Sports
Meet the Gymnast Who Scares Simone Biles the Most
The gymnast that Simone Biles fears the most is a black woman from Brazil — Rebeca Andrade.
“Rebeca Andrade. She’s the one who scares me the most,” Biles said in her documentary,Simone Biles Rising.”
Andrade, 25 years old, took second place behind Biles in the all-around at the World Championships in 2023. But she beat Biles in the jump. In a podium moment between the two captured on camera, Biles appeared to take an imaginary crown off her head and crown Andrade. At those championships in Antwerp, Andrade won five medals: one gold, three silvers and a bronze. In Simone Biles’ absence in 2022. Andrade won the all-around at the World Gymnastics Championships.
The undefeated Biles credited Andrade with allowing her to achieve recent levels of competition.
Bile he said about Andrade“I really love competing with Rebecca. She motivates me.”
The two black women have developed a competitive and supportive relationship that has propelled them to recent athletic heights. That relationship will likely be on display five times during the Games: in the team competition (Tuesday), the individual all-around (Aug. 1), vault, balance beam and freestyle finals.
According to Andrade, there isn’t any rivalry between them, but loads of camaraderie and inspiration.
“I think people are making up this rivalry,” Andrade told a Brazilian news program. “Biles asked me if I would continue training after Paris. I told her I wasn’t sure. She said she was thinking about retiring, and I told her not to; we NEED you. She’s such an inspiration. It’s amazing that she competes in any kind of competition.”
More similar than different
Despite their different nationalities, Biles and Andrade have loads in common.
Both gymnasts arrived at the 2024 Olympics as superstars. Andrade is the most highly publicized Brazilian Olympian, appearing in commercials, TV shows and on billboards.
She is already the best Brazilian gymnast of all time and can proceed her legacy at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. At the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, she won silver in the all-around and brought home gold in the show jumping – Brazil’s first individual gold in gymnastics.
Like Biles, Andrade has the potential to win the most medals of anyone on the Brazilian team. She could go home with five medals.
Both gymnasts followed in the footsteps of their black predecessors, including Daiane dos Santos, in Andrade’s case. Santos became the first Brazilian gymnast to turn out to be a world champion when she won the free exercise in 2003.
“I know how important it is for you to have someone who is your mirror, who you can be inspired by,” Andrade said. “I have Daiane dos Santos for me. So today, playing this role, as she did for me, is very good. It’s very important for children and young people, for adults. I really like being that reference point and I always try to be the best I can so that people continue to reflect me.”
Biles, in fact, followed in the footsteps of Dominique Dawes, who competed in three Olympics and won a gold medal as a member of the 1996 Magnificent Seven team.
From the periphery to Rio de Janeiro
Andrade comes from the outskirts of São Paulo, a suburb that’s far more impoverished than the city center. Her mother raised her and 7 siblings on the income she earned from cleansing other people’s houses. At age 9, she left home to coach in Rio de Janeiro at the Flamengo sports club. For at the very least two years, she performed her dance routine to the music of Baile de Favela as a tribute to her humble beginnings.
In 2015, 2017 and 2019, she tore the anterior cruciate ligament in her knees. In 2020, she needed to compete at the last minute to qualify for the Tokyo Olympics.
Chance of winning?
Andrade’s best event is the vault, where she is the reigning Olympic and world champion. Biles has the world’s most difficult vault, and when she does it, she is unstoppable. In the preliminary competition, Biles landed a Yurchenko flip with a double peak, Biles II, for a rating of 15.8.
But even Andrade’s coach knows the road to beating Biles is hard. In a recent interview, Chico Porath admitted that the only way Andrade will beat Biles in a vault competition is that if Biles makes a mistake.
Andrade, nonetheless, may make his competition debut with a tougher jump: Yurchenko’s triple twist jumpIf she does it perfectly and Biles makes a mistake, Andrade may very well be catapulted into the gold vault.
But Andrade’s biggest goal is not even to win a person medal. She wants the Brazilian gymnastics team to face on the podium in the team final. If that happens, it will be the first time.
Sports
NFL star Terrell Owens signs a contract with Michael Strahan’s talent agency
NFL Hall of Fame receiver and podcast host Terrell Owens has signed with a talent agency to further strengthen his claims within the entertainment game.
According to , Owens was signed by SMAC Entertainment, headed by host and NFL Hall of Famer Michael Strahan and his business partner Constance Schwartz-Morini.
NFL insider Jordan Schultz has also joined SMAC Entertainment.
“We are excited to add TO and Jordan to the SMAC family. They are both at the top of their game and set the standard in their industry,” Schwartz-Morini said in a written statement. “TO and Jordan have already brought an infectious energy to our team, and we are excited to help them realize their vision for careers in media, business and branding.”
A five-time first-team All-Pro and six-time Pro Bowler, Owens played for the San Francisco 49ers, Philadelphia Eagles, Dallas Cowboys, Buffalo Bills and Cincinnati Bengals. In 2018, he was finally inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
A member of the 2000 NFL All-Decade Team, Owens finished his profession with 1,078 catches for 15,934 yards, 14.8 yards per catch and 153 touchdowns, rating third all-time in receiving yards and touchdowns.
Since retiring from skilled soccer in 2012, Owens has already made several moves. He has appeared in several movies and tv shows, including “,” and in addition had his own reality show, “, on VH1.
He currently co-hosts the podcast with former NFL player and sports analyst Shannon Sharpe.
