Cockrell sets facility record, wins 400m hurdles
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Yahoo
7 minutes ago
- Yahoo
MLB, ESPN reportedly reach agreement for network to obtain rights to sell out-of-market games, ability to offer MLB.TV
ESPN and MLB are reportedly close to an agreement that would allow the network to carry and the rights to all out-of-market baseball games — and select in-market baseball games — according to Andrew Marchand of The Athletic. The reported deal, which has not been signed yet, would give ESPN the ability to offer to fans as part of the network's newly-launched direct-to-consumer streaming service. ESPN officially announced that service Thursday. It's unclear exactly if — or how — the agreement will change how fans currently access per Marchand. But the network could require fans to have an ESPN direct-to-consumer subscription to get access to From The Athletic: It is not fully clear yet if out-of-market subscribers who pay for the package through cable or other linear subscription would still be able to receive that way. For digital consumers, fans are likely to need an ESPN direct-to-consumer subscription to go along with The overall new pricing for is not yet decided. In addition to that, ESPN would also obtain the rights to every out-of-network MLB game. That's essentially what already provides to customers, as the service offers out-of-network games to fans. But it would also presumably allow ESPN to sell rights for certain out-of-network games to other networks or subscription services. Events such as the Home Run Derby or "Sunday Night Baseball" could be sold to other networks by ESPN, which has previously held broadcast rights for those events. The network could also presumably sell any random out-of-market game to, as an example, Apple TV+. It's unclear if that's what the network has in mind if the deal goes through. ESPN is still expected to broadcast roughly 30 regular-season games per year, according to Marchand. Those games would presumably be available on the network, and not exclusive to its direct-to-consumer offering. As part of the deal, ESPN will also control in-network games for five MLB teams: the Cleveland Guardians, San Diego Padres, Minnesota Twins, Arizona Diamondbacks and Colorado Rockies. Local fans who want to watch those teams would likely have to go through ESPN's direct-to-consumer service. In addition to owning a subscription to that service — which costs $29.99 per month — the network could charge in-network consumers an additional fee to watch their favorite team's games. The reported agreement comes after a months-long feud between MLB commissioner Rob Manfred and ESPN. In February, ESPN decided to opt out of its partnership with the league following the 2025 MLB season. Manfred ripped the network a month later, saying he felt the league was "being treated disrespectfully" by ESPN. It appears those issues are now water under the bridge if Thursday's reported agreement comes to pass. Should the agreement go through, it would reportedly last for three years, per Marchand. MLB reportedly wants all of its broadcast rights to expire in 2029, allowing it to make a massive payday by auctioning off those rights to the highest bidder or bidders.
Yahoo
27 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Gymnast who sparked FBI sex abuse inquiry into coach tells AP she's proud to come forward
Gymnastics Abuse Inquiry IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — Recalling the damage her now-arrested coach inflicted on her and many of her gymnast friends, Finley Weldon said she feels a sense of pride. Free from the grip that Sean Gardner had during her years of training at an Iowa academy known for producing Olympians, Weldon told The Associated Press in an exclusive interview that she is among the few who survived his abuse and are still in the sport. The 18-year-old is heading into her freshman year at Iowa State University, where she'll be a member of the Cyclones gymnastics team. She spoke with the AP on Wednesday, less than a week after Gardner was arrested on a child sexual exploitation charge. 'I didn't want him to take away anything from me, especially something that I love,' she said. 'None of the girls that I started with or went through the things that I did with Sean are still doing gymnastics today. So that's something I'm very proud of.' She's also happy she's made a difference, in the same way gymnasts she admires — such as Aly Raisman, an Olympian whose visceral accounts of abuse by Larry Nassar shined a spotlight on the trauma gymnasts went through and how authorities failed to curb it. The AP generally does not identify victims of sexual abuse, but Weldon said she wanted 'my name out there because I was the one who did come forward.' 'I felt like I needed to speak out to stop it from happening to other little girls, so they didn't have to go through what I went through,' Weldon said. 'I knew it would just be a continuous cycle if nobody did.' Gymnasts reported abuse to watchdog in 2022 The FBI said Tuesday it believes Gardner 'targeted children' while coaching at Chow's Gymnastics and Dance Institute in West Des Moines, and gyms in Mississippi and Louisiana where he worked dating back to 2004. Gardner, 38, didn't return AP messages left on his cellphone before his arrest, and has not entered a plea to the charge. A public defender who represented him after his arrest hasn't returned messages. Another former gymnast at Chow's, the academy known for producing Olympic gold medalists Shawn Johnson and Gabby Douglas, first reported sexual abuse allegations against Gardner to the U.S. Center for SafeSport in March 2022, alleging he fondled her during training sessions, according to an FBI affidavit. That girl provided the names of six other of Gardner's potential victims, according to the affidavit. Weldon said she spoke with a SafeSport investigator about her abuse at the time. SafeSport, a watchdog created after the Nassar scandal to investigate misconduct complaints, informed the West Des Moines Police Department about the allegations. It suspended Gardner from coaching or having contact with any gymnasts in July 2022. In its first statement on the case, Chow's Gymnastics said Thursday that it fired Gardner in response to the suspension, even though the facility wasn't told the details of the allegations and SafeSport hadn't issued an official finding of misconduct. The police department said its investigation was closed in 2022 when the initial accuser decided she did not want to pursue charges. Weldon said police never reached out to her in 2022 but she's unsure whether she would have wanted to press charges then. She said she came forward in April 2024 at age 16 after she matured and began to realize the severity of her abuse. She praised police for doing 'an amazing job' keeping her informed about the progress of the case. 