
Rolapp drawn to Tour's strength, growth potential
Rex Hoggard chats with PGA Tour CEO Brian Rolapp to for insight on what drew him to the role, his relationship with Jay Monahan, and what he is taking from his NFL experience to maximize on golf's growth potential

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Yahoo
17 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Noah Lyles vs. Tyreek Hill: Gold medalist says race was canceled
Is Miami Dolphins wide receiver Tyreek Hill the true fastest man in the world? We may never know the answer. Noah Lyles, who won the gold medal in the 100-meter dash at the 2024 Paris Olympics to take the "world's fastest man" title, announced Monday that his race with Hill had been canceled. Advertisement Lyles was speaking on a panel at a Sport Beach event in Cannes, France when someone asked him about the race against the speedy NFL wideout. "We were very deep into creating the event. In fact, it was supposed to happen this weekend," Lyles said. "Unfortunately there were some things, complications, personal reasons that it just didn't come to pass." NOAH LYLES-TYREEK HILL RACE: Dolphins WR, Olympic gold medalist planned to race this summer The speedsters originally announced plans for a summer race in a joint interview with People magazine in February after months of back-and-forth trash-talking on social media. In the interview, Hill and Lyles insinuated the race would be somewhere between 40 yards (36.6 meters) and 100 meters, a compromise that accommodated the different sports backgrounds of the two athletes. Advertisement Hill has not let the cancellation stop him from running in other organized events. On Friday, the Dolphins wideout won the 100-meter dash event at a track meet in California with an official time of 10.15 seconds, which set a new personal best for the 31-year-old. After the race, he held up a sign that said, "Noah could never." It was a nod to a similar sign that Lyles had written – "Tyreek could never" – on the inside of his sprint bib and showed to the camera after winning a 60-meter sprint at a race in Boston in early February. Lyles won the gold medal at the Olympics with a personal-best time of 9.78 seconds, which suggests he still could have beaten Hill handily if the two had raced their 100-meter dash. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Noah Lyles-Tyreek Hill race canceled for 'personal reasons'


Fox Sports
21 minutes ago
- Fox Sports
Alex Freeman breaks through with US soccer team, 27 years after father Antonio won Super Bowl
Associated Press Antonio Freeman had tears in his eyes when 20-year-old son Alex walked onto the field for his U.S. debut against Turkey on June 7. 'It just gives me chills,' the former All-Pro wide receiver and Super Bowl champion said. 'He has on a USA jersey. He's representing his country. That's probably the top level of recognition you could possibly get.' With Sergiño Dest still regaining fitness after a torn ACL, Freeman started at right back Sunday in the Americans' opening win over Trinidad and Tobago at the CONCACAF Gold Cup. He is among the young players hoping to impress coach Mauricio Pochettino as he considers next year's World Cup roster. Freeman's ascent has been unexpected. He played just 11 minutes of first-team league soccer before this season. 'Alex, to be honest, I had no idea who you were before you got called up,' American midfielder Luca de la Torre said Tuesday, turning toward Freeman and smiling during a news conference. Now 53, Antonio played nine seasons in the NFL, making the All-Pro team in 1998 and winning the 1997 Super Bowl with the Green Bay Packers. 'Growing up I always got asked if football was the path, but when I was younger I always had a secret love for soccer,' Alex said. He also played basketball as a kid. Alex's mom rejects the notion she directed him away from American football. 'The real story is Alex didn't want to play football and he didn't want to tell his dad that," Rochelle Hinkle said. "They all use me as an excuse. He just wanted to make his own lane and his own path. He didn't have, I guess, the words to say it then.' Alex played for youth teams at Weston FC, near his home in the Fort Lauderdale suburb of Plantation. He wanted to play for Inter Miami's youth academy but was turned down. Freeman then was recruited for Orlando City's academy by Javier Carrillo, his former Weston coach. 'Without him taking me in, maybe I might not be where I am today,' Alex said. 'Obviously moving at the age of 15 was something that was hard for me, being away from my family and everything, but I feel like it made me grow up fast and I feel that that's something that I needed to do.' He moved to Orlando in 2020, during the coronavirus pandemic. 'I still have PTSD from that 'cause I wasn't done raising him,' his mother said. Freeman debuted for Orlando City B in the third-tier MLS Next Pro on March 26, 2022, and played his first match for the senior team in Major League Soccer on April 29, 2023, entering in second-half stoppage time. He had two more substitute MLS appearances last year, totaling 10 minutes, then took over as starting right back this season from Dagur Dan Thórhallsson. 'Alex is player with little experience, but in soccer the desire, the capacity and the talent usually rise above experience," Pochettino said. 'The reports we got on him were really good.' Freeman is competing for likely two right back roster spots with Dest, Joe Scally, Nathan Harriel, Bryan Reynolds, Shaq Moore and Marlon Fossey. Pochettino envisions narrowing his focus from a current group of 60 players when he makes roster selections for autumn friendlies. 'These camps, these games, I feel like it's just motivation for me to earn Pochettino's trust,' Freeman said. Alex credits his dad for teaching him training, eating and lifestyle habits. Years ago, they used to kick around a ball together. Not anymore. 'At that point I realized: You're going to hurt yourself out here," Antonio said. 'We might shoot around some basketballs in the backyard, shoot some three-pointers or something, but nothing soccer related.' ___ AP soccer: recommended in this topic

