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Irish Daily Mirror
26-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Irish Daily Mirror
Bucks Fizz star risked getting kidnapped by the IRA during Eurovision
Bucks Fizz star Cheryl Baker has revealed she risked being kidnapped while in Dublin during the Eurovision Song Contest. In 1981, the UK were crowned winners of the song contest, which was hosted at the RDS, with their song, Making Your Mind Up. But Cheryl has now revealed the 'stupid move' she and her co-star Mike Nolan made hours before taking the win. In a new interview with Slingo, the singer shares how she and her bandmate Mike Nolan snuck out despite being under strict orders to stay in their hotel rooms as the song contest was under threat from the IRA. She told Slingo: 'The event was threatened by the IRA, as was the British contingent, that's why we were kept separate. We had armed guards for each of us. 'Outside our hotel rooms and when we travelled, we travelled in a coach, just us, no other countries. 'We had outriders, I felt like royalty! You don't think of the danger, you think of excitement. We were going on the wrong side of the road, through red lights, it made you feel special. 'We were in Dublin for a few days, and we had a few hours to spare so Mike, who is from Dublin, said to me, 'should we go shopping?' I said, 'no, we can't, we've been told to stay in our rooms'. 'He said, 'let's sneak out', so we did. I can't remember how we did it, but we sneaked out of the hotel, and went shopping. 'I can remember the dress I bought, walking along the streets of Dublin with Mike feeling really free, but we were stupid, really stupid, we had a price on our heads at the time. 'It was the excitement and the freedom at the time. When we got back, we got such a telling off from our people, our record label and everything, but especially by the Irish police who were looking after us. 'The discovery we'd disappeared, we might have been kidnapped! They didn't know, we were so silly, you're stupid like that when you're young, that was a bit naughty, I have to admit to that.' Cheryl revealed how Bucks Fizz had to return back to their hotel room hours after winning because of the security threat. 'It's weird, after we won, we went back to our hotel, we had a different hotel from all the other contingents because of the IRA, they were very active in those days and they had threatened to disrupt the competition, so they kept us in a completely separate hotel, none of the other countries were there. 'They were all staying in another hotel, and it must have been fun for them. They could all go to the bar and have a bit of a party, whereas we were on our own with our record label and production company. 'They cracked open the champagne and the orange juice obviously, so I went to my room in the hotel and rang home. 'Home for me at the time was a council flat in Bethnal Green. I rang and my sister answered the phone, my real name's Rita, and there were cheers everywhere, music playing in the background and immediately, my eyes filled with tears, and I just thought, I want to be there. 'My sister said, oh Reets, you should have seen it, I get upset talking about it! I was born in that block of flats, there were three blocks of flats, and people then, if they lived there, they lived their most of their lives, so everyone knew me. 'I was like their friend, their daughter, and so when we won, people came out, I'm getting tearful! People came out on the balconies, threw open their windows, it was so moving. I just thought, I want to be there, I want to be back home. 'We flew home the next day, to Heathrow, came home to the arrivals lounge and everyone was there, my family, my friends, they'd made banners, the music was playing and I fell to my knees and cried and my dad forced his way through and took me in his arms and gave me the fatherly hug I needed at the time. It was strange, it really affected me and made me very emotional.' Cheryl says life for them changed 'immediately'. 'It changed for us immediately, after the show had come down, we were all ushered into an area where there was a stage, we stood on the stage and we were completely surrounded by paparazzi, film cameras, photographers, everyone was standing round and calling us. 'I thought, blimey, my life's just changed. We went from being nobody to being everyone worldwide wanted a piece of us, it was crazy. It was absolutely crazy and our lives changed so dramatically because of it.'
