Latest news with #Lukes
Irish Daily Mirror
25-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Irish Daily Mirror
Darts legend Michael van Gerwen announces split from wife with emotional post
Darts legend Michael van Gerwen has revealed he's parting ways with his wife via a heartfelt post on social media. The pair tied the knot in 2014. Taking to Twitter, Van Gerwen said: "It is with great sadness that I inform you that Daphne and I have decided to end our relationship. As a result, I have withdrawn from the upcoming tournaments. I am sorry to disappoint my fans, but I trust that they will understand my decision. We are facing a difficult time and ask that you respect our privacy during this difficult time." Van Gerwen asked fans and followers for understanding and privacy as he navigates this challenging personal period. Van Gerwen and Daphne began their love story back in 2008 and said 'I do' in Holland in 2014, the same memorable year he claimed his inaugural world title. They're proud parents to two children, welcoming their first daughter in August 2017, followed by a son in April 2020. Notably, Daphne, who once styled hair for a living, is an avid darts supporter having accompanied Van Gerwen globally. The announcement of the split surfaces amidst a tumultuous period in Van Gerwen's professional darts journey. He recently missed out on qualifying for the Premier League Darts playoffs, marking only the second such occurrence in his storied career, reports the Mirror. Moreover, competitor Nathan Aspinall expressed concern about Van Gerwen's demeanor at the oche after competing against him. On Thursday, Aspinall divulged: "There was a lot of emotion after walking off stage. I had to take myself away." He further added his observations, stating, "I spoke so highly of Michael all week and go and win tonight. I don't know what is going on but he didn't look himself again. Even on that stage, he was giving up." Darts legend Wayne Mardle has shared his thoughts, stating: "I feel for Michael, The man is a champion, a winner. It is only the second time he has not made the play-offs. He has said it, he has not been good enough at times." "I don't know how he feels within, he has just looked off. To not have won a week, he won four last year, that is a real blow for him. "He came into this as the third favourite behind the Lukes and it was all going okay. Then it kind of took a turn for the worst. I don't know how bad the injury was but since missing Berlin he has played slightly well in my opinion."
Hamilton Spectator
24-05-2025
- Sport
- Hamilton Spectator
How Blue Jays outfielder Nathan Lukes earned his team's trust and finally carved a major-league role
In a league filled with fiery sluggers, big-name international free agents and hotshot upstarts, there are always names that fall under the radar. For the Blue Jays , outfielder Nathan Lukes, who has had a decidedly unglamorous road to the majors, falls into that category. The 30-year-old Lukes has long waited for the opportunity to play consistently at the big-league level. He appeared in more than 600 minor-league games between 2015 and 2022 before finally making his MLB debut at age 28 in 2023. Nathan Lukes is rewarded with the Gatorade shower after his walk-off hit. Now, he's a regular fixture in the starting lineup — and he's been making an impact. Lukes hit a walk-off single to beat the San Diego Padres on Thursday in a game where he went 3-for-4 and improved his on-base-plus-slugging percentage to .808 on the year. A day earlier, he hit a key two-run homer, his fourth of the season. In manager John Schneider's telling, Lukes is hitting his stride, showing more intent with his swings and making his at-bats more efficient and impactful. He doesn't strike out all that often, squares up balls at a respectable rate and has an above-average arm in the outfield, per Baseball Savant . 'I think that he's coming into his own as a player,' Schneider said. 'I'm happy for him. He's worked really hard to get to this point and it's paying off.' Blue Jays outfielder Nathan Lukes makes a catch against the San Diego Padres on Tuesday. Even when he reached the higher levels of minor-league ball and an MLB role felt closer, the native of Sacramento, Calif. battled injuries. He suffered a gruesome thumb injury in 2024 that kept him out for two months while in Buffalo, and spent a pair of shorter stints on the injured list in both the Blue Jays and Rays organizations. 'His career has been weird, and injuries have been a big part of it,' Schneider observed. 'I think Nate's just in a good spot and understanding what he's good at.' Now, his manager says, he's healthy and confident, which has given the Jays a lot of trust in him. They even had him lay down a bunt with two strikes against a left-handed pitcher in the seventh inning of Wednesday night's game, a gambit that ultimately paid off and ignited what would become a five-run bat-around inning . 