Latest news with #Collen
Yahoo
02-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Downtown Express YMCA to close, YMCA looking for new location
HUNTSVILLE, Ala. (WHNT) — The Heart of the Valley YMCA is looking for a new location for the Downtown Express YMCA. It announced last week, that the lease on the space inside the building owned by Huntsville Utilities is expiring on August 31st. News 19 reached out to the Heart of the Valley YMCA for more details on the closure and search for a new space. LISTEN: Rep. Dale Strong holds telephone town hall 'They need the space back that we've been using for the past 15-20 years,' said Interim CEO Jeff Collen. Collen said keeping the location downtown is a priority. 'We think it's really, really important that the YMCA remain downtown,' he said. Collen told News 19 that the Y is working with downtown partners to find a new location that is just as convenient. 📲 to stay updated on the go. 📧 to have news sent to your inbox. 'We'll find another location that will serve the downtown community as well, if not better, than we've ever been able to,' Collen said. In August of 2024, the Heart of the Valley YMCA filed for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy. It cited financial issues due to 'mortgage debt' from the Hogan YMCA in Madison. As a result, the YMCA sold Camp Cha-La-Kee in Guntersville. However, Collen told News 19 that the decision to move the Downtown YMCA is purely due to the expiration of the building lease and that it has nothing to do with financial issues. 'It has absolutely nothing to do with it,' Collen told News 19. During the month of March, Collen told News 19 that there were more than 4,300 visits to the Downtown Y. He said once the Y finds a new location to relocate to, it could be 'very, very positive' for membership. At this time, he said they are still looking for the perfect location. News 19 will keep you updated on when a new location is selected. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Associated Press
22-03-2025
- Sport
- Associated Press
Ole Miss women visit Baylor for the March Madness meeting that eluded them in 2022
WACO, Texas (AP) — Mississippi visits Baylor on Sunday with a spot in the Sweet 16 of the women's NCAA Tournament on the line. This is the matchup the Rebels missed out on three years ago with a first-round loss in Waco that was the first-ever tournament victory for South Dakota. The disappointment was even deeper in 2022 for the Bears, who had a 12-year run of Sweet 16 appearances stopped by the 10th-seeded Coyotes in the second round in coach Nicki Collen's first season as Baylor coach. Now, the No. 4 seed Bears (28-7) are trying to turn their relatively new home court (Foster Pavilion) into the same Sweet 16 springboard their old one (Ferrell Center) was before the South Dakota stunner. 'We've had a lot of new experiences and opportunities, so really we're making history for the first time here,' point guard Jada Walker said of the cozy 7,500-seat arena near the Brazos River. 'For our seniors, we want to end our season right in this new home court and for the young ones, they get to continue that legacy, trying to keep hosting and just make Foster a winning place to be, just like Ferrell was.' The fifth-seeded Rebels (21-10), meanwhile, will take a been-there-done-that approach into another hostile environment after opening the tournament at Notre Dame and Stanford the past two years. Not to mention places such as LSU, where Ole Miss won its regular-season finale, in the rough-and-tumble Southeastern Conference. 'We've been preparing since the first game of the season in Paris,' guard KK Deans said, referring to a 68-66 loss to JuJu Watkins and Southern California. 'A lot of road games, a lot of crowds. So this is nothing new to us.' The year after her team fell flat on Baylor's former home court in Waco, coach Yolett McPhee-McCuin led Ole Miss to the 2023 Sweet 16 by winning at Stanford. The Rebels couldn't repeat the feat at Notre Dame last year. Collen's redemption came last season, when Baylor won at Virginia Tech, a 2023 Final Four team, for her first Sweet 16 since replacing Kim Mulkey, who won three national championships with the Bears. Both coaches are more interested in the next chapter than any old ones, particularly after the Rebels erased the memory of 2022 with a dominant 83-65 first-round win over 12th-seeded Ball State. 'We have a lot of experience. And this is just, to me, another game,' McPhee-McCuin said. 'I think the pressure's on Baylor. I don't think the pressure's on us. They're at home. As far as we're concerned, we're just coming out and trying to execute our game plan as best as we know — and can.' Collen alluded to that pressure after the Bears were sluggish early in a 73-60 victory over 13th-seeded Grand Canyon, which had a 30-game winning streak but was making its first NCAA appearance. At least the Bears don't have to worry about the Cinderella factor. The Rebels had the resume to host the early rounds, but settled for their highest seeding since 1994. Baylor is just a 2 1/2-point favorite, according to BetMGM. 'I know when I looked at the top 68 and we were 14 and they were 17, doesn't seem like we should probably be playing each other,' Collen said. 'But I think you're going to get a really elite matchup, really athletic Ole Miss team.' Inside story Both teams rode their dominance around the basket to the first-round victories. The Bears kept getting the ball to Aaronette Vonleh, and the 6-foot-3 post had 25 points and 11 rebounds. The Rebels had a huge rebounding edge, as shown in a pair of double-doubles with Starr Jacobs (18 points and 11 rebounds) and Kennedy Todd-Williams (15 and 11). 'If you asked me that question first in every game, I would tell you it's the most important thing in every game we play,' Collen said when asked about rebounding. 'It doesn't matter who we're playing.'
