Today in Sports - Serena Williams wins Madrid Open to retain No. 1 ranking and 50th career title
May 12
1909 — The Preakness Stakes is held in Maryland after 16 runnings in New York. As part of the celebration marking the return of the Preakness, the colors of the race's winner were painted onto the ornamental weather vane at Pimlico Racecourse for the first time.
1917 — Omar Khayyam, ridden by Charles Borel, becomes the first foreign-bred (England) colt to win the Kentucky Derby with a 2-length victory over Ticket.
1924 — Walter Hagen wins the PGA championship with a 2-up victory over Jim Barnes.
1970 — Ernie Banks hits his 500th career home run off Pat Jarvis in the Chicago Cubs' 4-3 victory over Atlanta at Wrigley Field.
1973 — 6th ABA championship: Indiana Pacers beat Ky Colonels, 4 games to 3.
1974 — The Boston Celtics beat the Milwaukee Bucks 102-87 to win the NBA championship in seven games.
1976 — 20th European Cup: Bayern Munich beats Saint-Etienne 1-0 at Glasgow.
1979 — Chris Evert's 125-match winning streak on clay comes to an end.
1980 — West Ham United wins the FA Cup, beating Arsenal 1-0 at Wembley Stadium; midfield playmaker Trevor Brooking scores winner with a rare header.
1982 — FC Barcelona of Spain win 22nd European Cup Winner's Cup against Standard Liège of Belgium 2-1 in Barcelona.
1993 — Parma of Italy win 33rd European Cup Winner's Cup against Royal Antwerp of Belgium 3-1 in London.
1995 — Martin Brodeur ties NHL record getting his 3rd playoff shutout in 4.
1996 — LPGA Championship Women's Golf, DuPont CC: England's Laura Davies wins by 1 stroke ahead of runner-up Julie Piers.
1996 — A three-way dead heat is run at Yakima (Wash.) Meadows, the 20th such finish in thoroughbred racing history there. In the day's third race, a trio of $8,000 claimers — Fly Like A Angel, Allihaveonztheradio and Terri After Five — hit the wire together after a one-mile race.
2001 — English FA Cup Final, Millennium Stadium, Cardiff (72,500): Liverpool beats Arsenal, 2-1 with Michael Owen scoring twice for the Reds.
2006 — Laure Manaudou of France breaks Janet Evans' 18-year-old world record in the 400-meter freestyle, finishing in 4:03.03 at the French national swimming championships. Manaudou beats the time of 4:03.85 set by Evans in winning the 400-meter freestyle at the 1988 Seoul Olympics.
2006 — Justin Gatlin breaks the 100-meter world record with a time of 9.76 seconds at the Qatar Grand Prix. A week later, the International Association of Athletics Federations announces a timing error gave Gatlin a time of 9.76 seconds. His time of 9.766 seconds, should have been manually rounded up to 9.77, tying Asafa Powell's world mark of 9.77.
2010 — Montreal follows up a monumental upset by pulling off another. The Canadiens, who eliminated the Washington Capitals, beat the Pittsburgh Penguins 5-2 in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference semifinals. Montreal accomplishes what no team had done since the current playoffs format was adopted in 1994. And that is beat the Presidents' Trophy winner and defending Stanley Cup champion in successive rounds as an eighth-seeded team.
2010 — Kelly Kulick, the first woman to win a PBA Tour title when she beat the men in January in the Tournament of Champions, wins the U.S. Women's Open for her second women's major victory in 15 days. Kulick beats Liz Johnson of 233-203 in the final.
2013 — Serena Williams beats Maria Sharapova 6-1, 6-4 in the final of the Madrid Open to retain her No. 1 ranking and collect her 50th career title.
2013 — PGA Players Championship, TPC at Sawgrass: Tiger Woods wins his second PC, 2 strokes ahead of David Lingmerth, Jeff Maggert and Kevin Streelman.
2014 — LeBron James ties his playoff career high with 49 points, Chris Bosh makes the tiebreaking 3-pointer with 57 seconds left, and the Miami Heat beat the Brooklyn Nets 102-96 for a 3-1 lead in the Eastern Conference semifinals.
