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Team US lost the Ryder Cup in a saddening manner. The loss raised a few questions about the team’s leadership, missing key players from LIV Golf, and lack of teamwork. The public and experts alike wondered what was missing in the team that the Europeans had. Was it Rory McIlroy or Jon Rahm?

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Hunter Mahan, the three-time Ryder Cupper, shared his thoughts on what Team US lacked. He said there was a missing leader like Phil Mickelson at the 44th edition of the Ryder Cup.

Hunter Mahan calls Phil Mickelson an “Incredible leader”

Hunter Mahan and Phil Mickelson’s friendship goes back to the early days of his career. Mahan made his debut in 2003 and has won one Ryder Cup through his 3 appearances. He was on the 2008 Ryder Cup team with Phil Mickelson, Tiger Woods, Stewart Cink, and Rickie Fowler at Valhalla when Team US dominated team Europe and won by 16 1⁄2 and 11 1⁄2 score. Coincidentally, Team US lost by the same points at this year’s Ryder Cup.

The veteran made an appearance on the Golf Digest podcast Loop and shared an element that was missing and which caused the US Team’s upsetting loss. Mahan explained the importance of having a leader other than the captain. He said having a player who can say, “Are you bleeping ready to go?” is crucial for a team’s spirit and momentum.

Phil Mickelson

While discussing about excluding players from LIV Golf affected American gameplay, He reminisced over one player whose addition had benefitted the team. And who came out as the leader at the 2010 Ryder Cup? It was none other than Phil Mickelson. Mahan claimed Mickelson to be an “Incredible and credible leader.”

He also said that the one guy who was missing from the LIV Golf was Mickelson. “Because Phil can get up and stand up in front of everybody. And everyone’s gonna listen. Yeah, and there’s a passion to him and there really is for all the c**p that he’s taken,” Mahan said. Adding more, Hunter explained his bias towards Mickelson and said, ‘I can’t say anything bad about him because he has been so important to me.” The veterans have a strong camaraderie, as Mickelson had helped Mahan at the emotional turn of his career.

Phil Mickelson lands a helping hand to Hunter Mahan

At the 2010 Ryder Cup, the victory depended on 1 single point. It was Hunter Mahan against Graeme McDowell in the singles match. If Mahan had secured that win, Team US could have won on European soil after 17 years. Unfortunately, Mahan lost that match and the Cup for the country.

After demolishing Errol Spence Jr. in July 2023, Terence Crawford has publicly expressed his desire to go up against the legendary Canelo Alvarez. Canelo, however, has scoffed at the idea of facing Crawford, as he has nothing to gain from the fight. Yet, that has hardly stopped Crawford from calling out Canelo for a fight. Now, Gennady Golovkin’s former trainer has come forward to shed light on a potential match between Crawford and Canelo.

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Crawford recently made the headlines after Canelo defeated Jermell Charlo in a dominating show of performance. Following the win, Crawford announced he was no longer interested in fighting Jermell Charlo. While Crawford’s potential fight against Canelo hangs in the fray, some people in the boxing world have questioned the viability of the fight. During a recent interview, a legendary boxing trainer, Abel Sanchez, shared a similar opinion about Crawford moving up three weight divisions to fight ‘Cinnamon.’

Abel Sanchez claims it would be a big money fight

While appearing in an interview with Fight Hub TV, Sanchez stated, “I scoffed about the idea of him [Canelo] even considering Crawford.” Sanchez clarified that Canelo has nothing to gain from the fight against Crawford. He further explained Crawford was a great fighter and looked great in his fight against Spence. However, when discussing the fight against Canelo, Sanchez stated, “Moving up to fight Canelo would be a dumb idea for him.”

Later in the interview, Sanchez claimed Eddie Hearn is trying to restore Canelo’s legacy by arranging a rematch between Canelo and Dmitry Bivol. However, Sanchez stated, “In my opinion, I will stay away from Bivol.”

Terence Crawford accuses Canelo Alvarez

While Canelo has not completely ruled out a fight against Crawford, he has claimed it’s not part of his plans. Not to mention, Canelo once asserted he won’t fight below 168 pounds. However, Crawford shared one of Canelo’s interviews from 2020, which contradicts Canelo’s statement about facing Crawford.

