Assessing Osaka's Sad Departure From the French Open - The New York Times

Naomi Osaka, a superstar in the sport, pulled out of the French Open after she was fined for skipping a news conference. Did it have to end this way?

PARIS — Naomi Osaka’s withdrawal from the French Open was not the outcome anyone in tennis desired, and yet it happened just the same.

It could likely have been avoided through better communication and smarter decisions, but on Monday night the sport’s most prominent young star felt she had no better option than to pull out of the year’s second Grand Slam tournament.

Her second-round match with Ana Bogdan will be a walkover for Bogdan instead of another chance for the second-ranked Osaka, 23, to make steps forward on red clay, a surface that has long bedeviled her.

“Above all, it’s just really sad: for her, for the tournament, for the sport,” said Martina Navratilova, a former No. 1 who has seen plenty of tennis turmoil in her 50 years in the game. “She tried to sidestep or lessen a problem for herself and instead she just made it much bigger than it was in the first place.”

It is not wise at this stage to speculate on the full scope of Osaka’s issues. She is still coming to grips with them herself, and she said in her withdrawal announcement on social media that she had experienced long bouts of depression since the 2018 United States Open that she won by defeating Serena Williams in a tumultuous final.

What is clear is that the catalyst in Paris, if only the catalyst, was one of professional sport’s staples: the news conference.

Osaka, citing her mental health, announced ahead of the tournament that she would not “do any press” during the French Open. News conferences are required at the Grand Slams for players who are requested, and Osaka was the first tennis star to make it clear that she intended to break the rule for as long as she was in the tournament.

Her announcement on social media caught the French Open organizers and sport’s leadership by surprise. That was her first misjudgment. Her next was failing to be accessible when those tennis leaders justifiably sought more information.

Gilles Moretton, the new French Tennis Federation president, and others repeatedly tried to speak with her without success.

When she did indeed skip the news conference after her first-round victory on Sunday over Patricia Maria Tig, the French Open fined her $15,000 and the Grand Slam tournament chiefs made it clear that she risked being defaulted from the tournament and future Grand Slam tournaments if she continued to decline to fulfill her media duties.

It was a hard line: too hard in light of what Osaka explained on Monday night. “I feel for her, and I feel the sport in general has mishandled this,” said Pam Shriver, a former leading player and president of the WTA Tour Players Association. “I just feel that Grand Slam statement poured fuel on the flames in a way that was irreversible. I feel they should have kept their views and efforts quiet, not made them public, and worked behind the scenes. All the more so because the pandemic is still the elephant in the room and has been so hard on so many young people.”

Depression is more common in sports than many would expect. The problem was that Osaka did not offer tennis’s leaders that explanation — in public or apparently in private — until Monday night.

Considering Osaka’s prominence and the increased awareness of and sensitivity to athletes’ mental-health challenges, it is hard to imagine that Moretton or the other Grand Slam leaders would not have tried to work with her to find a more conciliatory short-term solution if they had been given a clearer picture.

Instead, they were left too long in the dark: with Osaka focusing her pretournament complaints on reforming the sport’s player-media model, citing overly repetitive questions and lines of inquiry that made her doubt herself. There are perhaps better ways for professional journalists to find out more about tennis players and their matches.

Tennis champions and would-be champions have been dealing with such challenges in the interview room for decades and if Osaka is sensitive to questions about her weaknesses on clay, imagine how Pete Sampras felt when he was asked about his own failings for more than a decade as he tried and failed to win Roland Garros.

Osaka met the news media after losing in the third round of the 2020 Australian Open.Kelly Defina/Getty Images

And yet he kept showing up for news conferences and chasing the prize, just as Jana Novotna did at Wimbledon before finally winning the singles title in 1998.

As Billie Jean King likes to say, pressure is a privilege, and repetitive questions are an inconvenience but also a reflection of legitimate public interest. Media coverage, much of it favorable, has helped Osaka become the world’s best paid female athlete. She earned more than $55 million in the last year, nearly all of it from sponsorship deals.

