Tag: Olympics

Former Notre Dame guard Jewell Loyd requests trade from Seattle Storm

There’s trouble in the Emerald City.

After a successful career at Notre Dame, [autotag]Jewell Loyd[/autotag] was selected first overall by the Seattle Storm in the 2015 WNBA draft. She won Rookie of the Year, and her 10 seasons with the Storm also have netted two championships and six All-Star selections, one of which resulted in an All-Star MVP. She also has won two Olympic gold medals.

But Loyd’s tenure with the Storm could be nearing its end. The Chicago Sun-Times is reporting that she is requesting a trade. This comes after the conclusion of an investigation into the coaching staff’s alleged player mistreatment that turned up nothing. Loyd was at the investigation’s center after filing a complaint.

Loyd has one year left on her contract after signing a supermax extension upon the conclusion of the Storm’s 2023 season. That prompted [autotag]Skylar Diggins-Smith[/autotag], another former Irish guard, to sign with the Storm that offseason. While the Storm returned to the playoffs, they promptly were swept by [autotag]Jackie Young[/autotag]’s Las Vegas Aces.

Here’s Young scoring a season-high 34 points against Caitlin Clark and the Indiana Fever:

If it’s time for Young to have a fresh start elsewhere, here’s hoping her first season there is a fruitful one.

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Jonathan Owens celebrated a Bears fumble by miming Simone Biles’ landing pose

Jonathan Owens wholeheartedly loves Simone Biles.

With Jonathan Owens playing for the Chicago Bears this season, that means Simone Biles — his all-time Olympian wife — is usually in attendance to support her husband. And it’s pretty clear that any time Owens makes a significant play, he’s going to pay proper tribute to her.

On Sunday, with the NFC North rival Minnesota Vikings threatening to punch the ball into the end zone on a promising opening drive, Owens forced a fumble on Vikings running back Aaron Jones.

To celebrate the turnover, Owens gathered his Bears teammates in the end zone and mimed Biles’ signature landing pose.

Fantastic stuff.

Owens is a classic wife guy through and through. You gotta love it.

UCLA’s Cori Close labels center Lauren Betts a ‘future Olympian’

Big praise from Cori Close.

After a fantastic start to the season, UCLA head coach Cori Close had high praise for junior center Lauren Betts in a press conference last week. 

Through four games, all Bruins wins, Betts is averaging 21.5 points, 11.5 rebounds and 2.3 blocks. Betts was named Big Ten player of the week last week, becoming the first-ever Bruins player in program history to win the award.

“The thing I’m most happy about with Lauren is her steadiness through the adversity. Almost every game we’ve had to take her out because she had blood on her jersey. She’s just getting scratched and clawed,” Close said. “A year ago, that would have been a distraction for her and it would have stopped her from playing, she would have gotten a frustration level. Just me watching that now, now three straight games we’ve had to change her jersey or to get blood off of it and she just keeps on going.”

Betts’ determination has been key for UCLA with junior guard Kiki Rice only having played 11 minutes so far this season. 

“I’m just proud of her maturation process and her mental toughness,” Close said of the Stanford transfer in her second season with the Bruins. “I truly believe Lauren Betts will be a future Olympian and she’ll be a top pick in the WNBA draft someday.”

Betts will be put to the test on Sunday against the #1 team in the country with UCLA hosting South Carolina.

A tearful Jordan Chiles says she still has the Olympic bronze medal she’s fighting to keep

As she fought back tears, Jordan Chiles explained why she still has her bronze medal.

Olympic gymnast Jordan Chiles still has the Olympic bronze medal that dominated headlines this summer. In a tearful interview with Today, Jordan spoke about her emotional journey after the Paris Olympics and why she’s still holding on to the medal.

Many may never know what Chiles has been experiencing behind the scenes as she continues to fight for the right to keep the bronze medal from her floor routine after it was stripped away. But, on Monday, she spoke with Hoda Kotb about her continued battle and why it means so much.

During a tearful interview, Chiles revealed what’s happened since Paris, the support she’s received and why her bronze medal means more to her than even the gold medal she won with Team USA. Here’s part of what she shared in a nearly ten-minute segment:

“It was like a cherry on top. My redemption tour going into Paris was — ‘Yes.’ Coming back with a gold, coming back with the understanding that I was able to go out there and be the best version of myself — With this floor medal it was like, ‘Wow, I never expected myself to make a floor final’…

“Plus it was an all Black podium. That was history being made. I was very glad to be a part of…”

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Noah Lyles posted a precious engagement video with fiancée Junelle Bromfield

Congratulations are in order for Noah Lyles and his girlfriend, Junelle.

Track and field Olympian Noah Lyles is an engaged man.

During Lyles’ whirlwind 2024 Paris Olympics, his girlfriend, Junelle Bromfield, was by his side as he ran his way to a gold medal and became the fastest man in the world. At the time, Lyles said, “I got pretty big plans for a celebration,” which might have meant spending the rest of their lives together.

Lyles and Bromfield shared videos on their social media Sunday of heir recent engagement, Bromfield’s gorgeous ring and huge smiles of joy. There were also a lot of flowers, candles, and even mini-fireworks to make the occasion. Congratulations to the happy couple!

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DBEr5NzPK7A/?igsh=ZmJkNGI0OGh0ZDl1

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DBEx_AcRoMs/?igsh=Z204cnEwMnQ5em04

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