Despite the predictions from experts, Crawford seems adamant about fighting Canelo. Just like Crawford, Charlo moved up two weight divisions, which did not end well for him. However, only time can tell what would happen if the two fighters come face-to-face. Until then, let us know what you think about the potential fight

 

Brian ‘BoMac’ McIntyre is a free man.

The boxing trainer, who coaches Terence Crawford and Chris Eubank Jr, pleaded guilty to his charges of ‘possession of a firearm’ and ‘possession of ammunition for a firearm without a certificate’ at Manchester Crown Court on Monday, but was given just a 20-month suspended sentence.

McIntyre had been in the UK guiding Eubank Jr to his rematch victory over Liam Smith on September 2 in Manchester.

However when he attempted to fly home to Atlanta the following morning, the 53-year-old was arrested by armed police.

A scan of his luggage showed a gun with a magazine inside, prompting security officials to raise the alarm.

McIntyre was taken into custody and subsequently charged with ‘possession of a firearm’ and ‘possession of ammunition for a firearm without a certificate’.

A statement from Greater Manchester Police said at the time: “At around 10:45am on Sunday 3 September 2023, officers were called to reports of a possible firearm being found in hold luggage by airport staff at Manchester Airport.

“After initial inspection by security staff, GMP officers attended, and the firearm was seized.

“Subsequently, a 53-year-old man was arrested for possession of a firearm and was taken to custody for further questioning.

“Brian McIntyre (01/07/1970) from the United States of America was charged with possession of a firearm and possession of ammunition for a firearm without a certificate.

McIntyre attended Stockport Magistrates court this morning where he was further remanded into custody.

“He is next due to appear at Manchester Crown Court on Monday 9 October 2023.”

McIntyre spent the past five weeks in jail, prior to his hearing.

On Monday, he did indeed appear and pleaded guilty.

There is a statutory five-year prison sentence for gun possession charges, however this can be waived under due to exceptional mitigating circumstances.

McIntyre had a number of character witnesses testify in his defence, including Crawford who attended in person at Manchester Crown Court.

As a result, the trainer was allowed to walk free, given just a 20-month suspended sentence.

Simone Biles has taken aim at a newspaper after the publication shared an article about her featuring a photo of her teammate.

Biles made her much-anticipated return to international competition at the World Artistic Gymnastics Championships in Antwerp after her two-year hiatus from the sport to prioritise her mental health.

The American returned in style as she won four golds and one silver to claim her 37th medal in World Championships and Olympic Games, surpassing the previous record set by Belarusian Vitaly Scherbothe and becoming the most decorated gymnast in history.

However, the 26-year-old was left frustrated when American publication, the Wall Street Journal, shared an article on social media about her achievements but mistakenly used a picture of her US teammate Shilese Jones.

Writing on X/Twitter, Biles said: “This picture isn’t even me…….. try again.”

Jones was part of the US women’s team that stormed to a record seventh straight victory in the team event, with the 21-year-old also picking up two bronze medals in the uneven bars and individual all-around event.

For Biles, however, the week in Belgium still marks a remarkable comeback to the sport and will raise hopes of her participation in next summer’s Paris Olympic Games. The American only made her return to competitive action at the US Classic in Chicago but was back to her best at the World Championships.

Simone Biles

On top of her team gold, Biles also picked up the first-place prize in the individual all-around, balance beam, and floor events, while finishing second in the vault and fifth in the uneven bars.

Her medal tally in worlds and Olympics now sits at 37 – four more than previous record holder Scherbo – with the American surpassing the Belarusian’s total in the same city where she won her first World Championship gold ten years prior.

Elsewhere at the tournament, Jake Jarman claimed Britain’s only medal of the World Gymnastics Championships with gold in the men’s vault, while Max Whitlock finished fifth in the pommel horse in his return to international competition.

Find out what the gymnastics superstar is looking forward to after a record-breaking 2023 World Championships

Simone Biles return trip to World Artistic Gymnastics Championships in Antwerp, Belgium, this past week was a complete success as the superstar American won five medals at the 2023 edition, including four golds in the team, all-around, balance beam, and floor exercise finals.

