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Yahoo
14-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Jockey who broke 24 bones and spent 5 weeks in a coma from a 2011 fall to ride in the Preakness
Journalism is led on the track at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Wednesday, May 14, 2025, ahead of the 150th Preakness Stakes horse race. (KT Kanazawich/The Baltimore Banner via AP) Sandman is led on the track at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Wednesday, May 14, 2025, ahead of the 150th Preakness Stakes horse race. (Kevin Richardson/The Baltimore Sun via AP) Jockey Raul Mena, who is slated to ride Pay Billy in the Preakness Stakes horse race, poses Wednesday, May 14, 2025, at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore. (AP Photo/Stephen Whyno) Jockey Raul Mena, who is slated to ride Pay Billy in the Preakness Stakes horse race, poses Wednesday, May 14, 2025, at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore. (AP Photo/Stephen Whyno) Journalism is led on the track at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Wednesday, May 14, 2025, ahead of the 150th Preakness Stakes horse race. (KT Kanazawich/The Baltimore Banner via AP) Sandman is led on the track at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Wednesday, May 14, 2025, ahead of the 150th Preakness Stakes horse race. (Kevin Richardson/The Baltimore Sun via AP) Jockey Raul Mena, who is slated to ride Pay Billy in the Preakness Stakes horse race, poses Wednesday, May 14, 2025, at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore. (AP Photo/Stephen Whyno) BALTIMORE (AP) — Raul Mena was a young jockey in a race in his native Chile in 2011 when the horse he was riding jumped the rail, throwing him to the ground with severe injuries. "It was a scary accident," Mena recalled Wednesday. 'I broke 24 bones in all my body, and I was in a coma for five weeks.' Advertisement Now 33, Mena has a mount in a Triple Crown race for the first time. He will be aboard local long shot Pay Billy in the 150th Preakness Stakes this Saturday, the apex of his up-and-down career that also included a broken femur, which not long ago led him to consider retirement. 'I said to (my wife) Jaqui maybe if I don't make it in five years — I'm just going to take five more years — if I don't make it, I'm not going to ride horses anymore because it's very painful and it's stressful,' Mena told The Associated Press. 'But I think if you keep pushing forward, you never know when you can be part of a race of the Triple Crown.' That would not have been imaginable in the immediate aftermath of his spill at Valparaiso Sporting Club Viña del Mar. When he woke up from the coma, Mena realized he had broken six vertebrae, six ribs, both shoulders, his collarbone and more. One doctor told him he would never ride again. Advertisement 'A couple months later, the doctors say maybe you're going to be OK walking, but try to find a new job,' Mena said. He was given 18 months to heal. Eight months later, not yet 20 years old and determined to keep going, Mena returned to the track. 'I wasn't 100% to ride the horse, that's for sure,' Mena said. 'When I came back, I wasn't feeling really good, but I was young and I was doing it." Mena moved to the U.S. in November 2014 and started his path to success. He set a career high for wins in a season in 2019, then won $1.78 million in purse money in 2021 and eclipsed that figure with $1.83 million last year. Pay Billy qualified for the Preakness by winning the Federico Tesio Stakes at Laurel Park in Maryland last month, with Mena aboard for trainer Michael Gorham. Advertisement 'He's a hard worker and he's got determination, takes care of himself and keeps himself in excellent shape,' Gorham said. "If he wants to do it, he does it.' Journalism hits the mud Preakness favorite and Kentucky Derby runner-up Journalism took to the track at Pimlico Race Course for the first time Wednesday morning, getting in a light, mile-long gallop on a muddy track following over an inch of rain overnight. 'I think he was fine," trainer Michael McCarthy said. 'He's an easy read. ... He was just kind of having a look around. We certainly weren't looking for anything spectacular.' Journalism was installed as the 8-5 morning line favorite after finishing second to Sovereignty in the Derby. Sovereignty's owners and trainer opted to skip the Preakness, citing the short two-week turnaround. Advertisement Three Derby horses are running: Journalism, seventh-place Sandman and 16th-place American Promise. McCarthy wanted to see the right signs in his horse before deciding to go to the Preakness. 