Tag: Europe

Santiago Aldama talks contract extension, new coach, and more

Santiago Aldama, the Memphis Grizzlies’ versatile forward, has taken a significant leap in his fourth NBA season, embracing a larger role and showcasing his dynamic skillset as he nears restricted free agency. Standing at 6-foot-11, Aldama has …

Santiago Aldama, the Memphis Grizzlies’ versatile forward, has taken a significant leap in his fourth NBA season, embracing a larger role and showcasing his dynamic skillset as he nears restricted free agency. Standing at 6-foot-11, Aldama has thrived with increased offensive freedom, often playing as a hybrid forward or even a wing despite his near-seven-foot frame.

In a recent interview with HoopsHype, Aldama discussed his journey, the impact of international play, and the coaching shift to Tuomas Iisalo.

Social media reacts to NBA announcing Europe plans: ‘Wild the NBA is more interested in expanding into Europe than to Seattle/Las Vegas’

With FIBA secretary general Andreas Zagkils sitting beside him in New York, Adam Silver officially announced that FIBA would be in partnership with the NBA to start a European league. See the mixed reactions from social media below:

With FIBA secretary general Andreas Zagkils sitting beside him in New York, Adam Silver officially announced that FIBA would be in partnership with the NBA to start a European league.

See the mixed reactions from social media below:

Former Wisconsin football staffer named head coach of Paris Musketeers

Former Wisconsin football staffer named head coach of Paris Musketeers

Former Wisconsin football staffer Jack Del Rio is the new head coach of the European League of Football’s Paris Musketeers, according to Adam Schefter.

Del Rio spent most of the 2024 season with the Badgers as a senior adviser to head coach Luke Fickell. He resigned on Nov. 11 after an OWI arrest.

Related: Recapping Wisconsin football’s winter transfer portal movement

The longtime NFL coach began his career as an assistant strength coach with the New Orleans Saints in 1997. He then rose to become the head coach of the Jacksonville Jaguars from 2003-11, and then of the Oakland Raiders from 2015-17.

His most recent NFL stint was as defensive coordinator for the Washington Commanders from 2020-23.

The European League of Football, founded in 2020, played its first season in 2021. Eight teams were part of that inaugural season. The league now has 16 teams entering 2025. The Musketeers were one of several to join in 2023.

The Musketeers went 10-2 during the 2024 season, falling to the Vienna Vikings in the league’s semifinals. Former head coach Marc Mattioli left after the season for the defensive coordinator vacancy at Kennesaw State.

Former San Francisco 49ers head coach Jim Tomsula is the other notable NFL name roaming a European League of Football sideline (Rhein Fire). His team was the league’s champion in 2024.

Wisconsin, meanwhile, has made several coaching staff changes since the conclusion of the 2024 season. The program hired Kansas offensive coordinator Jeff Grimes to the same position, moved Kenny Guiton to quarterbacks coach, hired Jordan Reid as wide receivers coach and promoted Jack Cooper to safeties coach. These moves follow the team’s disappointing 5-7 finish to the 2024 season — the program’s first bowl-less campaign since 2001.

Contact/Follow @TheBadgersWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Wisconsin Badgers news, notes and opinion

Meet the runners who won the 2024 European Athletics Championships

Get the highlights.

The 2024 European Athletics Championships have wrapped up, and it’s time to review which runners won.

This year, the Championships took place in Italy. Athletes converged on Rome to compete in everything from 5000m races to shot put and high jump. Events began on June 7 and wrapped up on June 12.

According to the European Athletics Championships website, “An astonishing 15 championship records fell across the 47 events in Roma 2024.” Italy’s team of athletes took home 24 total medals, breaking the country’s Split 1990 record of 15 medals and Germany’s Berlin 2018 record of 20 total medals.

So, which country’s runners proved victorious this year? Find out in the 2024 European Athletics Championships photo gallery below.

Notre Dame gets transfer center Nikita Konstantynovskyi from Monmouth

We’ll see how he does for the Irish.

Notre Dame always could use some depth down low as it seems like most of its production comes from the guard position. Concerns about height undoubtedly increased after Carey Booth transferred to Illinois. Now, the Irish seem to have at least attempted to the solve that problem after transfer center and Ukraine native [autotag]Nikita Konstantynovskyi[/autotag] announced he was coming to the program:

https://www.instagram.com/konstyk_n12/p/C69IHoRtGh2/

Konstantynovskyi, the first European player for the Irish since Lithuania native [autotag]Martinas Geben[/autotag] left in 2018, has had a long journey and not only geographically. He began his collegiate career with two seasons at community college Northeastern Oklahoma A&M College. That was followed by two seasons at Tulsa before spending last year with Monmouth, where he averaged career highs of 9.3 points and 8.1 rebounds a game.

Konstantynovskyi is the second player the Irish have added via the transfer portal this offseason after [autotag]Matt Allocco[/autotag]. They are allowed to add one more player to the roster, so the question now is how [autotag]Micah Shrewsberry[/autotag] and his staff want to use it. Stay tuned.

Contact/Follow us @IrishWireND on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Notre Dame news, notes, and opinions.

Follow Geoffrey on Twitter: @gfclark89

What is the Ryder Cup? Things to know about battle between U.S. and Europe

Here are some other essentials facts all golfers should know about the Ryder Cup.

The Ryder Cup will be staged for the 44th time this week at Marco Simone Golf & Country Club in Rome, Italy.

