Tony Romo is one step closer to defending his turf…
The 39-year-old Mexican American former Dallas Cowboys quarterback-turned-NFL analyst birdied six of his final 11 holes to take the first-round lead Friday in the American Century Championship at Edgewood Tahoe Golf Course.
Romo, the defending champion, shot a 2-under 70 and scored 26 points in the celebrity tournament that uses the modified Stablefordscoring system.
Arizona Cardinalscornerback Patrick Peterson was two points back, and former Major League Baseball pitcher Derek Lowe was another point behind. Hall of Fame pitcher John Smoltzwas fourth at 22, and actor Jack Wagner, a two-time winner in the event, had 21.
Romo, who has competed in two PGA Tour events this year, played the back nine in 5-under 31 after getting off to a slow start with two bogeys and a double-bogey on his first five holes.
“I think I had two points after five holes,” Romo said. “So from that point on, I got pretty hot.”
Charles Barkley, the former NBA star who has regularly finished last or second to last, birdied the second hole.
“Did he hit somebody and they threw it in the hole?” Romo joked.
Barkley was at minus-12 points, but he was ahead of 14 players in the 90-player field.
The 24-year-old part-Spanish American professional baseball player, a first baseman for the New York Mets, outslugged the Toronto Blue Jays‘ Vladimir Guerrero Jr. in a battle of rookies to win the Home Run Derby at Cleveland’s Progressive Field on Monday night.
Guerrero had broken the Derby’s single-round record in each of the first two rounds, but after surviving an exhausting duel with Joc Pederson of the Los Angeles Dodgers in the semifinal round, Guerrero didn’t have enough to beat Alonso in the final.
The Blue Jays rookie, trying to follow in the footsteps of his Hall of Famefather, who won the event in San Francisco in 2007, went first in the final, and after initially struggling to duplicate his earlier pace, he picked it up after calling a second timeout and finished with 22 home runs.
Alonso, unique in the competition in sending most of his hits toward center field, then followed with 23 to spare to end it with plenty of time.
He became the first Met to win the event since Darryl Strawberrywas a co-champion in 1986.
“That was a blast. Oh my god, that was a blast,” Alonso said after his win. “I’m gonna remember that for the rest of my life.”
With the win came a cool $1 million bonus to supplement Alonso’s base salary of $555,000.
He said he would donate 10% of his winnings between two charities, the Wounded Warriors Projectand the Stephen Siller Tunnel to Towers Foundation.
“I have the utmost respect for the people that put their lives on the line every single day — and I just wanna show my gratitude, because a bad day for me is a lot different than a bad day for the servicemen and women that serve this country,” Alonso said.
Guerrero has eight major league home runs in his rookie year, and he hit 44 total homers in the minors. But at the Derby, he hit 91.
The biggest drama of the night came in the semifinal round, when he needed three tiebreakers to eliminate Pederson 40-39.
Before this year’s Derby, only six players had hit 40 home runs in an entire event, much less a single round.
“I feel bad for him,” an exhausted Pederson said after his final swing. “He’s gotta keep hitting; I’m toast.”
Pederson, who lost in the final as a rookie in 2015, now has the most combined home runs at the Derby all time, with 99, while Guerrero — in his first appearance — tied the previous record of 91 held by Todd Frazier, who also competed twice.Guerrero did have the honor of hitting the longest homer of the night, 488 feet, in the second round. That netted him a $100,000 bonus to go with his $500,000 for finishing second, which more than equals his season’s salary of $468
The 42-year-old Puerto Rican rap superstar joined several celebrities over the weekend at Cleveland’s Progressive Fieldfor Major League Baseball’s annual celebrity softball game.
This year’s roster was divided into two celebrity teams:Team Cleveland, which included Drew Carey, Machine Gun Kelly, Quavo, and Hall of Famer Jim Thome; and Team World, including Daddy Yankee, Anuel AA, Jamie Foxx, and Dascha Polanco.
Yankee, who aspired to become a professional baseball player before becoming one of the pioneers of reggaeton,played third base and was pitcher during Sunday’s game, his publicist Mayna Nevareztold Billboard.
In true Daddy Yankee fashion, his global hit “Con Calma” blasted throughout the field when it was his turn to bat.
A true baseball aficionado, Daddy Yankee owns a softball team in Puerto Rico called “El Cartel Softball,” which focuses on doing charitable games.
On Instagram, Latin trap sensation Anuel AA shared a photo of him and Daddy Yankee in the locker room. “Smile at life because it’s only one!!!!” he expressed before Team World ultimately won the game with a final score of 21-16.
Pablo Sandoval has etched his name into the annals of sports history…
The 32-year-old Venezuelan professional baseball player became the first Major League Baseball player since 1905 to hit a home run, steal a base and post a scoreless outing in the same game.
Sandoval achieved the feat in the San Francisco Giants‘ 12-4 loss to the Cincinnati Reds on Monday.