Fox Sports
22-05-2025
- Sport
- Fox Sports
Five things to watch for in Week 9 of the 2025 UFL season
The St. Louis Battlehawks (6-2) get a test run at The Dome at America's Center this weekend to kick off Week 9 of the UFL season when they host the San Antonio Brahmas (1-7) on Friday (8 p.m. ET on FOX and the FOX Sports app). Friday's contest is the last home game of the regular season for the Battlehawks, who are a league-best 4-1 at home this year, averaging nearly 30,000 fans a game. The UFL announced that St. Louis will host the DC Defenders (6-2) in the XFL Conference title game on June 8 regardless of how the two teams finish the final two games of the season. The Battlehawks and the Defenders are tied for the top spot in the XFL Conference and will meet in Washington, D.C. on May 30 in the final game of the regular season. St. Louis will also host the UFL title game on June 14. "It's a blessing," Battlehawks head coach Anthony Becht said, when asked about his team's home-field advantage. "It's a blessing to play in a place that's loud, and on third down it's hard for the other team. I wish we could play all 10 (games) here. That would be awesome, and they would show up every week. "We are very fortunate to have a fan base like this here, and we don't take it for granted ever because we know how important it is." [MORE: What is the UFL? Everything to know about the 2025 United Football League ] Elsewhere, the Memphis Showboats (2-6) host the Arlington Renegades (3-5) on Saturday (noon ET), followed by the Michigan Panthers (6-2) hitting the road to face the Birmingham Stallions (5-3) at Protective Stadium (3 p.m. ET). In the weekend's finale, the Houston Roughnecks (3-5) host the Defenders on Sunday (4 p.m. ET on FOX and the FOX Sports app). Here's a closer look at five things to watch for in Week 9: 1. Stallions vs. Panthers offers USFL Conference title preview With Birmingham hosting Michigan in the first round of the playoffs in a few weeks, both teams will keep things simple and look to rest key players with the hopes of entering the postseason as healthy as possible. The Panthers already started doing that last week, as head coach Mike Nolan did not play star quarterback Bryce Perkins in his team's win over the Roughnecks because of a lingering ankle injury. Perkins also missed practice this week due to the injury, so Michigan signed quarterback Colby Suits to add depth to the position group. "The biggest decision will be how healthy our roster is and what we need to do, but we won't know that probably until the middle of the week," Nolan said. "That's probably the most important thing, because we want to be healthy going into the playoffs. So, we'll see how that goes. I know that there's a little rivalry going on between us and Birmingham, so I know everybody will want to play, but we'll see." Birmingham defeated the Panthers earlier this season in Week 2 in Detroit, 21-12. The Stallions are undefeated (6-0) against the Panthers dating back to the return of the legacy USFL in 2022. "Once you get in, anybody can win it," said Birmingham head coach Skip Holtz, whose Stallions have reached the postseason for a fourth straight year. "We've got to keep growing." Starting quarterback Alex McGough, who went on IR earlier this year with a right shoulder injury, was a limited participant in practice this week and could be healthy enough to return to the field this weekend. 2. DE Breeland Speaks returns for Panthers The reigning UFL Defensive Player of the Year, Speaks returned to the team's active roster after being placed on IR for six weeks with a left pectoral injury. Speaks led the league with 9.5 sacks last year but had six combined tackles and no sacks through two games played this season prior to his injury. With the Panthers already clinching a spot in the postseason, returning to the field this weekend gives Speaks a few weeks to knock the rust off. The Panthers are sixth in the UFL in sacks with 13 on the season and have just seven takeaways this year. 3. QB Kellen Mond returns as Brahmas' starter Benched for three games in favor of Kevin Hogan, Mond returns to the starting job as San Antonio hits the road this weekend. A San Antonio native and Texas A&M product, Mond started the first five games of the season, completing 57% of his passes for 597 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions. He was sacked 10 times, posting a 69.1 passer rating and going 1-4 as a starter. Mond replaces Hogan, who is out this week due to an injury to his throwing hand. The Brahmas signed Alan Bowman to serve as the team's third-stringer this week. 4. Battlehawks bring back QB Chevan Cordiero St. Louis lost starting quarterback Manny Wilkins for the year with an Achilles tendon tear but get back some depth at the position with the return of Cordiero, who started the season as the third-string QB for St. Louis before landing on IR with a hamstring issue. Cordiero didn't appear in any games this season prior to the injury and joins a quarterback room that includes starter Max Duggan and backup Brandon Silvers. To make room for Cordiero, St. Louis released QB Trae Self. In another roster move, the Showboats released running back Wes Hills this week. 5. Defenders WR Cornell Powell shines Powell is the new league leader in touchdown receptions with two weeks left in the regular season. The 27-year-old Clemson product tops the UFL with five touchdown receptions on the season. Powell totaled four receptions for 59 yards and two touchdowns on eight targets in the Defenders' win over the Renegades last week. He has 21 receptions for 314 yards and five scores on 44 targets so far this season. Eric D. Williams has reported on the NFL for more than a decade, covering the Los Angeles Rams for Sports Illustrated, the Los Angeles Chargers for ESPN and the Seattle Seahawks for the Tacoma News Tribune. Follow him at @eric_d_williams . Want great stories delivered right to your inbox? Create or log in to your FOX Sports account, follow leagues, teams and players to receive a personalized newsletter daily ! FOLLOW Follow your favorites to personalize your FOX Sports experience United Football League recommended Get more from United Football League Follow your favorites to get information about games, news and more