NBC Sports
21-03-2025
- Sport
- NBC Sports
Raspy-sounding Nikki Collen is happy Baylor women are back home for March Madness
WACO, Texas — Nikki Collen's raspy voice kept the Baylor coach's NCAA Tournament preview chat with reporters very brief. She didn't need long to get to the point. The Bears (27-7) are hosting early-round games for the first time since her Baylor debut in 2021-22. While that experience wasn't great — Baylor had a 12-year streak of Sweet 16 appearances stopped by South Dakota in the second round three years ago — it beats the alternative of opening the NCAAs on the road. 'I think it was a goal when we went on the road and won last year, how difficult that was and what an emotional advantage Virginia Tech had,' Collen said in answering the first questions, referring to her first trip past the second round in her first three seasons replacing three-time national championship winner Kim Mulkey. 'That's the advantage,' Collen said. 'Your fans, your building, your rims, your routine. So excited to be here, even if I don't sound it.' That scratchy voice led to several pauses from an almost-embarrassed Collen, who was mercifully turned loose by the narrator after about five minutes of discussing fourth-seeded Baylor's first-round matchup with No. 13 seed Grand Canyon (32-2). No. 5 seed Mississippi (20-10) faces 12th-seeded Ball State (27-7), The winners meet for a Sweet 16 spot in the Spokane 1 Regional. Darianna Littlepage-Buggs, the only Big 12 player to average a double-double at 14.3 points and 10.5 rebounds, is expected to return for Baylor after missing seven games with a right knee injury. She will be on a minutes restriction. Aaronette Vonleh averages 14.6 points per gam to lead the Bears, who have the third-longest women's tournament streak at 21 years, while Jada Walker and Sarah Andrews average five assists per game apiece. Baylor kept a nine-game winning streak rolling early in the absence of Littlepage-Buggs before losing twice to TCU in the past four games. The first loss decided the regular-season championship, and the second settled the Big 12 tournament title. 'I feel like the biggest thing we learned or already knew is that we need to rebound because Buggs is very elite at that,' Vonleh said. 'I think on the flip side we also learned that we have people that can contribute and step up if somebody goes down. I mean, I'm grateful that she's finally back and able to make our job a little bit easier.' Return trip Before beating Baylor three years ago, South Dakota earned its first NCAA Tournament victory by knocking off Ole Miss. Now the Rebels are back, with their highest seed since 1994 at No. 5. They were seventh in 2022. The only disappointment for Ole Miss was believing they were good enough to get the home court that goes with being a top-four seed. 'Would we have been excited had we hosted? Of course,' said coach Yolett McPhee-McCuin, who has her team in the tournament for the fourth consecutive year. 'But we've also been on the road and so this is not foreign to us. We're incredibly grateful and it doesn't take much for us to just keep the main thing the main thing.' The venue is different this time. Baylor has since moved to Foster Pavilion from the Ferrell Center. Plenty of winning Grand Canyon enters with the nation's longest winning streak at 30 games, and the Lopes have a pair of victories over Big 12 teams in Arizona State and Arizona. The losses were to Middle Tennessee and then-No. 23 Oregon. 'I think a lot of people can get caught up in the name, but at the end of the day, it's basketball,' said Trinity San Antonio, who leads the Lopes at 15.7 points and 5.5 assists per game. 'It doesn't really matter who we're up against.' What's in a name Speaking of getting caught up in a name, San Antonio is getting a chance to play about 170 miles from the South Texas city of the same name. As expected, she was asked to explain. 'Just my dad's side of the family — Puerto Rico,' she said. 