'I just didn't want to commit without having laid my eyes on him first for a couple of days,' McCarthy said. "My guys have been telling me all week how good he was doing. There's a lot of moving parts. There's multiple (owners) and things like that, so everybody needs to be kept abreast and on the same page.' Blinkers cut back? After taking all six of his horses he brought to Pimlico to the track in the rain and the mud, 89-year-old Hall of Fame trainer D. Wayne Lukas was pleased with how Preakness entrant American Promise and Princess Aliyah — who's running in the Black-Eyed Susan Stakes for 3-year-old fillies Friday — handled the slop. Advertisement 'Exceptionally good,' Lukas said from his usual seat in the corner of the stakes barn. 'There was a lot more moisture in the track than I thought there would be. I didn't know it rained that much.' It might've also given him an idea for the Preakness if the conditions are similar. American Promise races with blinkers on his face to keep his eyes focused ahead of him, but those might get adjusted to reduce the amount of mud obscuring the horse's vision. 'I may cut them back a little bit,' Lukas said. 'It just packs in there, so what I do is, if it's raining like this, I just nip them back.' ___ AP horse racing:
Yahoo
06-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Ravens Release Kicker Justin Tucker After Massage Therapists Allegations
The Baltimore Ravens announced Monday that they are releasing kicker Justin Tucker from the team. The news arrives after multiple massage therapists accused Tucker of sexually inappropriate behavior in a report published by The Baltimore Banner months prior. Executive Vice President and General Manager Eric DeCosta addressed the release in a statement shared on Monday. 'Sometimes football decisions are incredibly difficult, and this is one of those instances,' said DeCosta. 'Considering our current roster, we have made the tough decision to release Justin Tucker.' DeCosta made no mention of the accusations in his statement. Advertisement More from Rolling Stone In January, six Baltimore-area massage therapists accused Tucker of sexual misconduct in an investigation published by The Baltimore Banner. The following month, three more therapists — all of whom were employed at Baltimore luxury spa The QG — claimed that they had similar encounters with the All-Pro placekicker. Tucker, 35, who had been with the team since 2012, previously denied the allegations and in a lengthy social media post, called them 'unequivocally false.' Tucker said that he'd 'never before been accused of misconduct of anytime' and claimed the Banner was 'deliberately misconstruing events as nefarious,' while calling the newspaper's report 'desperate tabloid fodder.' 'I maintain I did not act inappropriately at any point before, during, or after a professional bodywork treatment session,' Tucker wrote at the time. 'I would never intent to offend or hurt anyone, ever.' Advertisement His attorneys Thomas A. Clare and Steven J. Harrison also previously denied the claims to the Banner, stating that Tucker 'has never behaved inappropriately during any massage therapy session, and certainly never in the manner described.' The Raven's announcement comes a day after its head coach John Harbaugh said the NFL was still investigating misconduct allegations against Tucker and that any decisions the team made about the kicker 'would be based on football.' Best of Rolling Stone Sign up for RollingStone's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
Yahoo
05-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Washington Post Cartoonist Who Quit Over Bezos Cartoon Wins Pulitzer Prize
Former Washington Post cartoonist Ann Telnaes — who resigned in January over the paper spiking a cartoon that depicted the newspaper's owner, Jeff Bezos, and other tech titans bending the knee to Donald Trump — won the Pulitzer Prize on Monday. At the time, Telnaes said she had 'never had a cartoon killed because of who or what I chose to aim my pen at. Until now.' The Pulitzer board recognized her for her 'fearlessness,' which led to her departure from the newspaper, which has seen a number of staff defections as Bezos has appeared to cater to the Trump administration. In other categories, the Wall Street Journal won for its national reporting on Elon Musk, while the New York Times earned four