(NEW YORK) — Here are the scores from Friday’s sports events:
NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION Houston 104, Portland 101 Detroit 107, L.A. Lakers 92 L.A. Clippers 109, Miami 105 Phoenix 114, Golden State 93 NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE Boston 4, Pittsburgh 1 Philadelphia 3, New Jersey 1 Carolina 1, Tampa Bay 0 (OT) Washington 6, NY Islanders 3 NY Rangers 3, Buffalo 2 (OT) Columbus 3, Florida 2 (SO) Montreal 4, Calgary 2 Minnesota 5, Los Angeles 3 Final Dallas 7, Detroit 3 Colorado 3, San Jose 0 Arizona 3, Anaheim 2 Vancouver 4, Ottawa 1 Toronto 4, Edmonton 3 St. Louis at Vegas (Postponed)
TOP-25 COLLEGE BASKETBALL Gonzaga 90, San Diego 62 Houston 83, Tulane 60 Kansas 59, TCU 51 Villanova at UConn (Postponed) Oregon at (23)UCLA (Postponed)
(NEW YORK) — The NFL has named three frontline coronavirus “heroes” as honorary captains for Super Bowl LV.
The captains, who include an educator, a nurse manager and veteran, were chosen due to their “dedication and selfless commitment to helping others,” the NFL said in a statement. They will take part in the coin toss ceremony before kick-off Feb. 7.
Los Angeles educator Trimaine Davis was recognized by the league for his efforts to ensure both his students and members of their households had devices and internet access amid the pandemic to “help bridge the digital divide,” according to the NFL.
Davis secured hotspots, laptops and tablets for his students and hosted workshops for families to learn how to use the devices.
“Throughout his career, Trimaine has prioritized the academic success of Black students through his work with the CSU Northridge Black Male Initiative, San Diego State’s Student African American Brotherhood, Afrikan Student Union and more,” the NFL statement read.
Davis was lured onto a Zoom call by former Seattle Seahawks wide receiver Doug Baldwin and Angela LaChica, president and CEO of public relations firm LaChica Sports, under the pretense of talking about the work the NFL is doing to combat the digital divide. He appeared shocked when told he had been picked to participate in the league’s biggest event of the year.
“I don’t even know what to say,” Davis said, smiling. “… Listen, I need a moment. I need about two hours to just take this in. Aw, y’all really got me. You got me good with this one.”
Suzie Dorner, a nurse manager at Tampa General Hospital, will not only be cheering for her hometown football team but will be honored on the field as well.
Dorner has been working in Tampa for more than eight years and has “worked selflessly, as all nurses do, to prioritize others and work endless hours” throughout the pandemic, according to the NFL. She lost two grandparents to COVID-19 as well.
Dorner was “speechless” upon hearing the news, she told Derrick Brooks, a former Tampa Bay Buccaneer and chair of the Tampa Bay Super Bowl LV host committee.
The pandemic has been “really mentally, emotionally and physically exhausting” for all health care workers, Dorner said.
“To be honored at the Super Bowl makes everything that we’ve all been through this year, it makes it a little bit more tolerable and something to celebrate everything that we’ve been through, the good and the bad things,” she is seen telling Brooks in a YouTube video posted by the NFL.
James Martin, a Marine Corps veteran who lives in Pittsburgh, has worked supporting veterans, high school athletes and local youth amid the pandemic and has helped to virtually connect more than 1,800 fellow veterans and their families to one another through the Wounded Warrior Project, according to the NFL. He also opened his home to children in need in his neighborhood.
Martin, who immediately recognized Bettis when the Zoom call began, took several seconds to collect himself before he finally responded that he would be “deeply honored” to participate.
“I appreciate everything. I appreciate the family, the community,” he said. “If there’s anything I’ve learned in this life, it’s much like the team. The team represents the city. We put it on your back. So, I do the same thing for my family, and it just keeps repaying itself forward. And that’s the best we can do.”
The NFL has also chosen National Youth Poet Laureate Amanda Gorman, who captivated the country when she read a poem at the inauguration of President Joe Biden, to read another original poem before the coin toss ceremony begins.
“These heroes are symbolic of the thousands of health care professionals, educators and veterans throughout our country who continue to care for, heal and support those in need during this pandemic,” the statement read. “Together they embody our season-long message of ‘It Takes All of Us.'”
(NEW YORK) — Being vaccinated against COVID-19 will not be a requirement to compete in the upcoming Tokyo Olympics, organizers said Thursday.
The 2020 Summer Olympics were supposed to kick off in the Japanese capital last year on July 24. But in late March, amid mounting calls to delay or cancel the upcoming Games, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and Japan’s prime minister announced that the event would be held a year later due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The Games are now scheduled to open in Tokyo this summer on July 23, but doubt has surfaced as Japan — and much of the world — grapples with a resurgence of COVID-19 infections. Moreover, Japan is not expected to begin administering its first round of COVID-19 vaccinations until the end of February.
During a press briefing Thursday following a call with the IOC’s president, organizers were asked how Japan will safely host the Olympics as scheduled when the country’s mass vaccination campaign is not expected to inoculate most of the population by that date.
“Since last year, we have been having thorough debates and discussions on that topic. We do not consider the vaccine as a prerequisite,” Toshiro Muto, chief executive officer of the Tokyo 2020 organizing committee, told reporters. “Of course, it’s desirable to have as many people as possible vaccinated, and that would bring about positive benefit. But even if vaccination is not done, we will be able to hold the Games.”
