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Otago Daily Times
3 days ago
- Sport
- Otago Daily Times
Hard-working Highlander makes team of year
Moana Pasifika captain Ardie Savea headlines a tournament team named following the conclusion of the round-robin phase of Super Rugby. Super Rugby organisers have announced an honorary team with the first-ever Super Rugby Pacific Team of the Year to officially be recognised next year. The team is formed from the top-ranked players in each position based on Player of the Year votes from across the season. The votes come from players on other teams. Savea received the most votes of any player and was recently named Player of Super Rugby Pacific. Hard-working Highlanders Timoci Tavatavanawai received 32 votes and is one of two centres named. The Super Rugby Pacific statement said where players played or are capable of playing multiple positions, for Team of the Year purposes they were assigned only the position that they most played during the 2025 season. Carlo Tizzano, Fraser McReight and Langi Gleeson could not initially be separated for the third back row position, having received the same amount of Player of the Year votes (29). The Player of the Year tie-breaker was to compare the number of 'three votes' received, which saw Gleeson (4) surpassed by Tizzano and McReight (both 5). Remarkably, both flankers received the same number of 'three votes', 'two votes' and 'one vote' during the season, which means they share the final back row selection. 2025 Super Rugby Pacific team of the year PROPS Allan Alaalatoa (ACT Brumbies, 20 votes), Angus Bell (NSW Waratahs, 14 votes) HOOKER Tevita Ikanivere (Fijian Drua, 19 votes) SECOND ROW Jeremy Williams (Western Force, 21 votes), Patrick Tuipulotu (Blues, 20 votes) BACK ROW Ardie Savea (Moana Pasifika, 46 votes), Tom Hooper (ACT Brumbies, 31 votes), Carlo Tizzano (Western Force, 29 votes) / Fraser McReight (Queensland Reds, 29 votes) HALF BACK Cam Roigard (Hurricanes, 28 votes) FIRST FIVE Damian McKenzie (Chiefs, 36 votes) CENTRES Timoci Tavatavanawai (Highlanders, 32 votes), AJ Lam (Blues, 14 votes) WINGERS Harry Potter (Western Force, 18 votes), Kini Naholo (Hurricanes, 18 votes) FULLBACK Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii (NSW Waratahs, 20 votes)
NBC Sports
5 days ago
- Business
- NBC Sports
Could Patriots cut Stefon Diggs and owe him nothing? It's complicated.
If you believe the initial reports — and you never should — the Patriots signed receiver Stefon Diggs to a three-year, $69 million contract with $26 million guaranteed. The truth is far more complicated, especially since Diggs suffered a torn ACL during the 2024 regular season. We've obtained and reviewed the entire contract. Until he passes a full physical (including as to the injured knee), he's entitled to nothing. And that wrinkle gives rise to another question that recently became very relevant. If the Patriots decide to cut Diggs, do they owe him anything? With Scott Zolak, who works for the Patriots Radio Network, recently saying that parting ways with Diggs is on the table, it's fair and appropriate to explore whether and to what extent he'd be entitled to a multi-million-dollar parting gift. While the contract doesn't contain a clear answer, there are several provisions that could apply. First, paragraph 26 of the contract sets forth the signing bonus. Under paragraph 26(a), Diggs gets $12 million, with $4 million paid within two weeks of execution, $4 million due on October 31, 2025, and $4 million due on March 31, 2026. While this implies that he has received $4 million, paragraph 26(b) says this: 'Player's entitlement to receive the amount set forth in Paragraph (a) immediately above is expressly conditioned upon Player's passing of a physical examination by Club, as determined exclusively by Club's physician, confirming his ability to practice and play in accordance with the standards and requirements of his position, as to which Club will rely upon, among other things, Player's full and complete disclosure of all facts and circumstances material to his health, well-being and performance.' Basically, the Patriots owe Diggs nothing until he passes a full physical clearing him to practice and play. And the team's doctor has exclusive discretion to determine whether Diggs passes. So if the doctor never believes Diggs is ready to play, the Patriots — in theory — owe him nothing. That doesn't mean the Patriots can tear up the contract for any reason before Diggs passes his physical. It nevertheless provides an escape hatch, if the doctor who is on the team's payroll (and who presumably hopes to remain there) never believes the knee has fully healed. Second, paragraph 27(e) focuses on the 'Pre-Existing Condition' in Diggs's knee. It wipes out the $10.6 million in guarantees beyond the $12 million signing bonus "[i]n the event the Contract is terminated due to the Pre-Existing Condition or any injury or medical condition that, in the sole opinion of Club's Physician, which shall be final and binding, is in any way related to the Pre-Existing Condition, then notwithstanding anything in this Agreement, the Guarantees set forth in this Section 27 shall be null and void.' That provision evaporates once Diggs passes the physical mentioned in paragraph 26(b). Which makes that physical even more important. And which gives the Patriots a window for pulling the plug, if they so choose. The contract also includes standard default language for the $10.6 million in non-signing bonus guarantees. Given that the chance of a suspension for the recent pink powder boat video is low, it will be difficult to prove that Diggs has committed a default. There's also a provision at the tail end of the contract (paragraph 36) in which Diggs promises he 'will not participate, and is not engaged and will not engage, in any conduct or activity that is illegal, unlawful or immoral.' The boat video, which shows Diggs distributing a pink powder, could give the Patriots an opening for seizing on that language — if the powder was an illegal street drug. Or course, the Patriots would have to prove it. Which may not be easy to do. It would be far easier, frankly, to cut him with a failed physical designation, withhold any money he has yet to receive, and brace for a grievance like the one former Patriots receiver Antonio Brown filed after the team refused to pay his $9 million signing bonus following his failed shot of espresso with the Pats. Eventually, the Patriots settled the grievance for $5 million. Which was still $4 million less than they owed Brown on paper. In this case, the language of the contract gives the team (specifically, its physician) the ability to put the kibosh on the entire contract by determining that Diggs can't pass a physical, due to the ACL tear. Here's the point. It's possible the Patriots have only paid Diggs $4 million, if that much. If Diggs has not yet passed the full and final physical that clears him to practice and play in 2025 (and the absence of news that he has passed a full and final physical strongly suggests he has not), there's an opening to turn that three-year, $69 million contract into nothing at all.