'It's definitely taken awhile, but I mean, even I didn't realize how many steps there would be to charge him with anything,' she said. Police defend investigative efforts Iowa investigators say they searched Gardner's home in May and seized electronic devices that contained images of nude girls from a hidden camera Gardner placed in the bathroom of a Purvis, Mississippi, gym where he previously worked. West Des Moines Police Sgt. Daniel Wade said Wednesday the department sought the FBI's assistance in mid-July when the case's 'scope started to broaden.' Asked why the department didn't involve FBI sooner, he said, 'We call the FBI when the time is right.' Gardner is charged in federal court in Mississippi with producing visual depictions of minors engaging in sexually explicit conduct related to the alleged hidden camera. Federal and state investigations remain active, and additional charges are possible. Wade defended the department's investigative efforts over the last three years. He said investigators 'went as far with it as we could' in 2022, without a victim seeking charges and have been conducting a thorough investigation since receiving the new complaint in 2024. Wade declined comment on whether investigators reached out to Weldon and other potential victims identified in 2022, saying only that police opened 'lines of communication with different people' that later paid off. Weldon said she met with investigators Tuesday and they asked her to identify herself in an image Gardner allegedly secretly took of her in a vulnerable stretching position. Protecting the 'male figure in my life' Weldon said her goal since she was a girl was to reach the elite level in the USA Gymnastics Junior Olympic program for those who aim to compete internationally. She said she started training at Chow's after her family moved to Iowa in 2015. She began taking private lessons with Gardner two or three times per week shortly after he joined Chow's in September 2018, when she 11 years old. Weldon said she was struggling as her parents went through a divorce and her father was largely absent from her life. She said Gardner sought to fill that role by telling her she could tell him 'anything' and that he would always be there for her. In hindsight, she said he was manipulating her in order to gain her trust. Finley's mother, Julie Weldon, said she heard concerns about Gardner from other parents at Chow's early on and asked her daughter whether her coach had ever done anything inappropriate. Finley said she falsely told her mother no because she was protecting the 'male figure in my life.' Inappropriate behavior progressed She said Gardner began touching her inappropriately in 2019 during lessons, beginning with long hugs and pats on the back. She said his behavior progressed, and he began touching her butt during the hugs and requiring her to stretch for extended periods in positions that exposed her vagina and anus out of her leotard. She said around 2020 he began touching her vagina while spotting her during exercises. She recalled once telling him not to put his hands there and he claimed it was an accident because her 'leotard was slippery.' Weldon recalled reaching her breaking point with Gardner after a 2021 training in which he yelled and threw shoes at her, telling her she'd never reach elite status. She said she walked out and told her mom she wanted to quit. She said many of her classmates quit or didn't return because of Gardner's conduct after the gym shut down during the pandemic. But while he made her hate gymnastics at times, she continued training when her family moved to Texas and then to Utah. She said she eventually proved Gardner wrong by earning elite status and a spot on a Division 1 team. After news of Gardner's arrest, Weldon saw his jail booking photo in the AP story. She said she was struck by how much heavier and unkempt he appeared. 'He's definitely like gone through a spiral,' she said. 'I think he probably just had so much guilt built up in him that he kind of turned into that.'
San Francisco Chronicle
38 minutes ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
Alcaraz and Djokovic could get early US Open tests. Venus Williams draws No. 11 seed Muchova
NEW YORK (AP) — Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic will face potential difficult American opponents when they begin their quest for another U.S. Open title. Venus Williams, meanwhile, returns to the event at age 45 against No. 11 seed Karolina Muchova, a past French Open finalist who has reached the semifinals in New York the past two years. That was one of the early highlight matches after the draws were conducted Thursday for the men's and women's singles tournaments. Those begin Sunday, a day earlier than in the past, and a pair of recent U.S. Open champions could be tested early. Alcaraz, the No. 2 seed, starts against Reilly Opelka. Opelka, a former top-20 player before injuries, is 6-foot-11 with a powerful serve that he rode to the fourth round in New York in 2021. Alcaraz won his lone U.S. Open title the following year and has gone on to add four more Grand Slam titles. Djokovic owns a men's record 24 of them, including four at the U.S. Open. Seeded seventh, he will face Learner Tien, a 19-year-old left-hander who upset Daniil Medvedev en route to the fourth round of this year's Australian Open. Now playing infrequently outside of the majors at 38 and having fallen to No. 7 in the rankings, Djokovic could have to beat 2024 U.S. Open runner-up Taylor Fritz, the No. 4 seed, in the quarterfinals, then Alcaraz in the semifinals and No. 1 Jannik Sinner, the defending champion, in the final. Williams was given a wild card by the U.S. Tennis Association into a tournament where she won two of her seven Grand Slam singles titles, and will be the oldest player to compete in singles at Flushing Meadows since 1981. But she faces someone who has shown the ability to raise her game in the biggest tournaments. Muchova, after falling in the 2023 French Open final, got to the semis in New York later that summer and again last year. No. 3 seed Coco Gauff, who won her first major title in the 2023 U.S. Open, will first face Ajla Tomljanovic, the Australian who beat Williams' younger sister, Serena, in her final match in 2022. The potential quarterfinals on the men's side are Sinner vs. No. 5 Jack Draper, and No. 3 Alexander Zverev vs. No. 8 Alex de Minaur in the top half of the bracket. The bottom half could be Alcaraz vs. No. 6 Ben Shelton, and Fritz vs. Djokovic. The women's quarters could be defending champion and No. 1 seed Aryna Sabalenka vs. No. 7 Jasmine Paolini, and No. 4 Jessica Pegula vs. No. 5 Mirra Andreeva on the top half. The other side could see No. 2 Iga Swiatek vs. No. 8 Amanda Anisimova in a rematch of Swiatek's romp in the Wimbledon final, and Gauff vs. No. 6 Madison Keys, the Australian Open champion.