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37 minutes ago
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Jack Flaherty dominates Cubs, top of the order delivers in Tigers' 4-0 win
In an early-season interleague battle of first-place teams, the Detroit Tigers came out victorious. With a sellout crowd Sunday, June 8, at Comerica Park of 40,343 (the fifth sellout of the season and third in a row), the Tigers beat the Chicago Cubs, 4-0. Advertisement The win clinched the series for Detroit (43-24), which took two out of three games from the National League central-leading Cubs (40-25). "Two out of three in front of our home fans against that team is exactly the type of environment that we want to create for the rest of the summer," Tigers manager A.J. Hinch said. "There's a lot of quality baseball being played by these two teams that was on display this weekend, and (we) took it to win the series." Buy our book: The Epic History of the Tigers Kerry Carpenter turned in another hard-hitting game for the Tigers, hitting his ninth and 10th doubles of the season, the first one helping set up a two-run inning for the Tigers in the fifth. He finished the game 3-for-4 with a run, registering his seventh game with at least three hits in 2025. Kerry Carpenter celebrates after hitting a double for the Detroit Tigers against the Chicago Cubs during the bottom of the seventh inning at Comerica Park on June 8, 2025 in Detroit. It was a much-needed breakout for the lefty slugger, too, as he had only one hit in his past five games right after his three home runs Monday, June 2, against the Chicago White Sox. Advertisement He also saved a run Sunday by throwing out leadoff hitter Ian Happ looking to score on a single from center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong. "Helping the team win, I mean, there's nothing better than that," Carpenter said. "So whether it's with the glove, with the bat, with the arm, it doesn't really matter." Tigers center fielder Parker Meadows led off the bottom of the first with a hard-struck single between third base and shortstop. Gleyber Torres, who leads all qualified Tigers in walk rate (14.1%), followed with a walk, setting up the heart of the order with two runners on and no one out. It looked like it was going to be a missed opportunity for a struggling Tigers offense when Carpenter popped out to third baseman Matt Shaw, and Riley Greene struck out looking. But Spencer Torkelson picked up the slack with a two-run double to right-center field that fell just short of clearing the fence, giving the Tigers an early 2-0 lead. Advertisement Torkelson finished 2-for-4, adding a single in the eighth inning. SUMMER FUN: For the first time in a while, Tigers have Comerica Park rocking The outcomes flipped the second time through the order for the Tigers, with Carpenter and Greene both getting into scoring position after back-to-back two-out hits, but Torkelson's infield fly to shortstop Dansby Swanson ended a scoreless third inning. Detroit Tigers second baseman Gleyber Torres receives congratulations from teammates after scoring in the first inning against the Chicago Cubs at Comerica Park, Sunday, June 8, 2025. Torres got the bottom of the fifth started with a one-out single to right field, then Carpenter laced a double to the right-field wall. Greene brought them in one batter later with an opposite field single just over Swanson's head to shallow left field, giving the Tigers a 4-0 lead and Greene his first hit in his past four games. Advertisement "The game doesn't care if you're 0-for-4 or 4-for-4," Greene said after going 2-for-4. "So, just putting your head down and grinding, and try to make something happen." Flaherty has another quality start Tigers starter Jack Flaherty (5-6, 3.41 ERA) completed his third straight quality start Sunday, finishing with six shutout innings on two hits while walking three and striking out nine. Detroit Tigers pitcher Jack Flaherty pitches in the first inning against the Chicago Cubs at Comerica Park, Sunday, June 8, 2025. His nine strikeouts tied his season high, reached on April 4 against the New York Yankees. "We played well the first day, not so great yesterday," Flaherty said. "But just a chance to go out and go win a series, win another game, anytime you get a chance to do that it's fun." Advertisement He got Cubs slugger Kyle Tucker to buckle on a curveball for his first strikeout of the game. He then got the next batter Seiya Suzuki — who hit two home runs the day before — to strike out on a foul tip. He also struck out ex-Tigers catcher Carson Kelly on a curve the next inning and Swanson in the third, getting four called strikes and five whiffs of the 17 