The only other time the feat was achieved, it was also accomplished by a Giants player in a game against the Reds.MLB Hall of Famer Christy Mathewsonthrew nine shutout innings, hit a homer and stole a base in a victory on May 23, 1905, according to the Elias Sports Bureau‘s data.
Chief Johnsonof the Kansas City Packersalso accomplished this feat playing in the Federal Leagueon August 14, 1915.
Sandoval’s steal of third base in the second inning of Monday’s game was his first stolen base since the 2012 season. His home run Monday was a three-run shot in the sixth inning that cut the Giants’ deficit at the time to 7-4. He has three home runs this season.
In his scoreless inning Monday, which came during the eighth inning, he hit Jose Peraza to lead off the inning but got Josh VanMeter to fly out and induced a ground ball double-play off the bat of Nick Senzel. When Sandoval hit Peraza, it marked the fifth time in Monday’s game that a Reds player was hit by a pitch, tying a National Leaguerecord.
Sandoval has now pitched two innings in his career and has not allowed a run.
The 44-year-old half-Mexican American UFC Hall of Famer has signed a multi-fight deal with Combate Americas, according to ESPN.
Ortiz is expected to debut in the fall, though his opponent isn’t finalized at this time. It is also unknown which weight class he’ll initially compete in.
Ortiz said after his win over Chuck Liddell in November that he was done fighting, though he seemed to change his mind shortly thereafter. Ortiz has come out of retirement before, so this isn’t anything new for the “Huntington Beach Bad Boy,” who is considered one of the all-time greats in MMAhistory
A former UFC light heavyweight champion, Ortiz will enter Combate Americas with a 20-12-1 record and riding a two-fight winning streak. This will mark the fifth promotion he has fought for.
The 24-year-old Puerto Rican Latin trap and reggaetonsinger will compete at this year’s NBA Celebrity All-Star Game on February 15 when All-Star Weekend takes over Charlotte, North Carolina.
Bad Bunny, whose real name is Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio, will compete alongside last year’s MVP Quavo, emerging comedian Amanda Seales and NBA Hall of Fame sharpshooter Ray Allenon the away side.
The home team will be made up of players with Carolina ties including lyrical assassin Rapsodyand Terrence J.
For the first time, the matchup will honor a pair of hometown heroes, as a former Marine and a 29-year-old who disarmed a gunman will be suiting up for the game. This year’s contest once again teams up with Rufflesfor a lengthy 4-point line titled “The Ridge.”
The 2019 NBA Celebrity All-Star Game tips off at 7:00 pm ET on February 15 live on ESPN from the Bojangles’ Coliseum in Charlotte.
The 42-year-old Panamanian former Major League Baseball pitcher is among 20 new candidates on the Hall of Fame ballot for the Baseball Writers’ Association of America, joined by 15 holdovers headed by Edgar Martinez.
Nicknamed “Mo” and “Sandman,” Rivera played 19 seasons for the New York Yankees. He spent most of his career as a relief pitcher and served as the Yankees’ closer for 17 seasons.
Rivera had 652 regular-season saves and 42 in the postseason that included five World Series titles. He was 8-1 with a 0.70 ERA in 32 postseason series.
Rivera was named the 1999 World Series Most Valuable Player (MVP) and the 2003 American League Championship Series MVP, and he holds several postseason records, including lowest earned run average (ERA) (0.70) and most saves (42).
Players remain on the ballot for up to 10 years, provided they receive at least 5 percent of the vote annually. Martinez and first baseman Fred McGriff (23.2 percent last year) are on the BBWAA ballot for the final time.
Other Latino players making the ballot include Venezuelan professional baseball pitcher Freddy García, Dominican former professional baseball player Plácido Polanco, Dominican former professional baseball outfielder Manny Ramírez, Dominican American former professional baseball right fielder Sammy Sosa, Dominican former professional baseball shortstop Miguel Tejada, and Venezuelan former professional baseball shortstop Omar Vizquel.
More than 400 ballots are being sent to eligible voters from theBBWAA, and a player must receive at least 75 percent for election. Ballots are due by December 31 and results will be announced January 22, 2019. Voters must have been members of the BBWAA for 10 consecutive years.
Here’s a look at the players on this year’s ballot for the Baseball Hall of Fame:
The 27-year-old Venezuelan baseball star, a second baseman for the Houston Astros, has won the American League MVP award, beating out New York Yankees slugger Aaron Judge by a wide margin and capping the Astros’ championship season with another top prize.
Altuve , whos stands at 5-foot-6, received 27 of the 30 first-place votes in balloting by members of the Baseball Writers’ Association of America
“I was surprised that I won it,” Altuve said. “I wasn’t expecting this.”
Altuve batted a Major League Baseball-best .346. He had 204 hits, 24 home runs and 81 RBIs for the World Series champion Astros.
It’s been over a decade since Altuve signed with Houston from Venezuela — only after he was sent home from one tryout and told he was too short.
