The North DeSoto baseball team celebrates after defeating Lutcher
The Hidden Baseball Stories That Changed America Forever
Feel the heartbeat of America through baseball's timeless stories on Big League Buzz. Ben Orlando, creator of The Midnight Library of Baseball, joins us to uncover the deeply personal tales that weave the game into the nation's cultural fabric. From Doc Graham's soul-stirring legacy to the raw betrayal of the 1919 Black Sox scandal, Ben's evocative narratives ignite nostalgia and reveal baseball's profound role in shaping American identity. Ben's Midnight Library of Baseball website: https://www.midnightlibraryofbaseball.com/ Subscribe to the podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/midnight-library-of-baseball/id1715136329 Follow Ben on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/midnightlibraryofbaseball/ Time Code: 0:00 Big League Buzz kicks off 1:19 Midnight Library Baseball introduced 3:20 Baseball's American cultural essence 7:10 Compelling podcast subscription call 12:10 Doc Graham's emotional journey 15:46 Truth's powerful cultural resonance 26:01 Baseball's profound historical depth 30:34 Night baseball's storied impact 37:50 Support Ben's heartfelt storytelling 41:14 How Baseball Still Captivates Us
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37 minutes ago
- Yahoo
'Worst final I ever played' - Sabalenka laments Paris loss
Aryna Sabalenka also lost the Australian Open final in three sets to Madison Keys [Getty Images] French Open 2025 Dates: 25 May-8 June Venue: Roland Garros Coverage: Live radio commentaries across 5 Live Sport and BBC Sounds, plus live text commentaries on the BBC Sport website and app Aryna Sabalenka said it "hurt to show such terrible tennis" in what she described as "the worst final I ever played" in her French Open final loss to Coco Gauff. World number one Sabalenka, bidding for a fourth major singles title, put in a frustrated and error-strewn performance in a 6-7 (5-7) 6-2 6-4 defeat to the American. Advertisement Sabalenka committed 70 unforced errors - the highest in any women's singles main-draw match at this year's Roland Garros. The Belarusian has lost successive Grand Slam finals, having been beaten in three sets by Madison Keys in the Australian Open showpiece in January. Known for bringing humour to her speeches - Sabalenka jokingly threatened to fire her team after her US Open final loss in 2023 - the 27-year-old became tearful in Paris as she apologised to them for her performance. "It was honestly the worst tennis I've played in I don't know how many months," Sabalenka said. Advertisement "Conditions were terrible, and she simply was better in these conditions than me. "I think I was overemotional and I didn't really handle myself well. "I think she won the match not because she played incredible, just because I made all of those mistakes from, if you look from the outside, easy balls." Sabalenka also lost to Gauff in the New York final two years ago, despite taking the first set 6-2. In Paris, she led 4-1 40-0 in the first set but struggled to maintain that intensity on a windy Court Philippe Chatrier. A renowned big hitter and strong server, Sabalenka struggled for rhythm in the face of Gauff's supreme athleticism, and could not keep her frustration in check. Advertisement "I cannot go out there every time against her in the finals of the Grand Slam and play such terrible tennis," Sabalenka added. "It felt like a joke, honestly, like somebody from above was just there laughing saying, 'let's see if you can handle this'. "Honestly, sometimes it felt like she was hitting the ball from the frame. Somehow magically the ball lands in the court, and you are kind of on the back foot." 'Already have flight booked to Mykonos' Aryna Sabalenka was bidding for a first non-hard court Grand Slam singles title [Getty Images] Sabalenka has reached seven finals this year, winning three titles, and leads the WTA Tour with 40 wins in 47 matches. Advertisement However, the two major losses will sting. In Paris, she made serene progress through the draw before beating three-time defending champion Iga Swiatek in a momentum-swinging semi-final. She overcame Gauff in Madrid in the build-up to Roland Garros, but the American has now won both of their Grand Slam finals. Sabalenka will still be a favourite at Wimbledon, where her powerful game should translate well to the grass courts, but she will first take a break. "I already have a flight booked to Mykonos," the 27-year-old said. "I just need a couple of days to completely forget about this crazy world [and] being like the tourist." Advertisement Former British number one Greg Rusedski, who analysed the match for BBC Radio 5 Live, said Sabalenka is "already up there" as a Wimbledon contender. "She will reflect on being more calm in those big moments, not wasting energy on court and dealing with these things," he said. "The grass courts are much higher bouncing now, which suits her game. "On top of that, if she manages to get her sliced serve into play then I think she will have no problem whatsoever adjusting to them."