The U.S. won the last outing, two years ago at Whistling Straits in Wisconsin. The Americans won 19-9, one of the bigger routs in the history of the series.

The U.S. squad has 12 members, as does the European contingent. Zach Johnson, who played in five Ryder Cups, is a first-time captain this year. Luke Donald is heading up the European squad. He assumed the role after the original captain, Henrik Stenson, joined the LIV Golf League forcing him to relinquish his Ryder Cup duties.

Here are some other essentials facts all golfers should know about the Ryder Cup.

Solheim Cup records, facts and figures for the United States and Europe

Get to know the history of the Solheim Cup.

CASARES, Spain — We’re just a day away from the upcoming matches and a bit of Solheim Cup history has already been made this year.

The Europeans are primed to win a third consecutive Solheim Cup as the 2023 matches head to Finca Cortesin Golf Club in Spain, but a stout American lineup stands in the way.

Leading the United States will be 38-year-old Stacy Lewis, who set the mark as the youngest U.S. captain. Patty Sheehan had the previous record of 45 years old in 2002. The youngest-ever captain? That’d be Europe’s 2003 leader, Catrin Nilsmark, at 36 years, 13 days.

Dating back to the inaugural event in 1990, the Solheim Cup has been contested 17 times around the world. From Colorado to Germany, Florida to Scotland, a total of 444 matches have been played, and the U.S. holds a slight advantage. The Americans have won 196 matches to Europe’s 181 wins, with 67 matches tied. That means the two sides are separated by just 15 points all-time: U.S.: 229½ points; Europe: 214½.

Team Overall Singles Foursomes Fourballs
U.S. wins 196 97 49 50
Europe wins 181 71 59 51
Ties 67 28 17 22
Total 444 196 125 123

The U.S. has dominated singles (97-71-28), but has a losing record in both foursomes (49-59-27) and fourball (50-51-22).

If you’re a fan of fun facts and figures, take a deeper look at the history of the Solheim Cup.

Best Solheim Cup captain’s picks of all time

Team Europe has made twice as many captain’s picks as the United States (and they usually deliver).

CASARES, Spain — Often debated by fans and the media, captain’s picks can make or break a national team.

Do you go for the hot hand or a player with past success in the event? What about the team room, how will a player fit in? Who can they be paired with? It’s an intriguing additional element to already exciting events.

The history of captain’s picks is different for each national team event. The Solheim Cup, for example, began in 1990 but it wasn’t until 1998 that both the Americans and Europeans used a team format of automatic qualifiers and captain’s picks to determine their 12-player rosters. Different styles have been used across the 13 matches since, but there’s been one constant: the Europeans use far more picks.

Since 1998 the Europeans have made 56 captain’s picks compared to the 27 made by the U.S. The Americans made only two captain’s picks from 1998-2021, where they took three. This year’s matches at Finca Cortesin in Spain, Sept. 22-24, mark the first U.S. team to use six captain’s picks, whereas their European counterparts began making six captain’s picks in 2021.

That got us thinking, who have been some of the better selections over the years, and how crucial a role have they played?

Planning a golf trip to Europe? You might have additional forms to fill out

Plan to play golf in Europe in 2024 or after? You might need to do more digital homework first.

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Planning a golf trip to Europe in 2024? You might need to fill out some new digital paperwork first, even if you’re a U.S. citizen used to traveling about the European Union visa-free.

The official travel site of the EU announced this week that starting in 2024, visitors from more than 60 countries that are visa-exempt will need to apply for entry to 30 countries through the European Travel Information and Authorization System (ETIAS). The applicable visas will not be physical paperwork, instead being digitally linked to a visitor’s passport.

Notably, the announced program for 2024 does not apply to the Republic of Ireland, probably the most-visited of EU countries for U.S. players on golf trips. (For anyone who was busy beating balls on the range for several years and missed it, popular golf destinations England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are no longer part of the EU and are not part of this new application process.)

U.S. nationals currently don’t need to fill out such an application, but that changes for any trips starting Jan. 1. The EU said ETIAS approval normally will take just a few minutes but can stretch out several days or longer, so it’s best to apply as early as possible to avoid any headaches or missed tee times.

Applications will be provided through an official website and app, and travelers will need to provide their passport information or another document to which visas can be affixed. The application process has not yet opened.

The processing fee is 7 euros, currently less than $8. Children under 18 years old and seniors over 70 can apply for free. Approval allows 90 days in the selected country over a 180-day period, and approval is good for three years or the expiration of the passport to which it is registered, whichever comes first. Parents and legal guardians can apply on behalf of children.

The program is similar to one the U.S. requires of many international visitors through the Electronic System for Travel Authorization.

ETIAS approval also will be required for citizens of Canada, Great Britain, Australia and dozens of other countries. For a complete list of countries whose citizens will need approval, click here for the official announcement, which includes several exemptions.

The counties that will require an ETIAS are listed below, as provided by the official travel site of the European Union:

  • Austria
  • Belgium
  • Bulgaria
  • Croatia
  • Cyprus
  • Czech Republic
  • Denmark
  • Estonia
  • Finland
  • France
  • Germany
  • Greece
  • Hungary
  • Iceland
  • Italy
  • Latvia
  • Liechtenstein
  • Lithuania
  • Luxembourg
  • Malta
  • Netherlands
  • Norway
  • Poland
  • Portugal
  • Romania
  • Slovakia
  • Slovenia
  • Spain
  • Sweden
  • Switzerland