Yahoo
28-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Huskers softball standout Jordy Bahl named NFCA Division I Player of the Year
LINCOLN, Neb. (KCAU) – Nebraska softball two-way talent Jordy Bahl as named the National Fastpitch Coaches Association Division I Player of the Year, becoming the first player in program history to earn the honor. The Nebraska native was also a unanimous NFCA First-Team All-America selection. Bahl broke numerous Huskers records this season, including becoming the first player in Big Ten history to win both the Player and Pitcher of the Year awards in the same year. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
IOL News
22-05-2025
- Politics
- IOL News
Move over Ernie Els and Retief Goosen, Gary Player is still the biggest Donald Trump supporter
PRO-TRUMP Gary Player remains the most vocal supporter of Donald Trump among South African golf legends, surpassing Ernie Els and Retief Goosen. Picture: Michael Sherman/IOL While Els in particular has come in for criticism for his support of Trump in the past, he is not the most vocal in his political beliefs among legendary SA golfers. SA businessman and massive supporter of SA golf, Johann Rupert was also in attendance. The two veteran golfers were roped in to help ease diplomatic relations between the two nations, as the US President is an avid golfer. Els and Goosen are also known to be personal friends with Trump. It's fair to say that it was met with mixed reaction as Ernie Els and Retief Goosen joined SA President Cyril Ramaphosa in his much-publicised meeting with Donald Trump , in Washington, on Wednesday. Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Gary Player's Controversial Tribute to Trump at Sun City Invitational That honour should fall to Gary Player. Player, 89, has not hidden his support for Trump over the years - most notably accepting the Medal of Freedom during the President's first term in office back in 2021. At the Gary & Vivienne Player Invitational in November last year at Sun City, the nine-time major champion bizarrely gave his thoughts on Trump in a speech to open the tournament. 'You know we talk about legacies. Winston Churchill for me was one of my all-time heroes, but it wasn't for him we wouldn't be standing here tonight,' said Player. 'He said the youth of the nation are the trustees of posterity. In the White House, which I have spent a lot of time in the office, the President, there was a picture or a statue of Winston Churchill. '[Joe] Biden and [Barack] Obama took it down, in spite of what he did to win the war, and Donald Trump put it back! And now it's going to thank God come back into the office.' As Player finished talking about Trump there was muted applause from the guests in attendance for the speech at The Palace hotel. Player also went on to say he suffered like a junkyard dog in the early part of his career and how he 'never choked' during his career. @Michael_Sherman IOL Sport
Time Out
21-05-2025
- Business
- Time Out
The US Open's Arthur Ashe stadium is getting an $800 million transformation
Arthur Ashe Stadium, the grandest stage in tennis, is set for an $800 million reinvention that promises to serve both fans and players a serious upgrade—without so much as a single delay in play. Announced Monday by the USTA, the transformation is the largest investment in the history of the U.S. Open and will completely modernize the stadium, build a state-of-the-art Player Performance Center, and usher in a new era for one of New York's most iconic sporting events. The renovation will unfold over three phases through 2027, carefully scheduled to avoid disrupting the 2025 or 2026 tournaments. The new look will include a Daniel Libeskind-designed Grand Entrance, expanded concourses (up 40-percent), more elevators and escalators, vastly improved food, drink, and retail spaces and 2,000 additional courtside seats. Two new luxury suite levels and sleek hospitality lounges will bring a level of comfort and glam typically reserved for the Met Gala. 'This project enables us to maintain the greatest stage in tennis, which was constructed more than 25 years ago, and modernize it in a way that will set it up for the next 25 years,' said USTA CEO Lew Sherr. 'It also provides us the opportunity to give the players that compete in that stadium an unparalleled space that will enable them to perform at their best.' That includes athletes getting their own $250 million playground in the form of a new Player Performance Center. Perched atop a four-story structure on the west side of the stadium, the facility will feature indoor and outdoor training turf, spa-style locker rooms, lounges and a private cafe. The center will also boast a new players-only courtyard and an exclusive entryway, giving the world's top competitors the backstage treatment they deserve. The architectural heavy-hitters behind the redesign include ROSSETTI (the original Ashe Stadium architect), Libeskind (of World Trade Center fame), and hospitality design expert Garrett Singer, known for building out buzzy clubs and restaurants across the country. And in a refreshing twist, the entire project is fully self-funded by the USTA—no taxpayer dollars required. With the Open already delivering $1.2 billion in annual economic impact to the city, the upgrades promise to pay off for the city as much as for the sport.