That brings its own new pressures. “She has lots on her back,” said Marin Cilic, the Croatian men’s star who once broke down in the middle of a Wimbledon final.

But facing unwelcome questions, even in defeat, does not seem like too much to ask. “No comment” or a more polite demurral remain legitimate options. But one of the takeaways from l’affaire Osaka may be the realization that some players really do find it all too much to bear (and it did not go unnoticed that Moretton took no questions at his own short news conference on Monday night). The debate will be, how much special treatment should such players receive?

One of the reasons for the Grand Slam tournaments’ hard line with Osaka was the desire for fairness.

“I think Naomi has always struggled with public speaking and dealing with the press has always made her anxious and so it’s finally come to a head,” said Rennae Stubbs, a former No. 1 doubles player who is now a tour-level coach and ESPN analyst. “You cannot allow a player to have an unfair advantage by not doing post-match press. It’s time consuming, so if one player is not doing that and others are, that is not equal. But after this, it’s time to really take a hard, long look at all of it.”

Williams was sympathetic after her first-round victory in Paris on Monday.

“I feel for Naomi,” she said. “I feel like I wish I could give her a hug because I know what it’s like. I’ve been in those positions. We have different personalities, and people are different.”

“I’m thick,” Williams said, possibly referring to being thick-skinned. “Other people are thin. Everyone is different, and everyone handles things differently. You just have to let her handle it the way she wants to, in the best way she thinks she can.”

That is a fine sentiment, but it is also important to learn when things go awry. It seems clear that if this unfortunate situation had been handled differently from the start, Osaka would not have felt she had become too much of a distraction and would be getting ready for round two in Paris instead of packing her bags, unsure of when she will play next with Wimbledon starting in less than a month.

But the underlying issues that Osaka faces would likely have remained.

“The bottom line is that this is about more than talking to the press,” Navratilova said. “This goes much deeper than that, and we have no way of knowing, nor should we speculate, just how deep it does go.”

Adblock test (Why?)

"from" - Google News
June 01, 2021 at 06:48AM
https://ift.tt/2TAhLM1

Assessing Osaka's Sad Departure From the French Open - The New York Times
"from" - Google News
https://ift.tt/2SO3d93
Shoes Man Tutorial
Pos News Update
Meme Update
Korean Entertainment News
Japan News Update

Copa America Tournament Moved To Brazil From Argentina, 2 Weeks Before Kickoff - NPR

Brazil will host Copa America, one of the world's top soccer tournaments, after original host Argentina was dropped due to a surge in COVID cases. But Brazil also has been hit hard by the pandemic.

MARY LOUISE KELLY, HOST:

Soccer fans worldwide will tell you there is nothing quite like Copa America. A huge audience usually tunes in to watch South America's national teams battle for the crown. Well, the tournament kicks off in less than two weeks. Yet for a while today, it was not clear where or even if it would take place. We now have an answer - Brazil, one of the world's worst pandemic hotspots. To discuss the drama, we are joined by NPR's Philip Reeves. He's in Rio de Janeiro.

Hey, Phil.

PHILIP REEVES, BYLINE: Hi.

KELLY: So we thought we had an answer before today. We thought that this was supposed to be hosted by Colombia and Argentina. What happened?

REEVES: Yeah. I mean, this year, for the first time, the tournament was going to be hosted by two countries. But Colombia was dropped earlier this month because of the political unrest there, the wave of anti-government protests. And this weekend, Argentina pulled out because of the huge surge of COVID cases there. So late last night, South America's soccer federation, CONMEBOL, said it was looking at offers from other countries willing to host this. For a while, it looked like the whole thing might even be called off, which is a big deal because there's a lot of money at stake.

KELLY: Yeah.

REEVES: But then CONMEBOL had an emergency meeting this morning and announced the tournament would be played in Brazil. And it publicly thanked Brazil's president, Jair Bolsonaro, for hosting a contest that it says inspires happiness and passion among millions of South Americans.