SMAC Entertainment is home to stars similar to rapper and actor Common, Wiz Khalifa, Strahan, Deion “Coach Prime” Sanders and current NFL players similar to Stefon Diggs and DK Metcalf.
Sports
Phoenix Suns guard Devin Booker brings an NBA championship desire with his Olympic experience
The gold medal went to the USA Basketball team. Mission completed on the 2024 Paris Games. U.S. men’s basketball coach Steve Kerr just answered his final query during his final news conference on Aug. 10 after his team defeated France within the gold medal game.
However, before leaving the stage of the press conference in Paris, Kerr stopped to deliver an unsolicited message to media around the globe.
“Devin Booker is an amazing basketball player. Nobody asked about him. He was our unsung MVP. I just desired to say that,” Kerr said.
The “underrated MVP” compliment meant so much to the Phoenix Suns guard.
“It meant everything. No one really asked him,” Booker recently told Andscape. “That was probably something that was weighing on his mind throughout the entire process. A 12 months ago I said what I desired to do for this team and what we desired to do for the country.
“It was a lot larger than all of us. Survival was something we’d discuss for the remainder of our lives.
The USA Basketball team was centered around NBA star icons LeBron James, Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant. There has also been some discussion amongst media and fans in regards to the lack of playing time for Jayson Tatum and, to a lesser extent, Tyrese Haliburton. Lost within the shuffle was the all-around, unselfish play of sharpshooter Booker wearing the armband.
Booker was fourth in scoring for the U.S., averaging 11.7 points, 3.3 assists and a couple of.2 three-pointers made early in all six Olympics, and likewise had the perfect plus/minus (plus-130) for an American. Kerr was impressed with Booker’s deal with a difficult defense, regardless that he is thought for his offense, ball movement and the way he has adjusted to not being one in every of the highest options on offense.
“I just understood what was at stake,” Booker said. “I’m proud to be from this country. I’m happy with playing basketball. Even though it wasn’t invented in America, we dominated for a very long time. Obviously the world is incredibly talented and the sport is growing, however it was just one other message to allow them to know who we’re.
Booker said he also learned in regards to the preparations from his all-star team, watching the preparations on and off the court. The 28-year-old added that he gained lifelong friendships.
“It’s cool to see that everyone has their own issues,” Booker said. “In my 10 years in the NBA, I’ve learned that you have to choose what you can use for yourself. But the level of detail, the attention to detail, the intensity – it’s all consistent across the board.”
As for Durant, Booker said the bond between the 2 Sun stars “is close and grows stronger every day.” They live about five minutes from one another within the Phoenix area and commonly spend time at home and on the road. Most recently, Booker had to steer the Suns without Durant, who was sidelined with an injury.
The amazing Durant averaged 27.6 points, 6.6 rebounds and three.4 assists, which were tops for the Suns. However, the 14-time NBA All-Star has been sidelined since November 8 with a left calf strain. Suns players Bradley Beal (calf) and Jusuf Nurkic (ankle) were also sidelined. The Suns are 1-5 without Durant, which incorporates 4 straight losses.
Booker and Suns sans Durant’s next rivals shall be the New York Knicks on Wednesday evening (ESPN, 10 p.m. ET). Over the last six games, Booker is averaging 24.1 points, shooting 43.2% from the sphere and making 16 of 43 three-pointers. Suns guard Tyus Jones said there was numerous pressure on Booker offensively due to the injury.
“We’re asking a lot of Book,” Jones said after Monday’s 109-99 loss to the visiting Orlando Magic. “It’s numerous pressure for him. We are very focused on it. They are physical with him, holding him and grabbing him, throwing two or three bodies at him all night long. So he’s got so much on his plate and we just need to proceed to seek out ways to get him open within the moments we will and proceed to assist him when other players are taking shots and making plays.
Booker currently has two Olympic gold medals, 4 NBA All-Star appearances and one NBA Finals appearance. The only thing missing from the Suns’ second-leading all-time scorer is an NBA championship. Since the Suns joined the NBA as an expansion team in 1968, they’ve yet to win a title.
After experiencing the joys of winning a gold medal, Booker as an NBA champion wants the gold Larry O’Brien NBA Championship Trophy much more.
“Most of the guys that were there did it,” Booker said of his Olympic teammates who were NBA champions. “They were champions. This is standard for them. Anything lower than that, they need nothing to do with it. It’s contagious…
“That’s all I want. That’s all I want.”
Sports
New Unrivaled Women’s League Reveals Team Rosters and Coach Allocations
After months of introducing the players and coaches who will participate in its inaugural season, the brand new Unrivaled 3-on-3 women’s basketball league announced its team rosters and coaching assignments on Wednesday.
Founded by WNBA players Napheesa Collier and Breanna Stewart, Unrivaled consists of six teams of six players each. The league was created to offer WNBA players with a substitute for playing overseas in the course of the offseason.
Although initially announced as having 30 players, the league has since expanded to 36, which Collier attributed “above financial forecasts”. The league has announced 34 players publicly up to now.
The inaugural season of Unrivaled will begin on January 17, 2025, with all games going down in Miami. Here are the official teams for the inaugural season, as well season schedule.
Vinyl Basketball Club:
– Coach: Teresa Weatherspoon
Rose Basketball Club:
– Coach: Nola Henry
Mgła basketball club:
– Coach: Phil Handy
Lunar Owls Basketball Club:
– TBD: wild card
– Coach: DJ Sackmann
Phantom Basketball Club:
– TBD: wild card
– Coach: Adam Harrington
Laces Basketball Club:
– Coach: Andrew Wade
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