'I trust Nate to be a baseball player,' Schneider said. 'It's not easy to bunt left-on-left like that, and he put down a perfect one. It's a credit to him, and I got a lot of trust in him.' Varsho triples in the 11th inning to bring home one run, then scores the winning run as the Jays move above .500. Varsho triples in the 11th inning to bring home one run, then scores the winning run as the Jays move above .500. Lukes echoed the importance of confidence, which has helped him get off to a solid start to the season in which he's driven in 16 runs in fewer than 100 plate appearances. 'The confidence is a big thing in baseball and right now; I'm just running with it,' Lukes said. 'I like to shoot for the moon, so hopefully (I can) just get (the ball) up even more.' His teammates have taken notice, too. Myles Straw, the gold glover who has shared outfield duties with Lukes since coming over from the Cleveland Guardians in the winter, said his strength as a hitter is his ability to hit line drives to all parts of the field. 'He's just very consistent — consistent in the field, consistent hitting,' Straw said. 'At the end of the day, he can hit a line drive to right, left or centre. So when you show signs of that, you can be a pretty good hitter.' 'If I was making the lineup, I'd have him in there every day,' said infielder Ernie Clement, who was standing on first base when Lukes hit a towering home run Wednesday night. 'It's just really, really impressive to see him put up the at-bats that he has when not playing every day.' Lukes has already suited up in a career-high 35 MLB games this season, but playing time is no guarantee with fellow outfielders Alan Roden , Jonatan Clase and Davis Schneider all in the system. For now, he's taking every opportunity in, and says it makes all those years spent in the minor leagues worth it for the chance to play at the highest level. 'Right now, I feel like it's all paying off,' Lukes said.
Daily Record
24-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Record
Michael van Gerwen announces split from wife and withdraws from darts tournaments in heartbreaking statement
The three-time world champion has announced that he has split from his wife Daphne, with the Dutchman withdrawing from upcoming tournaments Darts legend Michael van Gerwen has taken to social media to announce his separation from wife Daphne in a heart-wrenching statement. The couple, who tied the knot in 2014, are experiencing a marital break up. The Dutchman tweeted on Saturday: "It is with great sadness that I inform you that Daphne and I have decided to end our relationship. "As a result, I have withdrawn from the upcoming tournaments. I am sorry to disappoint my fans, but I trust that they will understand my decision. We are facing a difficult time and ask that you respect our privacy during this difficult time." Van Gerwen and Daphne started dating in 2008, got married in the Netherlands in 2014 – the same year he clinched his maiden world title. Together, they've raised two young children; their daughter was born in August 2017 with a son joining the family in April 2020. Daphne, who was a hairdresser previously, is often seen backing Van Gerwen at his matches around the globe. Van Gerwen's announcement comes amid recent setbacks in his darts career, having unexpectedly missed out on qualifying for the Premier League Darts playoffs. Adding to concerns, opponent Nathan Aspinall noted an apparent change in Van Gerwen's demeanour at their last encounter, expressing post-match on Thursday: "There was a lot of emotion after walking off stage. I had to take myself away." Aspinall, who had praised Van Gerwen throughout the week, sensed something was off, saying, "I spoke so highly of Michael all week and go and win tonight. I don't know what is going on but he didn't look himself again. Even on that stage, he was giving up." Darts legend Wayne Mardle offered a sympathetic view, stating: "I feel for Michael, The man is a champion, a winner. It is only the second time he has not made the play-offs. He has said it, he has not been good enough at times." Mardle continued, "I don't know how he feels within, he has just looked off. To not have won a week, he won four last year, that is a real blow for him. "He started the season as the third favourite, behind the Lukes, but it all took a turn for the worse. I'm not sure how severe the injury was, but since missing Berlin, he hasn't quite been himself, in my opinion." You can get all the news you need on our dedicated Rangers and Celtic pages, and sign up to our newsletters to make sure you never miss a beat throughout the season.