KELLY: OK. But speaking of countries in the throes of a terrible bout with the pandemic, why Brazil, which is just looking at horrific case rates and death rates right now?

REEVES: Well, Bolsonaro has always been very strongly against shutting down or restricting economic activity to prevent the spread of COVID, and that hasn't changed despite the severity of the pandemic. This comes at a time when his ratings are going down. He's under growing political pressure.

On Saturday, tens of thousands of people, for the first time since the pandemic began, went onto the streets to protest against Bolsonaro and particularly his response to the pandemic, the way, for example, he undermined social distancing and particularly his failure to secure enough vaccines. Reports suggests people at these protests did mostly wear masks, but several of these crowds were really big, especially in Sao Paolo, and social distancing kind of fell apart. Bolsonaro's supporters are jumping on that, saying if his opponents can jam the streets like that, how can they then criticize Bolsonaro for hosting Copa America?

KELLY: What is the reaction like there in Rio and the rest of Brazil?

REEVES: Well, Brazilians, you know, hosted this tournament in 2019 and won and were delighted about that. The pandemic's changed everything. He's getting a lot of criticism from the media. There's talk among his opponents of trying to get the Supreme Court to intervene. And people in the medical community are obviously unhappy.

Remember, Brazil so far lost 462,000 people to COVID. Deaths have plateaued recently, but they're still averaging 1,800 a day right now. Vaccinations are moving along really slowly, and scientists are very worried. A third wave is about to begin here. It does seem that fans won't be allowed to attend Copa America games, although an exception may be made for the final. But people are worried that the tournament will bring in outsiders...

KELLY: Right.

REEVES: ...Who may spread new variants.

KELLY: All right, so much for you to keep track of there. NPR's Philip Reeves in Rio de Janeiro.

Thank you, Phil.

REEVES: You're welcome.

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)

Copyright © 2021 NPR. All rights reserved. Visit our website terms of use and permissions pages at www.npr.org for further information.

NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by Verb8tm, Inc., an NPR contractor, and produced using a proprietary transcription process developed with NPR. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.

Adblock test (Why?)

"from" - Google News
June 01, 2021 at 03:25AM
https://ift.tt/3p8FRc4

Copa America Tournament Moved To Brazil From Argentina, 2 Weeks Before Kickoff - NPR
"from" - Google News
https://ift.tt/2SO3d93
Shoes Man Tutorial
Pos News Update
Meme Update
Korean Entertainment News
Japan News Update

Canadians demand action from officials as country mourns discovery of a mass grave of children's remains - CNN

Leaders from the Tk'emlúps te Secwépemc community in the southern interior of British Columbia, where the school was located, said that there are far more questions than answers so far regarding the discovery.

"The federal government has to play a role in making sure that these families know what happened, these families know the truth, that these families can have closure and Canada can confront the reality of this genocide," said New Democratic leader Jagmeet Singh, noting that if this had happened anywhere else in the world, Canada would demand answers and an international investigation.

He called on the government to step up and investigate thoroughly, saying the community and the world want answers.

"We're going to fight for justice for you," Singh said to community members on Monday.

The Kamloops Indian Residential school was one of the largest in Canada and operated from the late 19th century to the late 1970s. It was opened and run by the Catholic Church until the federal government took it over in the late 1960s.

In 2015, Canada's Truth and Reconciliation Commission released a report detailing the devastating legacy of the country's residential school system when tens of thousands of mostly indigenous children were separated from their families and forced to attend residential schools.

At least 130 schools were in operation across Canada between the late 19th century and 1996, many run by the Catholic church or the federal government.

The commission report determined that at least 4,000 children died of disease, neglect, accidents or abuse while at these schools.

Canada's National Chief of the Assembly of First Nations Perry Bellegarde said Indigenous survivors have been saying this for years and have not been believed.