'That name has a stronghold in our lineage. There's a town called San Antonio in Puerto Rico, so, you know, just Puerto Rican, that it.' San Antonio was born in Guam but grew up in the Los Angeles area and started her career at California Baptist. She played for Puerto Rico in the Paris Olympics last summer. Took awhile to get back Ball State is making its second NCAA appearance 16 years after the first, when the Cardinals knocked off fifth-seeded Tennessee in 2009 before losing to Iowa State in the second round. They are trying to pull off the 12-over-5 upset again in Brady Sallee's first NCAA Tournament as a head coach. Assistant head coach Audrey McDonald played on that 2009 team. 'Her experience as a player and going through this, and really the message of, 'Guys, it's worth it,'' Sallee said of McDonald. 'As we were trudging through February trying to get to here, it's that calming message. Clearly, they knew it, but she has a different perspective on it.'
Associated Press
21-03-2025
- Sport
- Associated Press
Raspy-sounding Nikki Collen is happy Baylor women are back home for March Madness
WACO, Texas (AP) — Nikki Collen's raspy voice kept the Baylor coach's NCAA Tournament preview chat with reporters very brief. She didn't need long to get to the point. The Bears (27-7) are hosting early-round games for the first time since her Baylor debut in 2021-22. While that experience wasn't great — Baylor had a 12-year streak of Sweet 16 appearances stopped by South Dakota in the second round three years ago — it beats the alternative of opening the NCAAs on the road. 'I think it was a goal when we went on the road and won last year, how difficult that was and what an emotional advantage Virginia Tech had,' Collen said in answering the first questions, referring to her first trip past the second round in her first three seasons replacing three-time national championship winner Kim Mulkey. 'That's the advantage,' Collen said. 'Your fans, your building, your rims, your routine. So excited to be here, even if I don't sound it.' That scratchy voice led to several pauses from an almost-embarrassed Collen, who was mercifully turned loose by the narrator after about five minutes of discussing fourth-seeded Baylor's first-round matchup with No. 13 seed Grand Canyon (32-2) on Friday. No. 5 seed Mississippi (20-10) faces 12th-seeded Ball State (27-7) on Friday night. The winners meet Sunday for a Sweet 16 spot in the Spokane 1 Regional. Darianna Littlepage-Buggs, the only Big 12 player to average a double-double at 14.3 points and 10.5 rebounds, is expected to return for Baylor after missing seven games with a right knee injury. She will be on a minutes restriction. Aaronette Vonleh averages 14.6 points per gam to lead the Bears, who have the third-longest women's tournament streak at 21 years, while Jada Walker and Sarah Andrews average five assists per game apiece. Baylor kept a nine-game winning streak rolling early in the absence of Littlepage-Buggs before losing twice to TCU in the past four games. The first loss decided the regular-season championship, and the second settled the Big 12 tournament title. 'I feel like the biggest thing we learned or already knew is that we need to rebound because Buggs is very elite at that,' Vonleh said. 'I think on the flip side we also learned that we have people that can contribute and step up if somebody goes down. I mean, I'm grateful that she's finally back and able to make our job a little bit easier.' Return trip Before beating Baylor three years ago, South Dakota earned its first NCAA Tournament victory by knocking off Ole Miss. Now the Rebels are back, with their highest seed since 1994 at No. 5. They were seventh in 2022. The only disappointment for Ole Miss was believing they were good enough to get the home court that goes with being a top-four seed. 'Would we have been excited had we hosted? Of course,' said coach Yolett McPhee-McCuin, who has her team in the tournament for the fourth consecutive year. 'But we've also been on the road and so this is not foreign to us. We're incredibly grateful and it doesn't take much for us to just keep the main thing the main thing.' The venue is different this time. Baylor has since moved to Foster Pavilion from the Ferrell Center. Plenty of winning Grand Canyon enters with the nation's longest winning streak at 30 games, and the Lopes have a pair of victories over Big 12 teams in Arizona State and Arizona. The losses were to Middle Tennessee and then-No. 23 Oregon. 