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41 minutes ago
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This corny ‘conservative credit card' ad signals a very scary future for AI
A fresh glimpse at our AI-filled future arrived this week, in the form of an unmemorable ad by a company most people have never heard of. The ad is kind of flat and will probably scan as goofy to everyone outside its target demo, but don't write it off just yet: It could signal the beginning of some very big (and scary) changes. Why you're catching the 'ick' so easily, according to science Waymo is winning in San Francisco Supersonic air travel gets green light in U.S. after 50-year ban lifted The upstart fintech company Coign claims to be a 'conservative credit card company,' a distinction that boils down to the founders' pledge to never donate to liberal causes and candidates. And while that self-definition raises some questions, it pales in comparison to the actual ad. The 30-second clip is a patriotic parade of red-blooded, red-voting Americans boasting about recent Coign-fueled purchases such as deer-hunting gear, a stack of cartoonish gold bars, and the 'biggest American flag' available. But here's the most striking thing about the ad: All of those situations, and all of the actors, were created by AI. There's something a little off about Coign's ad, to be clear. The pacing of the phony satisfied customers' movements feels too jittery at times, and there's an eagle at the end that is not exactly natural looking. While the ad is spiritually the same AI slop as Shrimp Jesus, it doesn't carry the same overtly synthetic visuals. In that regard, it's a lot more casually AI-generated than many of its predecessor ads. When Coca-Cola released an AI-generated holiday spot last fall, it sparked an uproar. Creatives were livid about such a monumentally successful company neglecting to splash out on an all-human production, and even casual observers noticed the glaring flaws in the video: The truck's tires glided over the ground without spinning, Santa's hand was bizarrely out of proportion with the Coke bottle it gripped, and the entire ad sat squarely in the 'uncanny valley.' The same goes for the ad Toys R Us released last year using OpenAI's text-to-video tool Sora: The kindest thing one could say is that its human characters looked marginally more lifelike than the unsettling, motion-captured Tom Hanks from The Polar Express two decades earlier. So far, AI-generated ads have been rare enough and mostly the domain of heavy-hitter companies, making them lightning rods for attention and backlash just about every time a new one is released. The simple fact that they were AI-made has been enough to generate headlines, even before factoring in the slop. But maybe not for much longer. If the Coign ad is any indication, there may be an entire class of AI ads coming that will be subject to far less attention—and far less scrutiny. We're at a precarious moment with AI, collectively feeling out its least objectionable uses through trial and error. So far, uncanny ads from massive companies have triggered backlash, but when lesser-known brands dabble—especially without obvious visual glitches—they often escape notice. Advertising legend David Droga once noted the existence of a 'mediocre middle' in marketing and entertainment, and that may be exactly where AI quietly thrives: in ads from companies too small to spark outrage. Advertising, after all, is already the most disposable and least emotionally protected form of media—expensive to make, widely avoided, and largely unloved. That makes it the perfect Trojan horse for AI—slipping past scrutiny not because it's good, but because few people care enough to notice. On a moral and economic level, the advertising industry should not be diving headlong into a technology that makes large swaths of professional workers expendable. And on an aesthetic level, just because AI technically can create an ad doesn't mean it can create a good one. Once a seemingly harmless use case eases people's minds about a given technological breakthrough, it's only a matter of time before the more flagrantly objectionable use cases take hold. The facial recognition tech that first allowed Facebook users to tag their friends in photos was eventually used to strengthen the surveillance state and threaten privacy everywhere. Today's drones that make aerial photography easier become tomorrow's drones that mistakenly blow up weddings in other countries and threaten to displace delivery workers. Obviously, AI is going to play some role in humanity's future. The size of that role, however, is not yet set in stone. As machine learning creeps into all creative fields, workers need regulations to ensure the technology doesn't spread too far too fast. The good news is that a majority of Americans seem to want AI regulation. Although the House of Representatives recently passed a major tax and spending bill with a provision forbidding state governments to regulate AI over the next 10 years, that clause is getting bipartisan blowback. According to a recent poll, 81% of voters agree that 'advances in AI are exciting but also bring risks, and in such fast-moving times, we shouldn't force states to sit on the sidelines for a full decade.' Even the CEO of generative AI company Anthropic is a full-throated advocate for stricter AI regulation. The people have spoken. Whether they are listened to is another matter altogether. A single, silly credit card ad may seem an unlikely step toward a dystopian future of unfettered AI and full unemployment, but if we laugh it off now, the bill may still come due later. This post originally appeared at to get the Fast Company newsletter: Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
an hour ago
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Coco Gauff wins French Open: Michelle and Barack Obama, Billie Jean King, Carlos Alcaraz and more congratulate the 21-year-old star
On Saturday, Coco Gauff etched her name into tennis history as the winner of the 2025 French Open. The 21-year-old tennis phenom defeated Aryna Sabalenka in three sets to win her first title at Roland-Garros and her second Grand Slam. After Gauff's big win, the young American earned the praises of a number of big names, who applauded Gauff for her tenacity and talent. Advertisement Former First Lady Michelle Obama congratulated Gauff in a post on X, alongside a video of Gauff's championship point. "Your determination, strength, and grace throughout the French Open has inspired us all — and showed us what's possible. Proud of you!" Obama wrote. President Barack Obama chimed in soon after. "Congratulation to @CocoGauff for an amazing championship at the French Open — the first American singles champion at @RolandGarros in a decade," the former president wrote in a post on X. "You make us all proud." Billie Jean King, the founder of the WTA, saluted Gauff on social media soon after her victory, congratulating her on her accomplishments. "Outstanding!" King added in the post. Gauff was also praised by another young tennis star, Carlos Alcaraz. "Many congrats @CocoGauff!!!" he wrote on X. Alcaraz will play in his own French Open final on Sunday against Jannik Sinner. Another tennis champ, Martina Navratilova, also congratulated Gauff on the victory. Advertisement "A great comeback and fight!" Navratilova, who won two French Opens of her own, wrote on social media. Notably, after Gauff won the match, the first person she greeted was director Spike Lee, whom she hugged before she'd even hugged her own parents. Lee, a noted sports fan, was one of many familiar faces in the crowd at Roland-Garros on Saturday. Gauff also earned some praise from actor Matthew McConaughey, who congratulated Gauff for her "2nd major and 1st on clay." In a South Florida crossover, the Miami Dolphins and Miami Heat took the time to honor Gauff for her win. Gauff, who was born in Atlanta, grew up in Delray Beach, Florida, and has strong South Florida roots. Perhaps most unexpectedly, the Merriam-Webster dictionary also praised Gauff, alongside a video of the tennis star explaining the definition of the word "love." Advertisement "Congratulations to Coco Gauff for winning her first French Open title! We really LOVE this," the account wrote.