It was her first international competition since the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games in 2021 where she withdrew from the women’s team final and four subsequent individual finals to priortise her mental health as she dealt with what gymnasts call the ‘twisties,’ where the body and mind fall out of sync.

In her return to the sport, Biles has repeatedly talked about being more intentional in what she does, especially outside the gym.

“I think I’m making a bigger effort into taking care of my mind and my body, which includes going to therapy once every week, usually on Thursday is kind of like my therapeutic day and try to take a day for myself,” Biles told Olympics.com in an exclusive interview prior to the Worlds. “I think it’s just really important that I’m taking care of my mind as much as I do my body, especially in this sport and outside of the sport, just being real active in that.”

Simone Biles

It should, then, come as no surprise that Biles has something very normal planned for her return home with the friends and family who have helped her get to this point.

“They’ve been amazing just to keep my mind off of gymnastics, because for a couple of years, whenever I wasn’t in the sport, that’s kind of all I had. We got to hang out, have fun and just like be normal adults,” Biles said of her friends and family back home, after taking her sixth World all-around title. “So, I think it’s been really nice that even when we go back, we’re going to try to go to a winery and stuff like that just to keep it normal.”

The 26-year-old newlywed will also likely head off to meet up with husband Jonathan Owens, who plays for the NFL team Green Bay Pakers. The pair have been long distance since Owens signed the Packers as a free agent almost immediately following their nuptials.

As for what’s next for Biles in her sport, the 2023 competitive season is mostly over in gymnastics. The four-stop World Cup series will begin the first quarter of 2024, but Biles is unlikely to attend. Domestically, her first opportunities to compete could come at the Winter Cup, typically held in February, or May’s U.S. Classic, as she builds towards competing at the Paris 2024 Olympics in France next July.

“Gymnastics is something that I do and it’s not who I am as a person,” said Biles, “and I think it took years to realize that. So it’s kind of nice to break out of that shell.”

Gymnastics, in many ways, is a mirage-like display of power and athleticism coupled with elegance and beauty, a perfect exterior of twisting shapes concealing the extraordinary efforts beneath.

It was an image of the sport’s most successful athletes too until Simone Biles began to remodel it two years ago at the Tokyo Olympics, an unintended consequence of pulling out of several events suffering from what is known as the “twisties” – a mental block causing a gymnast to lose track of their positions midair.

The most successful gymnast of her time had shown her fallibility on the biggest stage of all, and as she completed a history-making comeback at the World Artistic Gymnastics Championships last week, she completed refashioning those expectations of success.

By returning to the world stage in such emphatic style, Biles reimagined that image of a model athlete into someone who can land unprecedented skills at the highest level and is open about her own mental health, someone who is older than traditionally successful gymnasts but still defining her sport.

The mirage of the performance remains but, with the backstage efforts required to conjure it more visible, it is a more complex, and arguably more impressive, image.

Records as well as medals announced Biles’ return to the pinnacle of the sport in Antwerp, Belgium.

She became the first woman to land the Yurchenko double pike vault at an international competition, ensuring that it will now be named the Biles II in her honor, and became the most decorated male or female gymnast ever, surpassing Belarusian Vitaly Scherbo’s record of 33 overall medals across both the Olympics and the world championships.

She won four gold medals during the world championships too – in the team, all-around, beam and floor competitions – as well as a silver medal in the vault. In her weakest discipline – the uneven bars finals – she finished fifth.

Five months ago, Biles didn’t think she’d ever compete again, she said on X, formerly known as Twitter.

She had taken a two-year break from the sport after Tokyo to focus on her mental health. During that time, Biles has been open about re-evaluating her relationship to gymnastics, “going to therapy, making sure everything is aligned so that I can do the best in the gym and be a good wife, good daughter, good friend, all of the good things,” as she told NBC in September.

Simone Biles.

Nevertheless, ghosts from Tokyo still lingered at the world championships, she said afterwards, memories bubbling to the surface and making her “nervous” for the team finals on Wednesday.

“That’s when everything occurred, so I was a little bit traumatized from that,” she said on Friday, according to the official Olympics website.