"If this happened in Kamloops, it happened in all the residential schools," Bellegarde said during a news conference in Ottawa on Monday. "And the sad part is that the survivors have known this, but nobody believed them. But here's the evidence now, the genocide of our people is very real."

Bellegarde said government officials have not yet acted on many of the "calls to action" in the commission report, including creating a death registry of everyone who went missing.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Monday said that more investigation is needed.

"Sadly, this is not an exception or an isolated incident," he said during a news conference. "We're not going to hide from that. We have to acknowledge the truth. Residential schools were a reality, a tragedy that existed here, in our country, and we have to own up to it."

He said that he and his government "are committed to reconciliation. We are committed to truth."

Some Canadians have said symbolic gestures are no longer enough.

"When we think about our children, being torn from us, by the state, sent to who knows where, to be told to be 'good, White, people,' it's unimaginable to us today," said John Horgan, British Columbia's premier, in an address to the legislature on Monday. "Yet a very active part of who we are as Canadians."

Adblock test (Why?)

"from" - Google News
June 01, 2021 at 09:19AM
https://ift.tt/3i5PQxu

Canadians demand action from officials as country mourns discovery of a mass grave of children's remains - CNN
"from" - Google News
https://ift.tt/2SO3d93
Shoes Man Tutorial
Pos News Update
Meme Update
Korean Entertainment News
Japan News Update

Belgium recalls ambassador to South Korea after his wife is filmed slapping a shop assistant - CNN

opinionfrom.blogspot.com

In a statement Friday, Belgium's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it had "become clear" that Ambassador Peter Lescouhier could not "further carry out his role in a serene way."

Lescouhier's wife, Xiang Xueqiu, got into a confrontation with two shop assistants in April. Police in Seoul originally said she could not be prosecuted due to diplomatic immunity, but in its statement, Brussels said this had been waived.

"Her full cooperation with the police has been guaranteed," the statement said, adding that Xiang also "took the initiative to meet privately with the two store employees in order to apologize in person for her unacceptable behavior in the store."

"Now that Mrs. Xiang Xueqiu has personally presented her excuses and cooperated with the police, Minister of Foreign Affairs Sophie Wilmès has decided that it is in the best interest of our bilateral relations to end Ambassador Lescouhier's tenure in the Republic of Korea this summer," the statement added.

Lescouhier has been ambassador to Seoul since 2018. While both he and the embassy have apologized multiple times for the incident, it has continued to hang over Belgium's relationship with South Korea.

The altercation took place on April 9 with CCTV footage widely shared online showing Xiang arguing with the two store assistants after one of the women asked her about a jacket she was wearing, mistakenly believing she may have stolen it.

The employee, who wished to remain anonymous, told CNN earlier she couldn't understand Xiang and tried to look at the label inside the jacket. When she confronted Xiang on the street outside the store, she saw the jacket was not from the shop. She apologized and came back inside, but was pursued by Xiang.

In the video, Xiang can be seen gesticulating angrily and shoving one of the clerks before slapping her across the face. A photo shared with CNN showed the woman was left with a large red welt on her face.

"We can understand her anger but that does not justify her violent behavior," the employee said, adding that the woman who was slapped suffered ringing in her ear and "mental anguish."

CNN's James Griffiths contributed reporting from Hong Kong.

Adblock test (Why?)

"to" - Google News
June 01, 2021 at 08:54AM
https://ift.tt/34wHc3f

Belgium recalls ambassador to South Korea after his wife is filmed slapping a shop assistant - CNN
"to" - Google News
https://ift.tt/368wPko
https://ift.tt/2YvVgrG

Thoughts turn to those the pandemic hurt most for Montclair writers - Montclair Local

opinionfrom.blogspot.com

Both Gabrielle Glaser, right, and Mark Lance reflect on how the pandemic has disproportionately affected some groups — and, Glaser notes, is far from over.
(COURTESY MARK LANCE, COURTESY GABRIELLE GLASER_

By PATRICIA CONOVER
For Montclair Local

For writers as much as anyone, the coronavirus pandemic has been a time of reflection.

