 — the fourth-fastest time ever recorded.

No one else was even close. The bronze went to China’s Li Bingjie in 4:01.08.

Ledecky’s runner-up finish was another disappointment for the Americans after a dynamic start to the swimming competition.

The powerhouse team won six of 12 medals on Sunday but was shut out of the medals in the first two finals Monday. Torri Huske and Michael Andrew just missed out with fourth-place finishes, then it was Ledecky settling for the second spot on the podium — a very unfamiliar place for perhaps the greatest women’s freestyle swimmer in history.

Ledecky lost an individual Olympic final for the first time after winning the 800 free at the 2012 London Games, then capturing three more golds in the 200, 400 and 800 free at Rio de Janeiro five years ago.

Ledecky will get another crack at Titmus in the 200 free, and the American is heavily favored to repeat in the 800 and add another gold in the 1,500 — a new event for the women at these games.

Perhaps the surest bet at the pool, Britain’s Adam Peaty repeated as Olympic champion in the men’s 100 breaststroke.

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Peaty was the world-record holder and the first man to break both 58 and 57 seconds in his signature event. He posted the fifth-fastest time in history (57.37) to blow away the field.

Arno Kamminga of the Netherlands claimed the silver in 58.00, while the bronze went to Italy’s Nicolo Martinenghi in 58.33. Andrew was next in 58.84.

Maggie MacNeil captured Canada’s first gold medal at the pool with a victory in the women’s 100 butterfly.

The reigning world champion touched first in 55.59, edging out Zhang Yufei of China (55.64) for the top spot. Emma McKeon of Australia took the bronze in 55.72, beating the 18-year-old Huske by one-hundredth of a second.

Huske went out fast, as is her style, and appeared to be close to the front with about 10 meters to go. But she faded on her final strokes and just missed a spot on the podium.

Defending champion and world-record holder Sarah Sjöström of Sweden was seventh.

Still to come: Caeleb Dressel beginning his quest for six gold medals starting with the men’s 4×100 free relay.

The American team’s six Sunday medals was more than they ever won on the first day during Michael Phelps’ stellar career, which encompassed the last five Olympics.

Phelps retired from competition after the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Games and is doing commentary for American broadcaster NBC at these Olympics.

This story originally appeared on: NyPost - Author:Associated Press

Over the course of two hours on Sunday, the mistakes — some almost imperceptible, some laid bare for the world to see — kept piling up, chipping away at the aura USA Gymnastics has built over the past decade. Not even the greatest of all time was immune to the realities of a sport where perfection is unattainable.

For 11 years, the Americans flirted with it, at least from a competitive standpoint, flying all over the globe, then flying back home with their suitcases stuffed with gold.

It still might happen at the Tokyo Olympics. But for the first time in a long time, it appears it won’t happen without a fight.

Russia pulled off a stunner in qualifying, posting a top score of 171.629, more than a full point ahead of the U.S. total 170.562. While reigning Olympic champion Simone Biles topped the all-around with teammate Sunisa Lee close behind in third, the Americans ended their session looking up at another name on the scoreboard in the team standings for the first time since the 2010 world championships.

“This was not the finals,” U.S. high-performance director Tom Forster said. “This was getting into the finals. So this might be a great awakening for us and we’ll take advantage of it.”

Forster raised eyebrows following the Olympic Trials last month when he said taking the top four finishers in the all-around in rank over a squad that could potentially score a bit higher by taking a specialist didn’t matter. He reasoned sacrificing a tenth or two here or there wasn’t going to matter based on the history of blowout wins by the Americans at world championships since he took over in 2018.

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“We thought it was a good order, and I still feel good about it,” Forster said, who later added, “it will all work out.”

It always has since Biles joined an already dominant program in 2013. Everything will be reset for the finals, when the format changes to three-up/three-count. The pressure will be greater. And the Americans have found a way to thrive under it.

Inside a largely empty Ariake Gymnastics Center, they finally faltered. At least by their towering standards.

Not even Biles was immune.

While the 24-year-old star topped the all-around with a total of 57.731 and advanced to the finals in all four events, it didn’t come easy. She backpedaled all the way off the mat following a tumbling pass on her floor exercise, then basically did the same on vault. She responded with a solid set on uneven bars, but a spectacular beam routine ended with her temporarily reeling following her dismount, something Forster said he’s never seen her do.

Biles, who came to Japan as the face of the U.S. Olympic movement and possibly the Games themselves, saluted the judges then walked off the podium with a smile that looked like a combination of relief, sarcasm and frustration.