Returning to the international stage in Antwerp provided a neat bookend for her career to date, a fitting place to re-establish herself as the world’s best gymnast as it was in Antwerp that Biles first announced herself on the world stage 10 years ago, winning her first all-around world title as a precocious 16-year-old, as well as a gold, silver and bronze medal in the floor, vault and beam respectively.

“I’m very proud,” she said on her return to Antwerp. “Especially after the year I had after Tokyo, coming back and just being comfortable and confident in my routines. I couldn’t ask for more,” she told BBC Sport.

Now, attention turns to Paris. Biles has already said that competing at next year’s Paris Olympics is a “a path I would love to go (down),” and returning to the biggest stage of all would add yet another dimension to her already remarkable legacy.

In the aftermath of an astounding comeback in which she won four gold medals and a silver after a two-year international absence, Simone Biles had every reason to celebrate her renewed dominance and a historic performance that marked her as the most decorated gymnast of all time.

Instead, as she faced up to the press on Sunday evening at the Artistic Gymnastics World Championships in Antwerp, Biles was firm. She did not care about the medals.

“I had to prove to myself that I could still get out here, twist,” she said. “I could prove all the haters wrong, that I’m not a quitter, this, that and the other. For me, I didn’t care. As long as I’m out there twisting again and finding the joy for gymnastics again, who cares?”

Two years ago, when she was forced to withdraw from the Olympics after suffering from the “twisties”, completely losing her air awareness, Biles retreated from the sport. Even this year, she was unsure that she would return to gymnastics. As she worked hard to address her deteriorated mental health, she embraced therapy, focusing on living in the moment rather than looking ahead. She has learned how to sometimes say “no”.

The joy that Biles was able to compete with throughout the event was her biggest triumph of all. By advocating for herself and having the clarity to prioritise her mental and physical health during one of the most important moments of her career, Biles has likely prolonged her career. Her decisions over the last two years will have a greater lasting impact both within and beyond her sport than any peerless new skill.

Such was Biles’s determination to remain in the moment and not look ahead, she has been hesitant to even mention the Paris Olympics since she returned to competition. Still, the obvious consequence of the results in Antwerp is that Biles has re-established herself as the dominant force in the sport right as Paris approaches.

But she is not the only star. Brazil’s Rebeca Andrade shared all five podiums with Biles in Antwerp, and it was thrilling to see the 24-year-old push the best gymnast in the world with the promise that there is more to come. Biles genuinely seemed to enjoy the presence of a worthy rival. While they competed fiercely, both athletes were gracious and thoughtful throughout. After the event, Biles and Andrade danced at the post-event gala.

Older gymnasts will continue to dominate the pre-Paris narratives. Gabby Douglas, the 2012 Olympic all-around champion, announced in July that she is back in training and planning to return in 2024 having not competed since the Rio Olympics. The relentless criticism and abuse from both the 2012 and 2016 Olympic Games also had a destructive effect on Douglas’s mental health, leading to a far longer retreat from the sport.

Eight years is a long time between competitions, but Douglas is only a year older than Biles and the 27-year-old is so talented that it will be taken seriously. Sunisa Lee, the all-around champion in Tokyo, will also attempt to return to a second Olympics after serious kidney issues this year.

After such incredible performances in Tokyo and then last year in Liverpool, Antwerp proved to be a disappointing outing for British gymnasts until Jake Jarman produced an incredible vaulting performance on the final day. Jarman has been capable of astonishingly difficult skills for a long time yet things are coming together. The 21-year-old is now armed with the confidence of being a world champion and he continues to improve as an all-around gymnast.

Despite his fall in the pommel horse final, Max Whitlock’s performances in Antwerp made it clear that he will be in the fight as he attempts to defend his Olympic gold-medal on the pommel horse for a third time. The contest for gold with the clean, elegant Rhys McClenaghan of Ireland, now a two-time world champion, will be one of the highlights of the event.

Meanwhile, Alice Kinsella performed admirably to finish seventh in the women’s all-around final after learning of Jessica Gadirova’s injury withdrawal just minutes before the final was to begin and the women will be competing for another team medal in Paris. Antwerp did, however, underline that Gadirova remains their only consistent individual medal threat. Considering she qualified third in the all-around and for four of the five individual finals, she is a damn good one.