awards overall, and three went to the New Yorker. The Times was recognized for explanatory reporting, international reporting, local news (with The Baltimore Banner) and photography. The New Yorker earned its trio for feature reporting, audio reporting and commentary for contributor Mosab Abu Toha for his work on the devastation in Gaza. ProPublica took the prestigious public-service award for its series 'The Life of the Mother,' which the judges described as 'urgent reporting about pregnant women who died after doctors delayed urgently needed care for fear of violating vague 'life of the mother' exceptions in states with strict abortion laws.' In addition to Telnaes, the Post won for its breaking-news coverage of the assassination attempt on Trump in July. Other journalism winners included Mark Warren of Esquire for feature writing, Bloomberg CityLab contributor Alexandra Lange for criticism on architectural design and the Houston Chronicle for editorial writing. Beyond the journalism categories, Percival Everett received a Pulitzer for the novel 'James,' a reimagining of 'The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn' through the eyes of the enslaved Jim. Universal acquired film rights to the book last year. Branden Jacobs-Jenkins was honored for the play 'Purpose,' about a prominent Black political family. A full list of winners can be found here. The post Washington Post Cartoonist Who Quit Over Bezos Cartoon Wins Pulitzer Prize appeared first on TheWrap.
Yahoo
05-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Washington Post Cartoonist Who Quit Over Bezos Cartoon Wins Pulitzer Prize
Former Washington Post cartoonist Ann Telnaes — who resigned in January over the paper spiking a cartoon that depicted the newspaper's owner, Jeff Bezos, and other tech titans bending the knee to Donald Trump — won the Pulitzer Prize on Monday. At the time, Telnaes said she had 'never had a cartoon killed because of who or what I chose to aim my pen at. Until now.' The Pulitzer board recognized her for her 'fearlessness,' which led to her departure from the newspaper, which has seen a number of staff defections as Bezos has appeared to cater to the Trump administration. In other categories, the Wall Street Journal won for its national reporting on Elon Musk, while the New York Times earned four awards overall, and three went to the New Yorker. The Times was recognized for explanatory reporting, international reporting, local news (with The Baltimore Banner) and photography. The New Yorker earned its trio for feature reporting, audio reporting and commentary for contributor Mosab Abu Toha for his work on the devastation in Gaza. ProPublica took the prestigious public-service award for its series 'The Life of the Mother,' which the judges described as 'urgent reporting about pregnant women who died after doctors delayed urgently needed care for fear of violating vague 'life of the mother' exceptions in states with strict abortion laws.' In addition to Telnaes, the Post won for its breaking-news coverage of the assassination attempt on Trump in July. Other journalism winners included Mark Warren of Esquire for feature writing, Bloomberg CityLab contributor Alexandra Lange for criticism on architectural design and the Houston Chronicle for editorial writing. Beyond the journalism categories, Percival Everett received a Pulitzer for the novel 'James,' a reimagining of 'The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn' through the eyes of the enslaved Jim. Universal acquired film rights to the book last year. Branden Jacobs-Jenkins was honored for the play 'Purpose,' about a prominent Black political family. A full list of winners can be found here. The post Washington Post Cartoonist Who Quit Over Bezos Cartoon Wins Pulitzer Prize appeared first on TheWrap.
Yahoo
01-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Experts: Democrats likely to win NJ and VA races and more Virginia headlines
The state Capitol. (Photo by Ned Oliver/Virginia Mercury) • 'Experts: Democrats likely to win NJ and VA races.' — The Hill • 'Marylanders could pay $800M to power Virginia data centers.' — The Baltimore Banner • 'Virginia flood insurance cost 'dramatically' rising, as is flood risk.' — Williamsburg Yorktown Daily • 'Virginia cuts fentanyl deaths by 44% as Richmond invests $380,000 in peer recovery programs.' — WTVR • 'Spotlight on Education: Loudoun County students take diplomacy skills to New York City.' — WJLA SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