Fox Sports
13-05-2025
- Sport
- Fox Sports
UFL Week 7 By The Numbers: Jordan Ta'amu, Toa Taua make big statements
Week 7 of the 2025 UFL season was complete with three down-to-the-wire matchups. The DC Defenders , Michigan Panthers , Birmingham Stallions and St. Louis Battlehawks came out with wins, while the San Antonio Brahmas , Arlington Renegades , Houston Roughnecks and Memphis Showboats came up short. [MORE: What is the UFL? Everything to know about the 2025 United Football League ] Here are the numbers to know after Week 7. 1: After it appeared that Michigan's late comeback attempt had come up 1 yard short and ran out of time, officials ruled that head coach Mike Nolan called a timeout with one second left on the clock at the end of regulation. With the ball spotted on the 1-yard line and the Panthers down six points, standout running back Toa Taua powered in for the game-tying touchdown as time expired. Michigan then went back to Taua on the ensuing one-point conversion and the former Nevada player secured the walk-off 25-24 win for the road team. 3: The last-second loss by Arlington was the third time this season that they blew a lead in the final minute of the game. They also gave up late touchdowns to the Stallions and the Defenders to lose those contests. Renegades fans have to wonder what could've been if they had closed those games out. For now, Arlington holds a 3-4 record on the year and is two games outside the playoffs heading into the final three weeks of the regular season. 5: Birmingham has now used five different quarterbacks in seven weeks of action this season. On Sunday, J'Mar Smith became the fifth signal-caller to play for Birmingham after Case Cookus departed the game due to injury. Smith then led the Stallions to the go-ahead touchdown — a 1-yard score — in the final two minutes of the fourth quarter. 6: There are only six teams alive for a playoff spot this season. At 1-6, both San Antonio and Memphis were eliminated. 16: After going 2-for-2 in the win over Memphis on Sunday, St. Louis kicker Rodrigo Blankenship continued his perfect season and is now 16-for-16 on field goals this year. The former Georgia Bulldog is 5-for-5 on kicks from at least 50 yards out, with a long of 56 this season. 19: Defending champion Birmingham came back from a 19-point deficit vs. Houston — the largest comeback in UFL history. Trailing 25-6 late in the second quarter, the Stallions scored 27 unanswered points to pull off the win, 33-25. 250: QB Jordan Ta'amu went 19-for-24 for 278 yards and three touchdowns in the Defenders' win over the Brahmas on Friday. It was the fourth consecutive game that Ta'amu has thrown for at least 250 yards. The league's leading passer is now averaging exactly 250 passing yards per game this season to go with a UFL-best 14 passing scores. Want great stories delivered right to your inbox? Create or log in to your FOX Sports account, follow leagues, teams and players to receive a personalized newsletter daily ! FOLLOW Follow your favorites to personalize your FOX Sports experience United Football League recommended Get more from United Football League Follow your favorites to get information about games, news and more
ITV News
12-05-2025
- Entertainment
- ITV News
Cheryl Baker credits Eurovision win to iconic skirt rip moment
The British pop group, also comprised of Jay Aston, Mike Nolan and Bobby G, found fame after winning Eurovision in 1981
USA Today
04-04-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
UFL schedule: Week 2 games, start times, TV channel and live stream
UFL schedule: Week 2 games, start times, TV channel and live stream Welcome back, spring football! The 2025 United Football League season kicked off last weekend and it will continue with four more games in Week 2. Here's a quick look at the UFL's schedule of games for this weekend. The action kicks off on Friday (April 4) when the Birmingham Stallions face the Michigan Panthers at 8 p.m. ET (6 p.m. MT) on Fox, which is available to stream on FuboTV (try it free). After that, the Memphis Showboats will take on the DC Defenders on Saturday (April 5) at 8 p.m. ET (6 p.m. MT) on ABC and FuboTV. The action continues on Sunday (April 6), starting with the Houston Roughnecks facing the Arlington Renegades at 12 p.m. ET (10 a.m. MT) on ESPN and FuboTV. After that, Week 2 concludes with the San Antonio Brahmas taking on the St. Louis Battlehawks at 6:30 p.m. ET (4:30 p.m. MT) on FS1 and FuboTV. UFL Week 2: Dates, TV channel, live stream What : Week 2 of UFL season : Week 2 of UFL season When : April 4-6 : April 4-6 TV channels : Fox, ABC, ESPN and FS1 : Fox, ABC, ESPN and FS1 Live stream: FuboTV (try it free) There are 16 ex-Denver Broncos players suiting up in the UFL this spring. Additionally, ex-Denver head coach/defensive coordinator Wade Phillips (San Antonio Brahmas) and ex-DC Mike Nolan (Michigan Panthers) are head coaches in the spring league. 16 ex-Broncos playing in the UFL this spring