“They told me not to come back,” Altuve said. “It was something me and my dad, he went with me that day, we were like, ‘We have to go again. We have to try again.'”
“It’s not a rule that you have to be 6-foot or you have to be really strong to play baseball and become a good player,” he added.
Altuve beat out a player who couldn’t be more different. The 6-foot-7 Judge won the AL Rookie of the Year award Monday. He set a rookie record with 52 home runs.
Jose Ramirez of the Cleveland Indians finished third.
Altuve said on ESPN’s SportsCenter that winning the MVP has fueled him for years to come.
“Winning the MVP has made me want to keep getting better and keep helping my team for the next whatever years.”
Altuve is one of two second basemen in MLB history to hit .330 in a season with 20 home runs and 30 stolen bases, along with Hall of Famer Roberto Alomar (once). Altuve has done it in each of the past two seasons, according to ESPN Stats & Information.
Altuve is the second Astros player to win an MVP, joining Hall of Famer Jeff Bagwell in 1994.
He is the third player during the wild-card era to be named his league’s MVP in the same year that his team won the World Series. The other players to do that since 1995 are Buster Posey (2012 San Francisco Giants) and Kris Bryant (2016 Chicago Cubs), according to the Elias Sports Bureau.
The 37-year-old Dominican baseball star, an infielder for the Los Angeles Angels, on Saturday became the ninth Major League Baseball player to hit 600 home runs when he hit a grand slam off the Minnesota Twins’ Ervin Santana.
Pujols is the only player whose 600th home run was a grand slam.
The Angels designated hitter is the first player to reach 600 home runs since Jim Thome in 2011. The six-year gap between Thome’s and Pujols’ reaching the mark is the longest between players reaching 600 home runs since the 31-year gap between Hank Aaron (April 1971) and Barry Bonds (August 2002).
Among hitters with 600 home runs, only Babe Ruth (.342) had a higher career batting average than Pujols’ current .308 career mark.
Only Willie Mays and Aaron had more at-bats at the time of their 600th home runs than Pujols’ current total of 9,341.
Pujols’ overall accomplishments have been reflected in the three MLB MVP Awards he has won.
With his 600th home run, he joined Barry Bonds and Alex Rodriguez as the only players in major league history with three MVP Awards and 600 home runs.
Pujols (37 years, 138 days) is the fourth-youngest player to reach 600 home runs, behind Rodriguez (35 years, eight days), Ruth (36 years, 196 days) and Aaron (37 years, 81 days).
Pujols ranks second in St. Louis Cardinals history with 445 home runs, trailing Hall of Famer Stan Musial (475). They’re the only two players in Cardinals history who hit more than 300 home runs, and Pujols hit his in half as many seasons with the Cardinals as Musial. They both won three MVPs in Cardinals uniforms.
Pujols is the second player born outside of the United States to hit 600 homers. The other was Sammy Sosa, who had 609. Four of the five top non-U.S.-born home run hitters were from the Dominican Republic (Sosa, Pujols, Manny Ramírez with 555 and David Ortiz with 541). Cuban-born Rafael Palmeiro has the third-most home runs hit by a non-U.S.-born player, with 569.
Saturday’s home run was Pujols’ 78th at Angel Stadium, which ranks third for ballparks at which he has homered. The leaders are Busch Stadium (110) and Busch Stadium II (94).
The 35-year-old retired Mexican professional golfer has decided to play in her LPGA Tour event in Mexico, but only as part of a tournament exhibition,
Ochoa will play the Lorena Ochoa Match Play on May 4-7, her first time playing her namesake tournament since 2012.
Ochoa, who was the top-ranked female golfer in the world for 158 consecutive weeks and total weeks, will be playing in Hall of Fame exhibitions during the weekend of the tournament.
Her brother, Alejandro Ochoa, said she did not want to be specific about her participation when speaking to a small group of reporters at Chapultepec Golf Club because the LPGA Tour had not publicized the Hall of Fame matches and his sister didn’t want to speak ahead of any announcement.
The LPGA Tour is expected to reveal details of the exhibition this week.
Ochoa said she has been practicing a few days a week and said she would practice every day in advance of her appearance at the Lorena Ochoa Match Play.
Ochoa retired in 2010 when she was No. 1 in the world. She recently had married and wanted to start a family and work on her foundation. She last competed against LPGA Tour competition at the 2012 Lorena Ochoa Invitational.
Because she had not played 10 full years on the LPGA Tour, she was not eligible for the LPGA Hall of Fame. But after a change in the voting process for the World Golf Hall of Fame — it is now done by a committee instead of a large panel that included golf writers — Ochoa was selected for induction this year.
Ochoa compiled her 27 LPGA Tour victories in a six-year span in which she rose to No. 1 in women’s golf. She also won two majors — the 2007 Women’s British Open the first time it was held at St. Andrews, and the 2008 Kraft Nabisco Championship.