There was plenty to go around.

Jordan Chiles’ relentlessly consistent run that carried her to a spot on the team ended with a major mistake on bars and a fall on beam. Grace McCallum stepped out of bounds on floor. Lee had two of her scores (vault and floor) dropped in the team competition, though her electric bar set helped her surge into third behind Biles and Brazil’s Rebeca Andrade.

The biggest bright spot for the Americans may have been the spectacular performance by Jade Carey. Competing as an individual after earning a nominative berth through the World Cup circuit, Carey earned a spot in the vault and floor exercise finals and only missed out on the all-around due to the rules that limit finals to two athletes per country.

Carey’s decision to pursue an individual berth is symbolic of the depth the Americans have enjoyed during their rise to supremacy. Yet they no longer appear to have the market cornered on excellence.

ROC’s performance’s offered proof that the former gymnastics superpower is in the midst of a resurgence led by 21-year-old Angelina Melnikova. Even better, the Russians survived the balance beam relatively unscathed.

Things will be different in the finals, when the margin for error disappears. While Melnikova stressed she didn’t want to forecast what might with a medal on the line, she believes what has long been a walkover for the Americans will turn into something far more compelling.

“We hope that (we win),” Melnikova said. “We’re also going to struggle and fight. We have to. That’s the expectation for us.”

And suddenly, it looks doable.

This story originally appeared on: NyPost - Author:Associated Press

Jay Litherland made it a 1-2 finish for the powerhouse U.S. team, rallying on the freestyle leg to take the silver. Brendon Smith of Australia claimed the bronze.

Kalisz, a protege and former training partner of Olympic great Michael Phelps, touched first in 4 minutes, 9.42 seconds.

Litherland was next in 4:10.28, just ahead of Smith (4:10.38).

Kalisz flexed his muscles and then climbed atop the lane rope, splashing the water while a contingent of his teammates cheered him from the stands of the nearly empty Tokyo Aquatics Centre.

“U-S-A! U-S-A!” they chanted.

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Litherland came over to give the winner a hug, having ensured the Americans got off to the best possible start at the pool.

The Americans seized their chance after Japanese star Daiya Seto stunningly failed to advance to the final, having finished ninth in the preliminaries after making a tactical error attempting to save his energy for the medal race.

The finals were held in the morning Tokyo time rather than their usual evening slot, a nod to U.S. television network NBC, which wanted to show the finals live in prime time back in America.

This story originally appeared on: NyPost - Author:Associated Press

But Sweden, ranked No. 5, has been the U.S. team’s nemesis of sorts in recent years. The Swedes bounced the Americans from the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Games in the quarterfinals, the earliest U.S. Olympic exit ever.

Then in April, Sweden played the United States to a 1-1 draw in Stockholm, which snapped a winning streak dating back to January 2019, when the Americans lost to France in the run-up to the World Cup.

Blackstenius’ header into the far corner off a cross from Sofia Jakobsson in the 26th minute gave Sweden the first-half lead.

The United States came out stale, with its best chance of the opening half coming in the final moments when Rose Lavelle’s shot hit the post. Coach Vlatko Andonovski made changes for the second half, subbing in Carli Lloyd for Alex Morgan and Julie Ertz for Sam Mewis.

But Blackstenius scored again in the 54th minute, beating goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher, as the Americans continued to struggle. Lina Hurtig then scored in the 72nd.
The loss was the first for the United States under Andonovski, who took over when former coach Jill Ellis stepped down following the team’s World Cup victory in France.

The Swedes were without Magda Eriksson because of injury. The team said she has been training, but because of the compact schedule of the tournament she was held out of the opener.

Tokyo is Sweden’s seventh Olympics. After eliminating the Americans on penalties in the quarterfinals five years ago, the Swedes went on to win the silver medal, losing to Germany 2-1 in the final.

The United States has four Olympic gold medals, more than any other nation. The team is vying to become the first to win Olympic gold following a World Cup title.
Sweden now leads Group G heading into Saturday’s game against Australia in Saitama, while the United States faces New Zealand. The top two teams in the group advance the knockout round.

This story originally appeared on: NyPost - Author:Associated Press

The players left the field together with five minutes remaining in the game after Torunarigha was “racially insulted,” the German soccer federation said on Twitter.

“If one of our players is racially abused, it’s not an option for us to keep playing,” Germany coach Stefan Kuntz said.