It’s been a time to explore why things happen, whom they affect most, who struggles and suffers, and what silver linings may surprise us.

Montclair Local asked: How has the pandemic changed the way authors work, and view the world around us? We spoke to several Montclair-area authors who described how the pandemic changed their lives.

Each week through June 17, Montclair Local will present two of their stories.

Unexpected joys, discomforting solitude

Gabrielle Glaser  

Glaser is a Montclair resident and the author of four books, including “Her Best Kept Secret,” “The Nose” and “Strangers to the Tribe.” She is a New York Times bestselling author and journalist whose work has appeared in the Times, The Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, The Atlantic and many other publications.

Her most recent book, “American Baby: A Mother, a Child, and the Shadow History of Adoption,” was originally scheduled for a June 2020 launch but came out this year. The book examines the secrets surrounding the American adoption industry through the story of one woman and the son she was forced to give up. 

Glaser, who looks forward to book signings and readings, quickly realized that the pandemic would turn the traditional way of book marketing upside down.

“My publisher decided to push the publication date up to January 2021. I was grateful,” she said. “We had to promote the book in new ways.”

Glaser understood that promoting her fourth book during a pandemic would allow a different kind of interaction with her readers. 

“I couldn’t spend a few minutes talking to a reader during a book signing, but I could reach readers that might otherwise have been missed through virtual events, podcasts and Zoom talks that reached people in places that might not typically host authors,” she said.

Still, the isolation hasn’t been easy for an author who loves engaging with the public.

“I’m energized when I interact with other people,” Glaser said. “The writing process is isolating. I’m an extrovert with an introvert job. I love connecting to readers one-on-one, so a year without that connection has been difficult.”

Writing about mental health issues for various media helped Glaser focus on the positive. It’s an area she focused on in 2020.

“I wrote a profile about a young Black doctor who completed his residency in New York City,” she said. “He worked with COVID-19 patients, contracted the virus, recovered and returned to practice medicine in his hometown in Louisiana. Many of his patients addressed questions to anybody else in the room. They simply couldn’t imagine that a young Black man was their physician.” 

For Glaser, the pandemic exposed the systemic failures of our society. 

“It’s often the most vulnerable who are the most impacted,” she said. “People who were already coping with a lack of opportunities, homelessness and inadequate health care were being diagnosed with COVID-19 at a disproportionate rate. The pandemic put so many disparities into bas relief.” 

To cope during the pandemic, she took lots of long walks.

“I’m paying more attention to the natural world,” she said. “I’m aware of the changing seasons. I’m looking at the blossoms and listening to the birds sing.” 

But Glaser doesn’t want anyone to call her newfound attention to nature “a silver lining.”

“I am concerned about my family and friends and everyone around the world who is suffering during this crisis,” she said. “For many, many people, the pandemic isn’t over.” 

Mark Lance

Lance was inspired to begin writing when his daughter was young. 

His book “The Weber House” began as a work for young adults, but now Lance says, “It’s for everyone.” He’s now working on another book, titled “1887.”

Lance, a West Orange resident and member of the Montclair Writers Support Group, has worn many hats. He worked at a printing company, and he’s taught at Borough of Manhattan Community College for the last 20 years.

“People want their lives to have meaning,” he said. “Many people around the world want to believe in something bigger than themselves. People want to believe that they’re doing the right thing more than just acting in service to themselves.”

Lance has found that writing helps him to capture his ideas before they disappear.

And the pandemic, he said, has confirmed his beliefs about how the world works.

“When I was writing my first book I remember that one of the Harry Potter books came out close to 9/11. A reviewer wrote that kids need some form of escape,” he said. “I believe that young people also need to know why bad things happen. There are no magical explanations. The answers can be found in reason. We can explain things to kids so that they understand the forces at work.” 

So, why do terrible things happen? 

“Racism, war and inequality are endemic to our way of life,” Lance said. “Our economic system is reflected in the medical situation. Hospitals in underserved communities are being closed because they’re not turning a profit.” 

His book “The Weber House” defends the Enlightenment, he said.

“The answers are found in reason,” he said.

Adblock test (Why?)

"to" - Google News
June 01, 2021 at 02:15AM
https://ift.tt/3vIf88M

Thoughts turn to those the pandemic hurt most for Montclair writers - Montclair Local
"to" - Google News
https://ift.tt/368wPko
https://ift.tt/2YvVgrG

No. 3 seed Maryland suffers a heartbreaking loss to No. 4 seed Virginia in National Championship, 17-16 - Testudo Times

opinionfrom.blogspot.com

Following a clutch finish from midfielder Anthony DeMaio, Maryland men’s lacrosse was granted one more chance to make it past regulation against Virginia.

10 seconds remained and the Terps were down by one as FOGO Luke Wierman was at the X trying to give the Terps one more possession. When he succeeded and rolled the ball towards Virginia’s cage, he was left with space to finish and used it to take a strike.

It was on target, but not on the mark the Terps needed.

The shot was slotted right between goaltender Alex Rode’s numbers and Virginia immediately captured the rebound. As the defense sent the ball to the opposite end of the field, Virginia’s celebration commenced and Maryland suffered its first loss since 2020.

Maryland had conquered just about every challenge it had dished its direction all throughout a relatively uncontested 2021 campaign, but Virginia’s combination of talent and scheme offered a challenge Maryland couldn’t bear down the stretch. It was a test that left the undefeated Terps squad scrambling for answers and, eventually, falling flat to Virginia’s balanced play, 17-16.

“I’m obviously disappointed for them because there’s a lot of hurt in the locker room,” head coach John Tillman said, “but, man, I’m thankful. I’m thankful to be with a group like that, that every day you’re just very motivated to work hard for them because they’re just doing so much that a lot of kids aren’t willing to do . . . I think if you’re a Maryland fan today you’re disappointed in the ending, but you won’t be disappointed with the effort and heart and toughness and character this group.”

Defense took center stage for the two jittery squads early in the season’s biggest contest. But even after Maryland was tested with two men down, the four-man defense prevailed and scored in the following possession.

Though Virginia’s offense was held to nothing in six-on-six situations, it took advantage of the faceoff domination it enjoyed for the game. As Maryland began to thread scores together in typical Maryland fashion, through transition or through tactical distribution, the Cavaliers took advantage of the damage they could deal, anywhere on the ground or on the ride.

With their efforts in the first half, it was enough to mark up two scores to Maryland’s four, a Maryland lead that would hold for only a minute before the Cavs displayed their versatility.

As the first quarter came to a close, Maryland’s unyielding defense grew porous in six-on-six sets and it continued for the rest of the game.

“A lot of their goals I think came down to just us not having the best fundamentals,” defenseman Brett Makar said, “we didn’t really have a clean game on our part. You really think about the one missed ground ball or the bad pick play ... Just so many plays running through my head right now and I’m sure a lot of guys feel that way.”

The mistakes added up and the Cavaliers were ready to set the tone on all facets. So they scored however they pleased and manufactured a six-goal run. After a pair of midfielder Connor Shellenberger lasers past Logan McNaney, one transition, long-stick goal by defender Jared Conners and three more scores by the Cavs, Virginia’s two-goal deficit flipped to a four-goal lead.

The Terps had a mountain to climb.

But with Virginia’s defense, the comeback ended up being their toughest. And if it weren’t for Jared Bernhardt, who scored his first two goals of the game to trim the lead to two, the trek to tie would have been impossible.

Virginia’s lanky defense held Bernhardt to a relatively quiet afternoon to his standards, but he got involved before long. After a first-quarter with two assists, Bernhardt added his only two goals in the following frame, despite being smothered by defenders. Still, his work and attacker Griffin Brown’s tightrope finish at the crease left space between the two sides, meaning Maryland would be heading into half facing a two-goal deficit for the second time all year.