Associated Press
31 minutes ago
- Associated Press
Giants' Thibodeaux aiming to bounce back, get double-digit sacks every year and chase the NFL record
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) — Kayvon Thibodeaux expects a lot more from himself this season. Especially sacks. The New York Giants edge rusher had just 5 1/2 of them last season after setting a career best with 11 1/2 in 2023. Thibodeaux, who missed five games with a broken bone in his left wrist, has clear — and what he believes are realistic — goals heading into this season. 'I think I'm a consistent double-digit sack guy and I've got to do that, you know?' Thibodeaux said Tuesday after the first practice of the Giants' three-day mandatory minicamp. 'It's been three years, going on four now, and it's been a lot of ups and downs in my career and as a team. 'But I think this is a team that can win and I can help that.' The fifth overall pick in the 2022 NFL draft out of Oregon had four sacks as a rookie after being rated among the top edge rushers coming out of college that year. Thibodeaux showed impressive progress in 2023 and further raised expectations for last season when he made headlines by saying he was aiming for the NFL's single-season sacks record of 22 1/2, held by former Giants star Michael Strahan and current Steelers edge rusher T.J. Watt. And the 24-year-old Thibodeaux isn't backing off that lofty aspiration. 'Every time I come out on the field, I want to have more sacks than I ever had, more tackles than I ever had, and whatever I've got to do to help the team,' he said. 'Yeah, I'm still going for the record. I'm going to go for the record every year.' But after last year's disappointing showing, Thibodeaux spent a chunk of the offseason watching his performance snap by snap while critically assessing his play. 'I didn't finish,' Thibodeaux said. 'I think I had like five half-sacks, which should've been whole sacks. I had probably like four or five missed tackles at the sack point, so just finishing my plays and just being able to come out on top in every situation.' Thibodeaux enters this season feeling great — 'I'm healthy, I'm fast, I'm strong, I'm excited' — and is part of a Giants pass rush that includes Brian Burns, Dexter Lawrence and rookie Abdul Carter, the third overall pick this year. 'He gives us another guy up front to rush,' Thibodeaux said of Carter. 'He's been taking his roles really strongly and he's been doing his thing in the inside, on the outside. So, excited to have another guy to add to the gauntlet.' But the addition of Carter, in particular, prompted some speculation that New York could look to deal Thibodeaux, even though the team insisted it was happy with him and not shopping him. The Giants mostly quelled that talk in April when they picked up the fifth-year option on his rookie deal, keeping him under contract through the 2026 season. 'I don't really think about too far ahead,' he said. 'I think for me, I can only control the now, and the now, I've got to get better pass rushing, I've got to get better at stopping the run. And that's what I'm focused on. I think the more I can do for the team, the better off I'll be. So just hone in on that.' Thibodeaux knows he has his doubters — he hears the outside noise whether it's comments on sports radio or on social media. But he also knows how to handle it better, focusing on what got him to this point. So, his inspiration doesn't come from those critics. Or even from the adversity he has faced. 'I've always been hungry,' said Thibodeaux, a Los Angeles area native. 'I grew up poor and this is an opportunity to make more money than you'll ever make in your life. So, there's no added pressure, there's no added motivation. I think the motivation is not only to get here, but to stay here and then once you're here, you're in a land full of lions, you've got to come out on top. 'So, for me, I just want to be the best now. That's kind of what my motivation is and that's what I'm here to do.' ___ AP NFL: