He's a Midwestern dentist — and he's playing in the U.S. Open
There was some polite applause and a small wave from the golfer. Nobody around the first tee at Oakmont Country Club seemed to notice the lack of formalities. Because, ahem, it's actually Dr. Matt Vogt.
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Yahoo
25 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Meet Colin Cummings: US air force officer and greatest air hockey player of all time
About an hour before our scheduled chat, Colin Cummings accompanies his polite request to delay with a photograph of an image familiar to parents worldwide, a grizzling newborn strapped to his front, resolutely refusing to succumb to her morning nap. Cummings has gone about this week's defence of his air hockey world title rather differently to his many others. Partly, that is thanks to baby Clara's arrival a couple of months ago, which has dominated most of the summer. The rest of it has been dictated by a job relocation to Hawaii where he has been given a three-year posting as a personnel officer in the US air force. The air hockey table at his Oahu home represents the only professional-style playing surface in the whole multi-island state. Shorn of suitable playing partners, Cummings has geared up for his tilt at a sixth successive world crown in an unconventional manner. Irregular solo practises – increasingly infrequent since Clara's birth – have been the air hockey equivalent of a tennis player hitting balls against a wall. He has also attempted to keep track of opponents on the mainland through video streams of their matches, but his main physical activity of late involves surfing Hawaii's famous waves. Related: Brazilian table tennis star denied entry to US due to having competed in Cuba Aged just 26, Cummings is already almost universally considered the air hockey GOAT (Greatest Of All Time). Two other players, Danny Hynes and Jesse Douty, are now tied with his 12 world titles, but that pair are generally bracketed alongside a couple of others on the second rung of air hockey's all-time pyramid. Cummings, alone, stands at the top. It was he who, at 16, became the youngest ever world champion in the sport – and Cummings is absolutely adamant that air hockey is a sport. And it is he who has relinquished just one of the 13 world championships held over the past decade. Ask the man himself and he is in no doubt over his GOAT status: 'Oh hell yeah, bro, I got to be. I've even got a little goat sticker on my mallet.' Most people Cummings encounters are surprised to hear that air hockey even possesses a competitive life outside arcades and home basements. Played on a low-friction table, with opposing players attempting to hit the puck into goals using handheld mallets, the elite side of the sport has, in fact, been around for almost 50 years, beginning soon after air hockey's invention. Texas, North Carolina, Illinois and Idaho are America's four major competitive hubs, while the recent boom in barcades – drinking establishments featuring retro entertainment offerings – has provided a resurgence in pockets across the country. Aside from a Venezuelan contingent, and a smattering of Russians and Spaniards, air hockey tends to be an all-American affair. Cummings' route in began when his family relocated to Texas in 2009 and happened to move across the road from the world No 4 player. Invited over for a game by the man's son – who was the top-ranked Under-12 player – Cummings received a pasting and vowed not to let it happen again: 'I instantly knew I had to beat the kid. He was so cocky.' Within six months, the Cummings family found a small table of their own at a garage sale; half a year later, they had upgraded it to a professional-standard table. While Colin emerged as the star, air hockey quickly became something for the whole family to play. His younger brother Connor is now ranked world No 3, while their father, Mike, is No 15. As he has done for close to a decade, Colin tops the pile. In the smallest of niche sporting ponds, the biochemistry graduate is a superstar. But unlike his world-beating peers – think Roger Federer, Lionel Messi or Oleksandr Usyk – he receives next to no external recognition. 'It's definitely a challenge,' he says, of his vastly contrasting lives on and off the air hockey table. 'I have to be versatile. 'I have my air force persona where I have to embody a leadership character. Then there's the air hockey champion persona where I walk into a room and people all want to meet me when I have no idea who they are. Then there's normal life. 'I remember when I won my first world title in 2015, I went back to my day job where I was a salad boy/janitor, just mopping the floor in a hair net. I'd gone from being world champion to mopping floors.' In the fledgling days of his relationship with his now-wife Meg, Cummings sent her a video link of an interview he did with CNN. 'She was like: 'You're the world champion? What the heck?' But she's very supportive.' So much so that husband and wife even joined forces to claim world doubles silver in 2022, although Cummings suggests that was a one-off: 'If I've not been playing at all in Hawaii, then she's definitely not been playing.' The furthest any possible discontent stretches is Meg forlornly enquiring whether they might vacation farther afield than Texas, where the world championships usually take place. That return to familiar soil does at least mean they can forego expensive hotel bills and stay with family for free during competition. In a sport that offers about $2,000 prize money for winning the world title, Cummings suggests he has 'at least broken even, if not made money' over the course of his career. When not based in Hawaii, he had also previously earned modest sums through sponsorship from small companies. The ultimate ambition is to 'break out of this niche bubble and turn into something that's multinational and well cemented'. The closest comparison, he says, would be to emulate the growth of table football or foosball – which has produced men and women's world champions from 10 different countries over the past two decades – and, eventually, table tennis. Until then, Cummings must content himself with the adulation of a select few and the ignorance of the masses. When he returns from this week's world championships, he intends to hold an exhibition tournament at home in Hawaii for his air force colleagues, who all believe they can beat him. 'So I'll toast them all,' he says. Wayne Gretzky never had to deal with such disrespect.