“It was hard to get him in, he was terribly upset because he said he was repeatedly racially abused,” Kuntz continued. “For us it’s clear, this violates our values, we cannot tolerate it. We’ll take our player completely under our protection.”

Torunarigha’s club, Hertha Berlin, responded by saying “ that’s the only correct decision!”

The score was 1-1 when the German players walked off.

“After the situation calmed down a bit, the whole Honduras team came over to us on the bench and apologized,” Kuntz said. “That was the end of the matter for us.”

The Honduran soccer federation said on Twitter that the game was abandoned in the 87th minute “due to the fact that a German player alleged a supposed racist insult on the part of a Honduran national team player.”

The Honduran federation said the “situation occurred due to a misunderstanding on the field of play.”

Germany captain Maximilian Arnold said the team discussed taking the matter further but decided against it.

“We made a correct statement, we made the right decisions and acted correctly. It was also Jordan’s wish. He said that we should leave it at that,” Arnold said.

The friendly game in Wakayama, Japan was Germany’s last preparation match before it plays Brazil in Yokohama on Thursday. Kuntz’ team also plays Saudi Arabia on July 25 and Ivory Coast on July 28 in Group D.

The 23-year-old Torunarigha, who is the son of former player Ojokojo Torunarigha of Nigeria, has faced racist abuse before. He was targeted with monkey chants by some Schalke fans in a German Cup game on Feb. 4, 2020. Schalke was fined 50,000 euros ($54,600) for its supporters’ abuse.

This story originally appeared on: NyPost - Author:Associated Press

The Giants announced his death Wednesday on behalf of the Tidrow family. He died unexpectedly Saturday in Lee’s Summit, Missouri.

“Our entire organization is heartbroken by the news of Dick’s passing,” Giants President and CEO Larry Baer said. “So much of our success over these past three decades is directly linked to Dick’s contributions. He will be truly missed by all of us and our thoughts are with Mari Jo and his entire family during this difficult time.”

Tidrow pitched parts of 13 major league seasons for the Indians, the Yankees, Cubs, White Sox and Mets. The 6-foot-4 right-hander had a 100-94 career record with a 3.68 ERA over 620 appearances with 138 starts.

Tidrow most recently served as the Giants’ senior adviser to the President of Baseball Operations, He spent 28 seasons in a half-dozen roles with the Giants after joining the franchise before the 1994 season as a major league scout.

The former pitcher’s guidance was crucial during the Giants’ three World Series championship seasons of 2010, ‘12 and ’14. The 2010 championship was the first for the franchise since moving West in 1958.

“Dick was a unique and special person whose influence and impact was legendary throughout the game and whose fingerprints are all over our three World Series trophies,” said Brian Sabean, the Giants; executive vice president and senior adviser. “On a personal level, we shared some incredible highs and lows together and I’m forever grateful for his 40 years of friendship and support.”

Before returning to his native San Francisco, Tidrow worked as a special assignment scout for the Yankees from 1985 through 1993.

“Crushing! Yet another great baseball man we have lost!” former Giants infielder Kevin Frandsen posted on Twitter. “The ‘ninja’ was so influential with all of us. His random times he’d pop up, maybe say a few words that might help you out, say a few words that you might not of wanted to hear at the time. But he ALWAYS was HONEST!”

Tidrow was born on May 14, 1947, in San Francisco. A former Marine, he attended high school and college in the East Bay suburb of Hayward, graduating from Mount Eden High in 1965 and Chabot Junior College two years later.

He is survived by wife, Mari Jo, three children — Andy, Matt and Richelle — and one grandchild, Trista.

“Dick was truly one of a kind. He is loved and missed beyond measure and irreplaceable in our hearts and lives,” Mari Jo Tidrow said.

This story originally appeared on: NyPost - Author:Associated Press

And for quite probably the first time in 29 years of NBA players suiting up for the national team, they heard boos when a game ended — on home soil, no less.

Patty Mills scored 22 points and Australia held the U.S. without a field goal for the final 4:34 on the way to beating the Americans 91-83 on Monday night, dropping the three-time defending Olympic gold medalists to 0-2 in their five-game slate of exhibitions leading up to the Tokyo Games.

Joe Ingles scored 17 points, Matisse Thybulle scored 12 and Chris Goulding had 11 for Australia.

Damian Lillard led the U.S. with 22 points, while Kevin Durant scored 17 and Bradley Beal finished with 12. But the Americans wasted a 10-point second-half lead, and have dropped back-to-back games for just the third time since NBA players began wearing the red, white and blue in 1992.

