Latest news with #Leonard
New York Post
a day ago
- Entertainment
- New York Post
Sugar Ray Leonard reveals the one sport he's ‘not that good' at — and it's surprising
When it comes to sports, Sugar Ray Leonard may have finally met his match. After professionally boxing in the ring from 1977 to 1997 and winning 36 out of 40 fights, the retired athlete revealed which sport is harder than it looks: Pickleball. 'It is competitive,' Leonard, 69, exclusively told The Post at the 2025 Emmys Pickleball Slam Fundraiser on May 18. It is extremely competitive. I just like to participate. I don't play that well, I'm not that good but you know what? I care. I really care.' Advertisement 9 Sugar Ray Leonard attends EMMY's Pickleball Slam to benefit Television Academy Foundation and Firefighters Fund at Calabasas Pickleball Club on May 18, 2025 in Calabasas, California. Getty Images When it comes to playing pickleball or any other sport, the professional boxer has one sound piece of advice: 'It's all about the heart. Do that.' Leonard — who was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 1997 — revealed that one of his secret weapons when he competed was he 'drank a lot of coffee.' Advertisement In 2021, the Skechers spokesman reflected on his time in the ring, and the 1976 Olympic Games in Montreal where he took home the gold medal in light welterweight boxing. 9 Sugar Ray Leonard on the red carpet. Getty Images 9 Sugar Ray Leonard and New York Post reporter Alexandra Bellusci. 'Words cannot describe the feeling that I had,' Leonard told People. Advertisement Traveling to Canada for the competition also marked his first time leaving home for an extended period of time. 'I was nervous as heck,' Leonard confessed. 'I was so proud of myself. I wanted to go home, but I wanted to stay to bring home the gold medal first. It was just an amazing point in my life. I was like 20 years old and when I look back, that's been like eons. 50 years ago.' 9 Sugar Ray Leonard in the ring. Focus on Sport via Getty Images 9 Sugar Ray Leonard taping his hands in Las Vegas. Bettmann Archive Advertisement It still holds as one of the author's proudest moments he's experienced. 'It's the most precious moment in my career, in my life,' gushed Leonard. 'I never forget that moment. Representing myself, representing my country. And it wasn't about fame and fortune.' That medal is now kept in a safety deposit box, but he has let those closest to him try it on. 'When some friends or just individuals come over sometimes I'll show it, let them take a picture of it around their neck, 'Here you go. You get one around your neck,'' Leonard explained. 9 Referee Richard Steele restrains Sugar Ray Leonard in the ninth round following his knockdown of Donny Lalonde. Bettmann Archive 9 Sugar Ray Leonard holds the middleweight championship belt above his head after defeating Marvin Hagler. AP The star wants those competing in the Olympic games to remember one thing: 'I tell them 100% to believe in themselves because if they don't, no one else will.' 'This is your opportunity, this is their chance for success, stardom, and accomplishment,' he elaborated. 'People can say I was a world boxing champion professionally, but when people say I'm an Olympic gold medalist, that speaks volumes. That is precious. There is no amount of money that can pay for that. You can't pay for it. You have to deserve that. You have to go for that.' Advertisement Throughout his successful career, Leonard also struggled with substance abuse. He opened up about getting sober while on 'Oprah: Where Are They Now' in 2016. 9 Sugar Ray Leonard and wife Bernadette with daughter Camille and son Daniel Ray. WireImage 'There's a part of me that is a good man, an honest man,' he shared during a sit-down. 'And there is Sugar Ray Leonard – who is ego driven. Who is a tough SOB in the ring. Who had money. Who had fame. And at some point, didn't really appreciate it and took advantage of that.' Leonard recalled his first wife, Juanita Wilkinson, whom he was married to from 1980 to 1990, saying, 'You are two different people.' Advertisement 'I would get angry about that and go and have a drink,' he said. 'But then when my present wife, Bernadette, said to me, 'There are two of you,' I knew there was a problem.' 9 Sugar Ray Leonard attends actor James Caan's Golf Tournament at El Caballero Country Club on April 25, 2011 in Tarzana, California. Getty Images He got more candid about his past infidelity, substance abuse and childhood molestation in his 2011 memoir, 'The Big Fight: My Life In and Out of the Ring.' 'Many many moments, many many nights or days I would wake up and not remember what the hell just happened at night,' Leonard said on Winfrey's OWN network. 'I always knew I had a problem, just never admitted it to myself. I never believed it. And that's deadly, that's wrong. One day I woke up — nine years ago I woke up — and life couldn't be better.'