Hamilton Spectator
24-05-2025
- Sport
- Hamilton Spectator
Blue Jays quick hits: Tampa bandbox isn't so hitter friendly for visitors at the 50-game mark
The Blue Jays might have won the Grapefruit League title earlier this spring, but wins in Florida are a lot harder to come by during the regular season. With Tropicana Field still not operational following damage to the roof during last year's hurricane, the Jays made their first trip this season to nearby George Steinbrenner Field for a series against the Tampa Bay Rays. The minor-league park is known as very hitter friendly, but someone forgot to tell the Jays, who had their three-game win streak snapped with a 3-1 loss on Friday night. That dropped the Jays' record to 25-25 and moved them back into a tie with the Boston Red Sox for second place in the American League East. Rays right-hander Drew Rasmussen struck out three across six scoreless innings to earn the victory. The loss went to Jays lefty Eric Lauer, who surrendered three runs on six hits and a pair of walks during his second official start of the season. Here's everything you need to know about the game: The Jays appeared to have something going in the top of the third when Jonatan Clase hit a one-out double off Rasmussen. Nathan Lukes followed with a single to left that was hit too hard to score the speedy Clase. That should have put runners on the corners for the top of the order, but Lukes made an ill-advised decision to make a run for second. Catcher Danny Jansen threw a strike to second baseman Brandon Lowe for the easy out. Bo Bichette then stepped into the box and flew out to right, which ended the inning without Vladimir Guerrero Jr. getting to the plate. Lauer escaped a couple of early jams but got into more trouble in the third. Lowe, who homered twice in last week's series against the Jays, went deep again on a 2-and-1 slider. The two-run shot was Lowe's ninth of the season and put the Rays in front by two. Curtis Mead added a solo homer in the fourth when he lifted a 2-and-0 cutter over the wall in left. Lauer has made five appearances for the Jays this season and has yet to complete five innings in any of them. The Jays had opportunities to score in almost every inning; they just didn't do anything with them. In the fourth, Addison Barger struck out to strand a pair of runners. In the fifth, two runners were on when Bichette hit a scorching 110-m.p.h. grounder to third. Junior Caminero made a highlight-reel grab, then started a double-play to end the inning. In the seventh, Rays reliever Mason Montgomery walked the bases loaded with nobody out and yet the Jays settled for just one run, after Clase hit into a double-play and Lukes flew out to centre. In the eighth, they had two runners on before Alejandro Kirk grounded out to second. The Jays finished 1-for-9 with runners in scoring position and stranded eight runners.
Edmonton Journal
24-05-2025
- Sport
- Edmonton Journal
Blue Jays' offence reverts to its inoffensive ways in loss to host Tampa Bay Rays
Article content Both teams played well defensively. Offensively, Tampa needed two swings to produce its three runs. The following are three takeaways in the wake of a Jays' 3-1 loss to an AL East rival that dropped Toronto's record to 25-25, while Tampa improved to 24-26. 1. BOTTOMS UP The Jays entered the night one game above .500 for the first time in a month for a variety of reasons. One of the most understated areas involves the team's bottom of the order, a collection of utility players who have, to their credit, stepped up in big moments. Nathan Lukes immediately comes to mind. A day after producing the game-winning hit, Lukes ran into an out at second base. The fact he even reached base speaks to how well Lukes has been swinging the bat. The fact he was thrown out highlighted a recurring team deficiency. Of the Jays' four hits, three came from the team's bottom of the order, which consisted of Ernie Clement, Jonatan Clase, who had a double, and Lukes.