The other instances: two straight in the 2002 FIBA World Championship and two straight in the 2019 Basketball World Cup. The U.S. finished sixth in the first tournament, seventh in the other. And while these are glorified scrimmages, this much is already certain — a medal seems far from a lock for the U.S.

Jayson Tatum’s layup with 4:35 left put the Americans up 82-80. Australia scoured the U.S. 11-1 the rest of the way, and Mills — who plays for U.S. coach Gregg Popovich in San Antonio — did most of the damage for the Boomers down the stretch.

Favored by 16.5 points before the game, according to FanDuel Sportsbook, the Americans looked the part for much of the first half. A 20-6 run — capped by five points from Select Team call-up Keldon Johnson — put the U.S. up by eight late in the opening quarter, and Lillard closed out his 16-point first half with a 3-pointer 31.7 seconds before intermission that gave the Americans a 46-35 lead.

The halftime lead was nine, the same lead that the U.S. had early in the third quarter against Nigeria before letting it slip away.

And the same thing happened in this one.

The third-quarter lead for the U.S. was as big as 10 and was 58-50 when Lillard made a 3-pointer midway through the period. But Australia closed the quarter on a 19-6 run, Goulding hit a 3-pointer as time expired and Australia took a 69-64 lead into the final 10 minutes.

This story originally appeared on: NyPost - Author:Associated Press

The fight was stopped after the first-round bell when McGregor (22-6) was unable to continue. The biggest star in mixed martial arts never got up after falling to the canvas following a final-minute blow by Poirier (28-6), who will get the UFC’s next lightweight title shot.

Poirier said he thought McGregor’s leg broke when he checked one of McGregor’s kicks earlier in the fight.

Poirier was largely in control of the opening round, parrying McGregor’s kicks and landing several strikes before getting control over McGregor on the ground. After a long stretch of punches and elbows on the prone McGregor, Poirier knocked him down one last time — and McGregor’s ankle bent gruesomely as he fell.

“I felt something, for sure,” Poirier said. “He fractured it on one of the kicks at the beginning of the fight, and then he broke it.”

McGregor was furious about the circumstances of his loss before he was carried from the cage. He also continued his lengthy campaign of verbal abuse against Poirier and his wife on the way out.

“This is not over!” he shouted.

UFC President Dana White said he was told McGregor broke his shin near the ankle. McGregor will have surgery on Sunday morning.

White confirmed Poirier will get the next shot at new lightweight champ Charles Oliveira. He also said he expects a fourth fight between McGregor and Poirier at some point after McGregor’s leg heals.

“The fight didn’t get finished,” White said. “You can’t have a fight finish that way. We’ll see how this whole thing plays out. Who knows how long Conor is out? Poirier will do his thing until Conor is ready.”

McGregor dropped to 1-3 in the cage since 2016, when he abdicated his UFC title reigns and accepted a wildly lucrative boxing match with Floyd Mayweather. McGregor has been unable to recapture his fearsome MMA form, losing decisively to Khabib Nurmagomedov and twice to Poirier while beating only an over-the-hill Donald Cerrone.

Poirier stopped McGregor in the second round when they met in Abu Dhabi last January, avenging his first-round knockout loss to McGregor in 2014. Poirier’s clear superiority in the fighters’ second bout made a third showdown seem questionable just six months later, but McGregor demanded the chance to fix his mistakes and Poirier accepted the massive paycheck that comes from sharing a cage with McGregor.

Instead of taking an easier fight or another boxing match, McGregor wanted another shot at Poirier after getting stopped by strikes for the first time in his MMA career. He claimed he had been distracted by his plans to box Manny Pacquiao this year, and he vowed to devote his full attention to MMA in training camp.

McGregor’s star power has shown no significant decline despite the dwindling evidence of his once-transcendent skills. The celebrity-studded Vegas crowd was vocally behind McGregor, who strutted into the octagon with his usual flair.

But the steady, hardworking Poirier has earned the chance to recapture the lightweight title he held on an interim basis in 2019 before his loss to Nurmagomedov. That was the only defeat in nearly five years for Poirier, who has mostly maintained a decade of upward momentum in the UFC.

Poirier likely would have been the next opponent for Oliveira in the wake of Nurmagomedov’s retirement, but Poirier risked that opportunity by taking this lucrative rematch with McGregor. The decision revealed Poirier’s confidence in his ability to handle McGregor again, and the fighter known as “The Diamond” shone.