Yahoo
a day ago
- General
- Yahoo
Arrests as stolen WW1 plaque found in scrapyard
Two men have been arrested following the theft of two WW1 plaques from a Kent war memorial, police have said. Two military memorial plaques disappeared from the grounds of Christ Church Luton in Chatham between 22:00 BST on Friday and 10:00 on Saturday. Kent Police said one of the plaques was recovered from a scrapyard in Essex on Wednesday. The force said it has arrested a 26-year-old man and a 25-year-old man, both from the Dartford area. Christ Church Luton's priest in charge, the Reverend Andrea Leonard, told BBC Radio Kent on Thursday that she remains hopeful the other plaque will be found. She said: "Hats off to the person, who wants to obviously remain anonymous, but who had the integrity to phone the police and say 'I've got something here that you want'. "He actually spoke to me and he said he looked at the list and thought 'those poor lads that gave everything, they don't deserve this'." Kent Police said it is trying to find the second plaque and appealed for anyone with information about the missing plaques to get in touch. The plaques commemorate 163 people from the Chatham area who died in WW1 and each weigh 93kg. The memorial, which has been in place for 105 years, is "priceless" to the parish and relatives of the soldiers, Ms Leonard said. She believes there has not yet been time for the still-missing plaque to be melted down, but that they will find a suitable replacement if they have to as "it just wouldn't be right" to a have a memorial with names missing. "It was terrible when we discovered that they were gone," she said. "We just could not believe it because it's not only the church, it's the whole wider community." Follow BBC Kent on Facebook, on X, and on Instagram. Send your story ideas to southeasttoday@ or WhatsApp us on 08081 002250. Military memorial plaques stolen from churchyard Kent Police
Montreal Gazette
2 days ago
- Sport
- Montreal Gazette
Rocket no match for Checkers in Game 1
Laval Rocket By They say a team's never in trouble until it loses at home. While there's still plenty of life remaining in the Laval Rocket, it has dug itself a potentially significant hole following its resounding 5-1 loss to the Charlotte Checkers Wednesday night at Place Bell in the opening game of the American Hockey League's Eastern Conference final before 9,230 spectators. While the Rocket won't be facing elimination when the teams meet again Thursday night at the same venue (7 p.m., RDS), Laval can hardly afford to trail by two games knowing the next three will be played on the road when the series shifts to Charlotte on Sunday afternoon. 'You can't go down 2-0 going back to their rink for three,' forward Owen Beck said in the quiet Rocket dressing room. 'It's an odd format in that sense. We need to give ourselves some life, some momentum going into their barn for three straight games. 'If we're not on our game, our season can turn around pretty quickly,' added Beck, who won a Memorial Cup with Saginaw last season and was the tournament's most valuable player. 'At this stage of the year every team's top quality, top-notch. We built so much over this year ... with the regular season that we had. We've been generating momentum and trying to have our game at our best at this point of the year. There's so much that has gone into it, you don't want to throw it away with a few poor efforts.' Sandis Vilmanis, Justin Sourdif, Oliver Okuliar, John Leonard and Jesse Puljujarvi, into an empty net, scored for the visitors — who reached this round by sweeping the two-time defending Calder Cup-champion Hershey Bears in a best-of-five series. While Charlotte was playing for the first time in a week, it hardly appeared rusty, scoring early goals in each period. The Checkers are on a five-game winning streak. And while the Rocket should have been on an emotional high after dispatching Rochester in the fifth and deciding game last Sunday on home ice, the team appeared out of sync frequently. Oliver Kapanen scored Laval's only goal, nearly six minutes into the second period, narrowing the deficit to 3-1. While the Rocket enjoyed a 31-20 shots advantage, it couldn't solve goaltender Kaapo Kahkonen frequently enough. The 6-foot-2, 214 pounder played four full seasons in the NHL, between 2020-24, with Minnesota and San Jose, and has started each of the Checkers' nine playoff games, winning seven while recording one shutout. Laval goalie Cayden Primeau, conversely, struggled after shutting out the Americans last Sunday. He was beaten twice on the first three shots he faced, then surrendered a second-period score on Charlotte's opening shot. That scenario was duplicated in the third period, Leonard scoring while the Checkers were short-handed. Not only did Leonard score 36 regular-season goals, that was Charlotte's fourth short-handed playoff tally. The team has scored only twice with the man advantage in the post-season. Laval went 0-for-6 on the power play. The Rocket did have some opportunities. In the eighth minute of the second period, Rafael Harvey-Pinard was alone in front but couldn't bury his shot. Then in the third, Sean Farrell set up Joshua Roy, who failed to execute. Roy had another opportunity on the power play two minutes later, while Brandon Gignac was denied on a short-handed breakaway. While the Rocket went 24-9-3 at home this season, finishing first overall in the AHL, it has struggled in the playoffs, going 3-3. 'It's focus. It's being prepared mentally to execute and knowing what's coming at you,' Laval head coach Pascal Vincent said. 'It can happen and does happen once in a while. We have to find a way to take that away from the other teams.' These teams were meeting for the first time this season. Laval hasn't played Charlotte since the 2018-19 campaign. And the Checkers aren't like any AHL team the Rocket has faced. Eleven of 20 players have suited up for at least one NHL games, including six that have more than 50 games' experience. Charlotte, the AHL affiliate of the Florida Panthers, doesn't relinquish many scoring chances and, at least through one game, experience clearly has trumped youth. 'Their hockey sense as a team is really good,' Vincent said. 'They anticipate really well some plays. You think (a Laval player) is open. Then at the last minute he's not because they close quick. They box out and block a lot of shots, and they play a fast transition game. It's playoff hockey and there's a reason why they're in the top four as well. That's a good hockey team. 'We had some looks ... but it wasn't consistent. We had good moments and not-so-good moments. Our style of play is really aggressive, on top of people, no time to breathe. When we do it we're fine. We give ourselves a chance to win. Are we gonna win? I don't know, but we give ourselves a chance.'