curveballs he threw in his first three innings. Flaherty struck out five batters through three, eclipsing the total he had from his previous outing (four) in Monday's win against the White Sox. All those strikeouts led to the pitch count piling up a bit, however, with Flaherty throwing 45 in three innings. He exited the game after the sixth inning with 94 pitches thrown. Flaherty got into his first bit of trouble in the fourth inning, starting off with back-to-back walks to Happ and Tucker. He then struck out Suzuki but allowed a single to Crow-Armstrong that looked to score Happ from second. Advertisement A strong throw from Carpenter in right field and a quick tag from catcher Dillon Dingler got the second out of the inning, with the call upheld on Chicago's challenge. Flaherty then walked Kelly to load the bases, but got out of the inning without allowing a run on Michael Busch's hard lineout to center. "Just all throughout these guys have been incredible, and it's just a testament to the work they put in," Flaherty said. "It makes it a lot of fun to watch and easy to trust the defense." Flaherty's seventh strikeout, via a fastball on second baseman Nico Hoerner in the fifth inning, got both Hoerner and Cubs manager Craig Counsell ejected by home plate umpire Derek Thomas for arguing. Flaherty's eighth strikeout came one batter later, getting Shaw to fish for a slider out of the zone. Advertisement He tied his season-high with his ninth strikeout getting Tucker looking in the sixth, and finished his by inducing two flyouts from Suzuki and Crow-Armstrong. A bullpen relay of righties Brenan Hanifee, Tommy Kahnle and Will Vest finished the win for the Tigers, who visit the Baltimore Orioles on Tuesday. You can reach Christian at cromo@ This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Tigers game: Jack Flaherty dominates Cubs, Spencer Torkelson delivers
Yahoo
2 hours ago
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Cubs' Craig Counsell Breaks Silence on Nico Hoerner Ejection
Cubs' Craig Counsell Breaks Silence on Nico Hoerner Ejection originally appeared on Athlon Sports. Chicago Cubs second baseman Nico Horner hit the showers early on Sunday. Hoerner struck out looking on a pitch that was obviously low and inside and was ejected for telling home plate umpire Derek Thomas, 'You're having a really bad day.' Advertisement Manager Craig Counsell quickly rushed to Hoerner's defense as he pleaded with Thomas. Hoerner was not explicit, nor did he throw a tantrum deserving of an ejection. But Thomas still felt the need to remove him from the ball game. Thomas was unforgiving in his decision and ejected Counsell, too. Here is what Counsell had to say on the situation, via Marquee Sports Network: "The ejection of Nico was completely unwarranted," Counsell said. "There's nothing that was said that warrants an ejection. You can't eject players and affect the outcomes of games for no offense... He didn't like what Nico said, but Nico's walking by. What he said is not... it's not ejectable. You don't just eject players and change lineups and things like that." Umpires have seemingly had big egos for a long time. Whether it be unlawful ejections such as Hoener's or ambiguous strike zones, which demand cooperation from pitchers and hitters, they often need their impact to be felt by all participants. Chicago Cubs manager Craig Counsell (11) talks to umpire Derek Thomas in the fifth inning against the Detroit Tigers at Comerica Osentoski-Imagn Images This is even more evident in the technology-driven era, which has led to requests for automatic strike zones. Perhaps Thomas and other umpires, facing external pressure, feel even more justified in these power trips. Advertisement Hoerner is also not the type of player to ruffle an umpire's feathers. He had only been ejected once in his seven-year MLB career. That came during a similar incident last June against the Chicago White Sox, when he was sent off for arguing a controversial strike three call. This conflict also sets a poor precedent for player/umpire relations. Batters know there is a limit to arguing with umpires, particularly on balls and strikes, but there needs to be some sort of two-way street in this relationship. Hoerner and Counsell were rightfully upset with the call and even more so, Thomas's arrogance in defending his call. Related: Cubs Announce Shota Imanaga News Before Phillies Series Related: Cubs Trade Idea Lands Diamondbacks Starter Amid Corbin Burnes Injury News This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jun 9, 2025, where it first appeared.
Yahoo
3 hours ago
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What's going on with falling WSL attendances?