But without possessions, there was little Maryland could do to stem the tide of Virginia goals. That was, until the faceoffs began going their way, thanks to Wierman, and their efforts on the ride paid off. It allowed three scores from attacker Logan Wisnauskas and an energy-boosting transition score from midfielder Roman Puglise, evening the score, 11-11, for the first time since the close of the first quarter.

It held for just one minute as Virginia continued to score with its numerous possessions and take advantage of McNaney’s ugly afternoon. A new Cavalier run began and Maryland’s title hopes officially began to fade. With Virginia’s 14th score, the Terps had conceded the most goals it had all year, and the Cavaliers beaming energy loomed large as they entered the fourth quarter down, 14-11.

In the end, the run amounted to five goals total, with attacker Matt Moore’s underhand shot four minutes into the final frame looking to be the crunch time dagger.

“We just had to keep battling,” Wisnauskas said, “Luke [Wierman] did an awesome job in the middle of the field, getting us some possessions in the second half. We just kept moving the ball kept kept moving our feet and just getting good opportunities. I feel like that’s what kind of set us up.”

With around a third of a quarter left, Maryland marked up a four-goal run of its own, featuring a variety of shots. Wisnauskas from deep, a finish from midfielder Bubba Fairman, a finish at the crease from attacker Daniel Maltz and a left-hand strike from DeMaio. Each score was a product of a faceoff victory produced by Wierman, who came off the bench to snag 14 wins, or a Virginia penalty. The Cavaliers faltered and the Terps took over, but it wasn’t enough.

After two more goals exchanged between the two sides, the clock hit zero and the Terps fell one game short of perfection.

Three things to know

1. Maryland falls to 1-5 in the championship game under John Tillman. In the last ten years, advanced to the title game in 2011, 2012, 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2021. The Terps were victorious in 2017 for the first time in the championship game since 1975, but were not able to secure the win in Monday’s matchup to bring the trophy back to College Park. The loss ended Maryland’s opportunity for its first undefeated season since 1973.

2. McNaney followed his best game with a tough afternoon. After each goal he conceded in the first-half run that Virginia used to set the tone of the contest, McNaney grew visibly frustrated. By the end of the first half, he had allowed nine scores and accumulated just six saves for a 40% save percentage. McNaney finished with 11 saves and 17 goals allowed, his worst mark of the season.

3. Jared Bernhardt was silenced. On a regular day, Bernhardt, the Tewaaraton frontrunner, averages 4.6 goals per game and 6.3 points. But against Virginia, Bernhardt had just two goals and three assists for a total of five points. By most accounts, it would have been a good game, but for a guy who scored at least five times in every tournament game before it, it was a meager performance. The Cavs played tight defense on the star attacker and doubled him every chance they got to successfully shut him down better than any other challenger this season. Connor Shellenberger, the other No. 1 on the field, ended up tallying a Bernhardt-like performance of his own with four goals and two assists.

Adblock test (Why?)

"to" - Google News
June 01, 2021 at 03:02AM
https://ift.tt/34vm90W

No. 3 seed Maryland suffers a heartbreaking loss to No. 4 seed Virginia in National Championship, 17-16 - Testudo Times
"to" - Google News
https://ift.tt/368wPko
https://ift.tt/2YvVgrG

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott vows to defund state Legislature after voting restrictions bill fails, threatening salaries - The Texas Tribune

opinionfrom.blogspot.com

Sign up for The Brief, our daily newsletter that keeps readers up to speed on the most essential Texas news.

Gov. Greg Abbott said Monday he would veto the section of the state budget that funds the Legislature, hours after a Democratic walkout killed his priority elections bill.

"No pay for those who abandon their responsibilities," Abbott said in a tweet. "Stay tuned."

Late Sunday night, enough Democrats left the House to break a quorum and block passage of the elections bill, Senate Bill 7, before a midnight deadline. Calling the bill's failure "deeply disappointing," Abbott quickly made clear he would call a special session to get it passed, though he has not specified a timeline.