CNN
27 minutes ago
- CNN
Carlos Alcaraz wins first Cincinnati Open title as Jannik Sinner retires with illness
Carlos Alcaraz won the Cincinnati Open title in anticlimactic circumstances as rival Jannik Sinner retired due to illness just 23 minutes into the match. Alcaraz raced into a 5-0 lead in the first set of Monday's final, the 14th matchup between the world's two best players, when an out-of-sorts and emotional Sinner announced that he was unable to continue. 'I'm super, super sorry to disappoint you,' Sinner said to the crowd in his on-court interview. 'From yesterday, I didn't feel great. I thought that I would improve during the night, but it came up worse. 'I tried to come out, tried to make it at least a small match, but I couldn't handle more, so I'm very, very sorry for all of you.' This was Alcaraz's sixth ATP title this year and 22nd overall, going some way to avenging his loss to Sinner in the Wimbledon final last month. He now heads to the US Open hoping to win a sixth grand slam crown. 'I'm so sorry for Jannik!' Alcaraz wrote on X. 'Nobody likes to win because their opponent retires, especially in a final like this. Wishing you a speedy recovery! Very happy with my week in Cincinnati and feeling ready for the US Open.' The Spaniard's victory ended Sinner's 26-match winning streak on hard courts, as well as denying his opponent back-to-back titles in Cincinnati. Sinner is scheduled to play in a revamped mixed doubles competition at the US Open alongside Czech Republic's Kateřina Siniaková on Tuesday, though his participation is now in doubt. Asked about how he now switches his focus to the US Open, Sinner said that he has 'a couple of days of recovery,' per the ATP Tour, suggesting that he will skip the mixed doubles to focus on singles. Alcaraz and Sinner have split the past seven grand slam titles, while Alcaraz's first title in Cincinnati sees him close the gap on his rival at the top of the world rankings. In the women's final, Iga Świątek defeated Jasmine Paolini 7-5, 6-4 to claim a first Cincinnati title and 24th on the WTA Tour, adding to the maiden Wimbledon crown she won last month. Despite trailing 3-0 in the first set, Świątek rallied to take the victory in an hour and 49 minutes and maintain her unbeaten record against Paolini across six matches. 'Playing so well here in Cincinnati where it's always tough and on faster, hard courts – it's a great boost of confidence,' Świątek, who didn't drop a set throughout the tournament, told Tennis Channel. 'I'm really happy that the work that I've been doing paid off … Everything clicked and I could play better and better every match of the tournament.'
CNN
27 minutes ago
- CNN
Oklahoma sells fan access to postgame press conferences for almost $700
Oklahoma is offering fans a chance to attend postgame press conferences, but it won't be cheap. It's one of the 'Sooner Magic Memories' offerings the program has created to give fans greater access this season. The cost for two people to sit in on the media session after the Oklahoma-Michigan nonconference showdown on September 6 is $692.11. For the Southeastern Conference home opener September 20 against Auburn, it's $576.86. 'Get exclusive postgame media access for you and one guest and see where real-time reactions unfold,' the advertisement says. 'Hear OU coaches and players address reporters moments after the final whistle. Watch the story take shape through the questions, the insights, and the atmosphere that set the headlines.' The Michigan and Auburn numbers might seem steep, but the cost for the Illinois State season opener on August 30 is $461.61 – and it's already sold out. Other offerings include pregame photos on the 50-yard line, a high five tunnel, game ball delivery and halftime field access. Athletic departments across the country are looking for new revenue sources as the cost of fielding teams and attracting top talent rises in the NIL era. The House settlement that took effect July 1 allows each participating school to share up to $20.5 million in revenue directly with their athletes even as more than $2.5 billion is paid back to current and former athletes who sued over restrictions on their ability to earn compensation.