Arsenal's attendances were slightly down but they still played five games in front of more than 35,000 fans [Getty Images] Average attendances in the Women's Super League dropped by 10% last season compared with the previous campaign. According to Deloitte's Sports Business Group, which highlighted the drop in a report released on Monday, "this has been put down to a lack of international football drawing attention to the domestic game". Advertisement BBC research found the 12 WSL clubs in total averaged 7,366 in 2023-24, compared with 6,662 in 2024-25 - an average decrease of 704. So which clubs have been affected the most, which clubs are bucking the trend and what else might be behind the numbers? BBC Sport takes a closer look. Why has there been a drop? One of the main reasons behind the fall in attendances last season was the relegation of Bristol City in 2023-24. Despite losing all their homes games as they made an immediate return to the Championship, they were backed by an impressive home support at Ashton Gate, which they shared with the men's team. Advertisement They had the fifth-highest average home attendance in the WSL - 6,974 - behind the big four of Chelsea, Arsenal, Manchester City and Manchester United. A crowd of 8,749 watched their relegation-confirming loss to Manchester City, while a bumper 14,138 attendance saw a 2-0 defeat by Manchester United in November. Bristol City were replaced in 2024-25 by top-flight newcomers Crystal Palace, who averaged 1,779 across the season - 5,195 fewer than the club they replaced. Palace played the majority of their games at the VBS Community Stadium, which they shared with men's National League club Sutton United. Advertisement They played two matches at Selhurst Park, home of the men's team, and had a season-high attendance of 5,003 for their opening home game with Chelsea, which they lost 7-0. Their lowest figure of the campaign was 502 for the 1-1 draw with Everton in November. Which clubs' attendances decreased? Of the 11 remaining WSL clubs, five had their average attendance drop between 2023-24 and 2024-25 - Arsenal, Aston Villa, Everton, Manchester City and Manchester United, which includes three of the top four. Aston Villa and Manchester United had by far the biggest drop-offs, with both clubs' attendances falling by 33%. Advertisement For Villa, the move to playing all their WSL games at Villa Park - compared with only five the season before - does not look to have paid off, though they also spent the majority of the recent campaign in a relegation battle. Manchester United played the same number of WSL games at Old Trafford in both seasons - two - and in 2023-24 those games attracted attendances of 43,615 and 28,737. In 2024-25 it was 8,761 and 31,465, with the former in their opening game against West Ham. However, they also had a fall in attendances at their main stadium, Leigh Sports Village, with an average of 4,562 last season compared with 5,353 the season before. Manchester City had the next biggest decrease of 8% - despite going from one to three matches at their bigger Etihad Stadium - followed by Everton at 5.5% and Arsenal at 4%. Advertisement Arsenal, considered a success story in the league for the way they have managed to attract record numbers to Emirates Stadium, played nine of their 11 home games there last season compared with six the previous one. Yet while they did not hit the heights of the previous campaign when they broke the WSL attendance record and had two sell-outs at the Emirates, the figures were still impressive, with five matches attracting more than 35,000. All but one of their matches surpassed 20,000 - that was the 5,539 who turned out for their midweek match with Leicester in April, which was rescheduled for an evening kick-off at short notice because of their Champions League involvement. Which clubs' attendances increased? Liverpool showed remarkable growth from the previous season, with their attendance increasing by 54%, boosted by holding three games at Anfield compared with one the previous year. Advertisement Building on their impressive fourth-place WSL finish in 2023-24, their average gate grew from 4,550 to 7,023 last season, with a season-high 17,484 turning out for their match with Manchester City in October. The only other club to hit double figures for percentage growth were Tottenham, who despite finishing second from bottom last season, had their average attendance increase by 24% - from 4,317 to 5,332. They took their tally of matches at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium from two to three. The other clubs to see growth were Leicester (6%), who played all their games at King Power Stadium which they share with the men's team, Brighton (3%), West Ham (1%) and WSL winners Chelsea (1%). Do Lionesses affect WSL crowds? All WSL clubs experienced a significant attendance boost in 2022-23 off the back of Euro 2022, where England lifted their first major women's trophy in front of record crowds. Advertisement The majority of clubs also had increases in 2023-24, which followed England's run to the Women's World Cup final in Australia. But, after Great Britain failed to qualify for the 2024 Olympics, last season was the first time in three years that the WSL campaign did not benefit from following an international tournament where there had been home success. Yet it is also important to look at the competitiveness of the league. Chelsea were odds-on title favourites in 2024-25 from an early stage - after it went down to the wire in 2023-24 - which might have affected the appetite of fans from other top-four clubs, who all faced their own struggles during the campaign. Speaking about attendances on Radio 5 Live's Women's Football Weekly podcast last month, WSL Football chief executive Nikki Doucet said: "I think a lot of times it depends on kick-off times. A lot of times it depends on are we in a men's international break and how are we maximising those moments or not? Advertisement "It depends which clubs are really building that community, and some are on a further journey than others. "Each club, and their fanbase, is sort of unique and I think everyone's testing different things and seeing what works, what doesn't." Head here to get involved