McGregor was charming and friendly to Poirier throughout the promotion of their second bout earlier this year, but that collegiality was gone for the third fight. McGregor returned to his verbose, mean-spirited promotional persona, repeatedly insulting Poirier’s wife and vowing to kill the man who beat him six months earlier.

T-Mobile Arena was packed with a sellout UFC crowd for the first time since the coronavirus pandemic began, and President Dana White said the gate revenue was around $16.5 million, ranking among the highest in UFC history. The celebrity crowd included Dave Chappelle, Mel Gibson, Miles Teller, Jared Leto, Steve Aoki, Jackass’ Steve-O, Baker Mayfield and NFL owners Robert Kraft and Mark Davis.

Former president Donald Trump also arrived for the final three fights and got a brief, loud burst of cheers and boos from the packed arena.

Gilbert Burns won a unanimous decision over Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson in the co-main event, with the Brazilian bouncing back from his knockout loss to welterweight champ Kamaru Usman in February.

Earlier on the pay-per-view card, Australian heavyweight Tai Tuivasa celebrated his violent first-round knockout of former NFL player Greg Hardy by climbing onto the octagon fence and doing a shoey — drinking booze from a shoe in proper Aussie celebratory style. Hardy, who lost his NFL career in 2015 after being convicted of domestic violence, has lost two straight fights after a 7-2 start to his MMA career.

Welterweights Michel Pereira and Niko Price put on the best show on the early undercard, and Pereira highlighted his narrow decision victory with a remarkable standing backflip and a scramble into full mount on a prone Price.

This story originally appeared on: NyPost - Author:Associated Press

Nigeria probably didn’t expect it, either.

If there was any expectation of invincibility for the Americans heading into the Tokyo Olympics, it’s already gone — after Nigeria shocked the U.S. 90-87 on Saturday night.

Nigeria pulled off an international shocker with a roster primarily filled of little-known NBA players that found a way to beat a group of All-NBA, All-Star and max-contract performers.

“I thought that the Nigerian team played very physically, did a great job in that regard and knocked down a lot of 3s,” U.S. coach Gregg Popovich said. “Give them credit.”

Gabe Nnamdi, who goes by Gabe Vincent when playing for the Miami Heat, led Nigeria with 21 points. Caleb Agada scored 17 points, Ike Nwamu added 13 and Nigeria outscored the U.S. 60-30 from 3-point range.

Kevin Durant, who had never before played in a loss for USA Basketball in 39 senior international games, had 17 points. Jayson Tatum added 15, Damian Lillard had 14 and Bam Adebayo 11.

“Just goes to show that we have to play better,” Tatum said.

The Americans had gone 39-0 in their last three Olympic seasons — including pre-Olympic exhibitions — on their way to gold medals and had been 54-2 in major exhibitions since NBA players began playing for USA Basketball in 1992. Plus, they’d beaten Nigeria by a combined 127 points in their last two meetings, one at the 2012 London Games, the other a warm-up for the 2016 Rio Games.

Nigeria lost to the U.S. at the 2012 Olympics by 83 points. Lost to the Americans again four years later in an exhibition, that time by 44 points.

Not this time.

“Nigeria’s come a long way with their basketball,” USA Basketball managing director Jerry Colangelo said.

Ike Iroegbu — a former Washington State player who some time in the G League — hit a 3-pointer with about 1:15 left to put Nigeria up 88-80. Durant scored the next seven points for the U.S.; a 3-pointer, two free throws following a turnover, then two more from the line with 16.5 seconds remaining.

Nnamdi made two foul shots with 13.2 seconds left to restore Nigeria’s 3-point edge. The Americans ran 9.7 seconds off the clock on the ensuing possession without getting a shot off, and Zach LaVine missed a pair of free throws — the second intentionally — with 3.5 seconds left.

Precious Achiuwa got the rebound for Nigeria, and that was it. It’s only an exhibition — but the upset was still of the massive variety, the 22nd-ranked nation by FIBA beating the No. 1-ranked team and three-time reigning Olympic gold medalists.

Popovich heard the final buzzer and shook hands with Nigeria coach Mike Brown, the Golden State assistant, as the Americans walked off stunned.

There was an injury scare for the Americans late in the second quarter, when LaVine got hurt on a play where he was closing out against Nnamdi. He went airborne after a head fake and came down awkwardly, grabbing at his left ankle before getting up and going directly to the U.S. locker room.