Muto added that COVID-19 vaccinations would be administered to athletes but it wouldn’t be an obligation.
As for vaccinating staff and volunteers, Muto said that decision will be made at the national government level. Yoshiro Mori, president of the Tokyo 2020 organizing committee, said they are still considering holding the Games without spectators.
“One option among many would be to hold the games without spectators,” he told reporters. “We don’t want to do this but we must take this scenario into consideration.”
With less than six months left until the opening day, a recent poll by Japanese news agency Kyodo found that around 80% of people in Japan believe the Tokyo Olympics should not be held this summer. When asked by ABC News about that opinion, Mori said: “There is a balance. On one hand there is criticism, the other hand is support.”
Mori noted that the IOC’s president has “strongly backed up our efforts” to hold the Tokyo Olympics as planned.
“Nowhere did we hear objections or doubt,” he told reporters. “Everyone wants to successful hold the games.”
(NEW YORK) — Here are the scores from Thursday’s sports events: NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION Indiana 116, Charlotte 106 Sacramento 121, Orlando 107 Cleveland 122, Detroit 107 Denver 109, Miami 82 Milwaukee 115, Toronto 108 Brooklyn 132, Atlanta 128 (OT) Philadelphia 107, L.A. Lakers 106 San Antonio 110, Boston 106 Oklahoma City 102, Phoenix 97 Utah 116 ,Dallas 104 New Orleans 124, Washington 106 Golden State 123, Minnesota 111 Chicago at Memphis (Postponed) NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE Nashville 2, Chicago 1 (SO) Vancouver 5 ,Ottawa 1
TOP-25 COLLEGE BASKETBALL Baylor 107, Kansas St. 59 Ohio St. 83, Penn St. 79 Wisconsin 61, Maryland 55 Florida St. 81, Miami 59 Creighton 85, Seton Hall 81 Virginia Tech, 62 Notre Dame 51 Clemson 54, Louisville 50 Michigan at Penn St. . (Postponed
(NEW YORK) — The Washington Football Team made NFL history Tuesday when they added Jennifer King to their roster as assistant running backs coach.
King, who has been a trailblazer on and off the gridiron, is the first Black woman to coach full time in the league. She follows the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ defensive line coach Lori Locust as the second female coach to hold a full-time coaching position.
King joined ABC News’ Good Morning America on Wednesday and described the moment she got the big news from head coach Ron Rivera, and how she had prepared herself for success leading up to that moment.
“Coach called me in and we had a conversation to let me know what was going to happen, so I was really excited about it but, you know, in the middle of a game week things are kind of hectic so I went back to my office and went right back to work,” she said.
For someone that may not have direct representation or a role model in their career path, King said her advice is to keep pushing forward despite hardships and struggles.
“Having that personal mantra of really trying to be so good that you can’t be denied. And just keep going — if it’s something you really want you have to find a way to get it done and not take no for an answer,” she said.
As for King’s own football career accolades, she’s a seven-time All-American quarterback and wide receiver for the Carolina Phoenix in the Women’s Football Alliance. In 2018, she made her NFL debut as a coaching intern for the Carolina Panthers.
Folllowing her time in North Carolina, King was named a coaching intern for Washington at the start of the 2020 NFL season where she broke ground as the first Black woman coaching on an NFL sideline.
But when it comes to what’s next, King said her aspirations are more immediate team goals.
“Coach always tells us to be where our feet are and that’s kind of where I am right now, just focusing on how we can be better next season,” she said.
King’s historic promotion could also mark a sign of progress in a league where Black coaching candidates have been overlooked for jobs, with just two men — Pittsburgh Steelers’ Mike Tomlin and Miami Dolphins’ Brian Flores — to hold head coaching positions.
“I’m not sure with the current hiring practices of head coaches, but I really hope that some of these guys who are more than qualified get their opportunities,” she said of her hope for diversity around the league.
This comes on the heels of another historic move by the franchise in August when Jason Wright was named the league’s first Black team president.
“I’ve been super fortunate to work with a great group of guys and I think it comes from the top,” King said. “That culture they built is fantastic and the guys I’ve worked with are awesome.”
For head coach Ron Rivera, King’s experience and dedication made this promotion an easy choice and he said “the sky is truly the limit for her.”
“Coach King is well deserving of the promotion to assistant running backs coach. She came to Washington eager for the opportunity to work as a full-year coaching intern and learn from our staff,” he said in a press release. “She got the chance to experience not only the in-season work that goes into being a full-time coach in this league but also the countless hours that are spent preparing in the offseason as well. She demonstrated all of the qualities that are needed to work full-time on my staff. She is a hard worker, a great communicator and a quality person. Coach King is always eager to learn and has shown tremendous growth since starting here last season. I know she will continue to be an asset to Coach Turner, Coach Jordan and the running back group, and she earned this opportunity with her hard work.”
King said “one of the first things I realized when I got to the NFL was just how high the standard was and I started carrying that over into my life and things kinda took off from there.”
“It’s so important to have something that you stand for and that you live by, what you’re willing to accept and what you’re willing to not accept,” she said.
Next up, King will enjoy some time off, but said she’s excited to “hit the offseason and make us better” since they had “a little taste of the playoffs, you want to get back and advance.”
iStockBy ABC News
