Tag: Associated Press

Look: Uga’s 2020 Sugar Bowl experience is much more pleasant than last year’s

Uga’s 2020 Sugar Bowl experience is much more pleasant than last year’s in New Orleans

Uga X, the beloved mascot of the Georgia Bulldogs, met up with Baylor’s artificial Bear before this year’s Allstate Sugar Bowl in New Orleans.

Of course, this meeting is a little different than last year’s encounter with Bevo, the official mascot of the Texas Longhorns. Bevo charged at Uga, giving fans a virtual representation of the beatdown that was to come in the game itself.

Here’s that highlight as well.

WATCH: LeBron James reaches career assists milestone

The Associated Press naming LeBron James the Male Athlete of the Decade Sunday isn’t exactly a shock.

The Associated Press naming LeBron James the Male Athlete of the Decade Sunday isn’t exactly a shock.

In his last game as a 34-year-old that night, though, King James celebrated the award by hitting a career milestone in a selfless statistical category.

James dished out 13 assists as the Lakers beat the Mavericks 108-95, passing 9,000-career assists mark. LBJ is just the ninth NBA player to reach the benchmark.

LeBron added 13 points in the same game but acknowledged a shift away from his own scoring in his focus over the last two games of the decade.

“It was something that was instilled in me when I first picked up a basketball,” James told the AP about his ability to distribute the ball. “One of my earliest coaches said the best part of the game was to move side to side, attract the defense and get the teammate the open look.”

In Saturday’s game, James finished with 16 assists to push him toward the 9K mark.

The pace in James’ play and role in facilitating his teammates getting better shots is what the star and head coach Frank Vogel say helped end a four-game losing streak by the Lakers Saturday.

James’ turns 35-years-old Monday. He and the Lakers start 2020 hosting the Suns on new years day, now riding a pair of wins and still sit atop the Western Conference standings.

James reaches career assists milestone following AP naming him Male Athlete of Decade

The Associated Press naming LeBron James the Male Athlete of the Decade Sunday isn’t exactly a shock.

The Associated Press naming LeBron James the Male Athlete of the Decade Sunday isn’t exactly a shock.

James reaches career assists milestone following AP naming him Male Athlete of Decade (Lebronwire)

The Associated Press naming LeBron James the Male Athlete of the Decade Sunday isn’t exactly a shock.

The Associated Press naming LeBron James the Male Athlete of the Decade Sunday isn’t exactly a shock.

WATCH: FIFA Women’s World Cup could be played every two years

FIFA president Gianni Infantino said Friday that the federation is considering staging the FIFA Women’s World Cup every two years.

American women’s soccer dominance could double in frequency.

FIFA president Gianni Infantino said Friday that the federation is considering staging the FIFA Women’s World Cup every two years instead of every four, according to the Associated Press.

Infantino explained that the idea has staying power because of the event’s, “incredible impact for the development of the game.”

“We need to see what kind of big events we can create,” he said. “So we are studying this, of course.”

The FIFA Women’s World Cup is already set to grow in size next time around, growing from 24 to 32 teams in 2023.

The location of that expanded tournament will be decided in June of 2020.

[opinary poll=”should-the-womens-world-cup-be-held-ever” customer=”forthewin”]

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FIFA Women’s World Cup could be played every two years, instead of every four

FIFA president Gianni Infantino said Friday that the federation is considering staging the FIFA Women’s World Cup every two years instead of every four, according to the Associated Press.

FIFA president Gianni Infantino said Friday that the federation is considering staging the FIFA Women’s World Cup every two years instead of every four, according to the Associated Press.

Three Badgers named to Associated Press All-American teams

The AP announced its All-American teams, and Wisconsin is well-represented with Zack Baun, Tyler Biadasz and Jonathan Taylor all included.

Wisconsin is well-represented on the Associated Press All-American teams that were released on Monday, joining Georgia and Kentucky as the only schools to land multiple players on the first team.

To the surprise of no one, Jonathan Taylor earned a spot as one of the two first-team running backs for the second year in a row. He was the only player to repeat as a first-team selection this season.

It’s safe to say Taylor has not disappointed throughout what most expect to be his final season in Madison. He leads the Big Ten in both rushing yards and touchdowns and ranks second nationally in both categories, and was named the Ameche-Dayne Big Ten Running Back of the Year for the second year in a row. He was also just awarded the Doak Walker Award for the second consecutive season at last week’s College Football Awards.

Taylor is a special talent, but the offensive linemen who have blasted running lanes open for him over the last three years have been critical to his success as well and deserve their fair share of the recognition. This is especially true of Tyler Biadasz, who has been one of the nation’s top centers from the moment he seized the starting role as a redshirt freshman in 2017.

Biadasz has turned in his best season yet as a junior, earning consensus first-team All-Big Ten honors for the second straight year and winning the Rimington Trophy as the best center in college football. The Amherst, Wis. native can now add “First Team All-American” to his resume as well.

Taylor and Biadasz have been unsurprisingly fantastic for the Badgers this season, but arguably the biggest storyline of the year for Wisconsin has been the emergence of Zack Baun into one of the nation’s top linebackers and, as of today, a Second Team All-American.

Plenty of Badger fans expected to see some progress from Baun this season, but few anticipated him to turn into a full-fledged star. This, of course, is exactly what he has become: Baun’s team-high 12.5 sacks and 19.5 tackles for loss are both good for No. 2 in the conference and No. 7 in the nation. In addition to earning AP All-American honors, he was a consensus First Team All-Big Ten selection and a finalist for the Butkus Award.

While Taylor and Biadasz were already held in high regard by professional scouts leading into the season, Baun was flying considerably under the radar. That’s no longer the case, as his breakout senior season has likely made him a great deal of money: he is now widely considered a likely mid-round selection (at worst) in this spring’s NFL draft and will have the chance to improve his stock even further at the Senior Bowl in January.