'I think a lot of people can get caught up in the name, but at the end of the day, it's basketball,' said Trinity San Antonio, who leads the Lopes at 15.7 points and 5.5 assists per game. 'It doesn't really matter who we're up against.' What's in a name Speaking of getting caught up in a name, San Antonio is getting a chance to play about 170 miles from the South Texas city of the same name. As expected, she was asked to explain. 'Just my dad's side of the family — Puerto Rico,' she said. 'That name has a stronghold in our lineage. There's a town called San Antonio in Puerto Rico, so, you know, just Puerto Rican, that it.' San Antonio was born in Guam but grew up in the Los Angeles area and started her career at California Baptist. She played for Puerto Rico in the Paris Olympics last summer. Took awhile to get back Ball State is making its second NCAA appearance 16 years after the first, when the Cardinals knocked off fifth-seeded Tennessee in 2009 before losing to Iowa State in the second round. They are trying to pull off the 12-over-5 upset again in Brady Sallee's first NCAA Tournament as a head coach. Assistant head coach Audrey McDonald played on that 2009 team. 'Her experience as a player and going through this, and really the message of, 'Guys, it's worth it,'' Sallee said of McDonald. 'As we were trudging through February trying to get to here, it's that calming message. Clearly, they knew it, but she has a different perspective on it.'
Yahoo
06-02-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Woman Opens Wedding Gift From Grandma Who Died 28 Years Ago — and the Reveal Goes Viral
A bride's wedding gift reveal has gone viral for all the right reasons. Initially uploaded by a bride named Colleen on Instagram in November, the video has gone viral, accumulating over 73,000 likes, thanks to the gift giver —her late grandmother. In the comments Colleen explained that following her wedding in May, she received her grandmother's vintage china collection from her aunt. Her grandmother had packaged it in 1996 before her death. The PEOPLE Puzzler crossword is here! How quickly can you solve it? Play now! "I was 5 when she passed and my grandmother left it for me as a wedding gift. My aunt kept it for me all this time. I got married this year, so finally got to open it," she wrote. The opening of the gift was a sentimental moment for more reasons than one. "When you get to open a 28 year old wedding present and take a trip down memory lane in the process. ❤️👰🏻♀️ #vintage #china #royalworcester," Colleen wrote in her caption. The video begins with Colleen displaying a brown cardboard box on the screen. Related: Man in Bathing Suit Casually Strolls Through Formal Beach Wedding Ceremony — Moment Caught on Camera "When your grandmother, who passed in 1996, packed away her china for you as a wedding gift and you finally get to open it," wrote Colleen over the clip. As she pulls every tab of the cardboard box open, Collen maneuvers around each piece of china inside, which is wrapped in newspaper she carefully zooms in on each piece to show that it is from 1996. She then shows one of the pages with an ACME market advertisement showing a loaf of bread at $0.89 and a carton of eggs at $1.00. Related: Woman Doesn't Regret Proposing to Her Boyfriend — Here's Why: 'Don't Do It the Traditional Way' Colleen then shows another advertisement and newspaper headlines before showing the china on a table and later placed on a shelf. The white bowls, plates, jugs, and cups are from the Evesham Gold collection from Royal Worcester Colleen said in the comments. Each featured a gold rim and paintings of fruit of the Vale of Evesham. The comment section was filled with people sharing in Collen's excitement. "Use it! Don't save for special occasions because you'll end up just storing it. It's really cute," one person wrote. Never miss a story — sign up for to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. "My eyes when I saw all that Royal Worcester 😍 I wouldn't dare use it everyday, I break so many dishes and I would cry if I even chipped one of those! What a beautiful gift," another commenter shared. Read the original article on People