LaVine was fine and returned in the third quarter.

The bigger scare was the scoreboard. Nigeria trailed only 43-41 at the half, led for long stretches of the opening 20 minutes, and simply wasn’t going away.

This story originally appeared on: NyPost - Author:Associated Press

Acuña landed awkwardly on his right leg after jumping on the warning track in right field to try to catch a drive from Jazz Chisholm Jr. in the fifth inning. He slammed into the outfield wall and crumbled on the warning track, immediately grabbing toward his right knee while Chisholm sprinted out an inside-the-park homer.

Acuña tried to walk off but dropped back to the ground in shallow right field. A trainer tended to him while a cart was retrieved, and concerned teammates gathered quietly around him.

Tears welled in Acuña’s eyes as he waited. When the cart pulled around to the nearby warning track, he had to be helped over and did not put any weight on his right leg.

No further details on the extent of the injury were immediately available.

Acuña was slated to start in the outfield for the NL All-Star team in Tuesday’s game, his third appearance. The 23-year-old is hitting .283 with 24 home runs and 52 RBIs for the three-time defending NL East champions, who started the day in second place behind the New York Mets.

This story originally appeared on: NyPost - Author:Associated Press

Backstopped by their star goaltender and the only two Tampa Bay players on the ice without their name on the Cup, the Lightning won it all for the second time in 10 months by beating the Montreal Canadiens 1-0 in Game 5 on Wednesday night.

Andrei Vasilevskiy had a series-ending shutout for an NHL-record fifth consecutive time dating to the 2020 final. Finishing with a handful in a frantic final minute, he made 22 saves to remain undefeated in games after a loss over the past two playoffs, both contested during a deadly pandemic with the Lightning coming out on top each time.

Ross Colton and David Savard weren’t around last year and made sure to put their stamp on Tampa Bay’s latest title run. Savard set up Coleman’s goal midway through the second period past Canadiens stalwart Carey Price that fired up the crowd of over 17,000 fans at Amalie Arena.

The scene couldn’t have been any further from the mirthless, empty arena where the Lightning won the Cup last September in a quarantined bubble across the continent in Edmonton, Alberta. Tampa Bay joined Pittsburgh as the only back-to-back Cup winner in the salary-cap era, but even more impressively did it amid virus protocols with the shortest span between championships in the long history of the NHL.

Never losing twice in a row thanks to a combination of Vasilevskiy’s brilliance and one of the deepest rosters constructed since the cap was implemented in 2005, the Lightning solidified their status as a modern-day dynasty.

How deep? Nikita Kucherov had 32 points to join Mario Lemieux as the only players to lead the postseason in scoring two years in a row, and Brayden Point scored 14 goals through three rounds. Kucherov, Point and defenseman Victor Hedman all played through injuries, too.

It was just to much for the Canadiens, who relied again on Price to keep them in a game. He finished with 29 saves — one too few to prevent a Cup celebration for Tampa Bay.

The sunbelt franchise in a nontraditional market that didn’t even exist until 1992-93 went through the NHL’s most storied franchise to do it. The Lightning won the Cup for the third time in franchise history and denied Montreal a 25th league championship banner.

The Lightning also added another title for “Champa Bay,” with this title coming on the heels of Tom Brady leading the Buccaneers to a Super Bowl victory in February. The Tampa Bay Rays went to the World Series last fall.

Tampa Bay’s mayor had suggested the Lightning lose Game 4 on the road so they could win at home, and she got her wish as coach Jon Cooper’s team became the first since Chicago in 2015 to hoist the Cup on home ice.

That paved the way not only for fans to roar in approval but for families to join in the celebration, something that wasn’t possible in the bubble. Patrick Maroon became the fourth player in NHL history to win the Cup three years in a row with two teams while Kucherov joined Lemieux and Wayne Gretzky as the only players with 30-plus points in back-to-back playoffs.

The back-to-back title run was spurred by the adversity of the team overcoming the shock of getting swept by Columbus in the first round of the 2019 playoffs. They learned from each loss after that to build up a resolve that’s hard to maintain over as playoff hockey takes a toll.

The Canadiens ran out of gas in what was an otherwise surprise playoff run for a team that opened the postseason with the worst record of the 16 qualifiers. Montreal rallied from a 3-1 first-round series deficit against Toronto and eliminated Winnipeg and Vegas in reaching the final round for the first time since winning the Cup in 1993.

This story originally appeared on: NyPost - Author:Associated Press