If women’s gymnastics continues to trend towards older, longer careers, men’s gymnastics is the youngest it has been in years. Daiki Hashimoto continued his dominance by consolidating his status as the first teenage men’s Olympic all-around champion by winning his second world title at 23. However, last year’s champion, 23-year-old Zhang Boheng, opted not to compete in Antwerp. Instead, he won the Asian Games just over a week earlier, scoring more than three points higher than Hashimoto. Their battle in Paris will be enormous.

Garbine Muguruza has expressed her awe and inspiration after observing Elina Svitolina’s intense training session from close quarters.

Svitolina recently stunned world No. 1 Iga Swiatek by a 7-5, 6-7(5), 6-2 scoreline to reach the Wimbledon 2023 semifinals. It was the Ukranian’s second semifinal appearance at the grasscourt Major and it came less than nine months after she gave birth to a baby girl.

Svitolina then faced unseeded and eventual champion Marketa Vondrousova in the semifinals, losing 6-3 6-3 in just an hour and 14 minutes.

Former World No. 1 Garbine Muguruza, meanwhile, has won two Grand Slam singles titles – the 2016 French Open and the 2017 Wimbledon Championships.

Muguruza recently shared a story on her Instagram about watching Svitolina in an intense training session. Svitolina also shared Muguruza’s story on her Instagram with two smiley emoji.

 

Former Wimbledon champion Garbine Muguruza says she will take an extended break from tennis until the summer.

The Spanish former world number one has only played four times this year, not appearing at all since January.

The 29-year-old, who has dropped to 132nd in the world, said she will miss the clay and grass-court seasons.

“Spending time with family and friends and it’s really been healthy and amazing, so I am going to lengthen this period till summer,” Muguruza added.

She reached the top of the rankings in 2017, and was third at the end of 2021, but did not pass the quarter-finals of a tournament last year.

Muguruza won her maiden Grand Slam title at the French Open in 2016 and claimed the Wimbledon title a year later.

Meanwhile, at the Charleston Open in South Carolina, former world number three Elina Svitolina fell just short of a win in her first match since giving birth to her daughter in October.

The Ukrainian, 28, lost 6-7 (3-7) 6-2 6-4 in two hours and 46 minutes to Yulia Putintseva of Kazakhstan but told the Tennis Channel that she was pleased with her performance.

“I had goosebumps,” she said. “It was a really, really sweet atmosphere out there. It was so nice to see many people, and they were really cheering me on to push through some tough moments.

“It was not easy physically for me today, but in the end, I’m really happy with the way I played. Now, I can see more clear what I need to improve to be better.

“I think I’m hitting the ball well. I just have to work more on my fitness. I think a few bits here and there are going to help me to keep the focus more consistently, to be there in the moment.”

Anthony Joshua is perhaps the most recognisable active heavyweight on the planet, his Olympic Gold medal and two-time world title winning campaign thrilling British boxing fans since 2012.

After a meteoric rise in the sport, Joshua was shocked in New York by Andy Ruiz Jr, losing his unified titles briefly before winning them back in a rematch.

It’s at that point fans recognised the Brit was far from invincible, and two losses to Oleksandr Usyk since have left him in comeback mode with plenty of heavyweights believing they have what it takes to beat him.

Speaking on The Porter Way Podcast earlier this year, one Riddick Bowe said that he would have dealt with Joshua in five rounds, and even offered to prove it for the right price

Anthony Joshua

Bowe was undisputed in the early nineties, a unanimous decision over Evander Holyfield his crowning moment. The result would be reversed in the rematch, with Holyfield solidifying his cruiserweight to heavyweight run in the history books.

It’s something that would be replicated three decades later by Usyk, the man who has handed Joshua two losses and put him firmly out of the title picture for the first time in a long time.

Following the loss to ‘The Real Deal’, Bowe racked up nine more wins before hanging up the gloves in 2008 with a record of 43-1. Now 56, his offer for the bout is tongue in cheek, but shows the clear confidence of a champion.

As for Joshua, he’s looking to secure a deal with another American in Deontay Wilder, although the emergence of Filip Hrgovic and a potential world title fight may have changed the plans.