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Couple speaks out after dramatic rescue by Carnival cruise ship crew
A couple is speaking out after a Carnival cruise ship rescued them, their crew and their dogs after their catamaran was damaged at sea in the South Pacific. Dustin Leonard and Helena Franczak had set sail on a journey of a lifetime -- traveling the globe on their catamaran. They were joined by two crew members and their three dogs. 'We've had the dream to try and sail around the world. And we got off to a bit of a bumpy start,' Leonard told 'Good Morning America.' Disney Cruise ship rescues 4 people off sinking catamaran in Bermuda The catamaran crew were heading to Fiji when a violent storm struck, stripping the masts off their vessel and leaving them stranded and battered by towering waves and lightning more than 170 nautical miles from the island of New Caledonia. 'Everyone was quite scared,' Leonard recalled. 'I was like, 'Everybody, calm down, listen to me. At the moment, we are safe. Yes, this is not good. This is actually quite bad.'' After shooting a flare in the sky, the crew noticed a large cruise ship -- the Carnival Splendor -- in the distance. Following a five-hour diversion, Capt. Eduardo Ferrone of the Carnival Splendor and his crew pulled off the daring rescue on May 22. Ferrone compared the dramatic event to riding an elephant through a china shop. 'Approaching with such a huge vessel on a small catamaran, it is really something that you need to do carefully because it takes a little mistake ... and you may sink them,' said Ferrone. 72-year-old who had 4 strokes on cruise ship speaks out after rescue The crew on the cruise ship reached the catamaran and pulled Leonard, Franczak, their two crew members and their three dogs to safety. 'We were on our tiny boat. We saw this floating city just coming at us and then they throw a rope ladder and I looked at it. I'm like, OK, we're gonna have to climb that and it was tricky,' Franczak said. Once on board the Carnival Splendor, the couple said the dogs became instant celebrities among the cruise passengers as they strolled the decks. 'That feeling as soon as you get on the cruise ship, there's all the staff members there and you just kind of felt this massive relief,' said Leonard. Leonard and Franczak have since gotten engaged and joked they nearly got married on the Carnival Splendor. Couple speaks out after dramatic rescue by Carnival cruise ship crew originally appeared on
3 days ago
- Entertainment
Couple speaks out after dramatic rescue by Carnival cruise ship crew
A couple is speaking out after a Carnival cruise ship rescued them, their crew and their dogs after their catamaran was damaged at sea in the South Pacific. Dustin Leonard and Helena Franczak had set sail on a journey of a lifetime -- traveling the globe on their catamaran. They were joined by two crew members and their three dogs. 'We've had the dream to try and sail around the world. And we got off to a bit of a bumpy start,' Leonard told 'Good Morning America.' The catamaran crew were heading to Fiji when a violent storm struck, stripping the masts off their vessel and leaving them stranded and battered by towering waves and lightning more than 170 nautical miles from the island of New Caledonia. 'Everyone was quite scared,' Leonard recalled. 'I was like, 'Everybody, calm down, listen to me. At the moment, we are safe. Yes, this is not good. This is actually quite bad.'' After shooting a flare in the sky, the crew noticed a large cruise ship -- the Carnival Splendor -- in the distance. Following a five-hour diversion, Capt. Eduardo Ferrone of the Carnival Splendor and his crew pulled off the daring rescue on May 22. Ferrone compared the dramatic event to riding an elephant through a china shop. 'Approaching with such a huge vessel on a small catamaran, it is really something that you need to do carefully because it takes a little mistake ... and you may sink them,' said Ferrone. The crew on the cruise ship reached the catamaran and pulled Leonard, Franczak, their two crew members and their three dogs to safety. 'We were on our tiny boat. We saw this floating city just coming at us and then they throw a rope ladder and I looked at it. I'm like, OK, we're gonna have to climb that and it was tricky,' Franczak said. Once on board the Carnival Splendor, the couple said the dogs became instant celebrities among the cruise passengers as they strolled the decks. 'That feeling as soon as you get on the cruise ship, there's all the staff members there and you just kind of felt this massive relief,' said Leonard. Leonard and Franczak have since gotten engaged and joked they nearly got married on the Carnival Splendor.