Abbott's tweet referred to Article X of the budget, which pays not only lawmakers and staff but also funds legislative agencies, such as the Legislative Budget Board. Under the current budget, the legislative branch is funded through the end of August, and the budget Abbott is referring to covers the fiscal year starting Sept. 1.

Abbott has until June 20 to carry out the veto.

State lawmakers are paid $600 a month, equal to $7,200 per year. They also get a per diem of $221 for every day they are in session, including both regular and special sessions.

Democratic legislators quickly criticized Abbott's veto announcement.

"This would eliminate the branch of government that represents the people and basically create a monarchy," state Rep. Donna Howard of Austin tweeted.

SB 7 was one of Abbott's emergency items, as was another proposal that died Sunday that would have made it harder for people arrested to bond out of jail without cash.

Abbott's tweet came minutes before the House adjourned sine die, finishing its regular session. In remarks from the dais, GOP Speaker Dade Phelan acknowledged lawmakers had unfinished business.

"We will be back — when, I don't know, but we will be back," Phelan told members. "There's a lot of work to be done, but I look forward to doing it with every single one of you."

Adblock test (Why?)

"to" - Google News
June 01, 2021 at 02:20AM
https://ift.tt/3uAW3nS

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott vows to defund state Legislature after voting restrictions bill fails, threatening salaries - The Texas Tribune
"to" - Google News
https://ift.tt/368wPko
https://ift.tt/2YvVgrG

Memorial Day MLB standings check - Surprises, disappointments and who will rule from here - ESPN

7:00 AM ET

• Multiple Contributors

It's Memorial Day, which means one extra little thing for MLB fans: You're now officially free to look at the MLB standings.

The old adage among baseball fans is that you should avoid checking the standings until Memorial Day. Allowing two months of the season to play out first gives time for small sample-size blips for enough games to add meaning to what we see in every division. And while where your team sits in the standings today may not serve as a guarantee to where it will finish the season, there is some truth to the concept: According to Elias Sports Bureau, 59% of teams (84 of 143) that were in sole possession of first place on the morning of June 1 have gone on to win their division in the wild-card era (since 1995 and excluding 2020).

With that in mind, we asked ESPN MLB experts Bradford Doolittle, Buster Olney and David Schoenfield to take a good look at the standings right now to help us make sense of where things stand in the 2021 MLB season so far.

What's the first thing that jumps out at you when you look at the standings right now?

Olney: The NL East -- the division that generally was thought to be the best and most competitive -- is an absolute mess. It looks like a NASCAR race after a 25-car pileup in Lap 15, and it appears a significant chunk of time will be required for the teams to sort through their respective issues, through injuries, through problem-solving regarding lineup and roster holes.

Doolittle: The division could hardly be more clustered. You can't help but notice that it's the Marlins who have generally held the best run differential in the division even though Starling Marte has been out for weeks and Sixto Sanchez has missed the entire campaign. Losing Brian Anderson hurts, but Miami still appears to be on a trajectory of getting healthier, while the supposed top four in the NL East do not.

2 Related

Schoenfield: Yeah, the NL East stands out, especially now that the Dodgers are starting to roll again after going through that 4-14 stretch. At one point a few days ago the Mets had 16 players on the injured list. They've been running a lineup that might not fare well in Triple-A, especially given Francisco Lindor's early struggles at the plate. The rest of the division should be kicking themselves that they didn't create a little separation from the Mets under these circumstances -- except, of course, they've all had some significant injuries as well. Could we be headed to our first sub-.500 division champion? (Not including the 1994 AL West, when all four teams were under .500 when the strike ended the season in August.)

Which team is headed for a big rise or drop in the standings in the future?

Doolittle: I'll give two related teams: I think Cleveland and Minnesota will eventually flip spots in the AL Central. Cleveland has too many holes in its lineup, and the rotation hasn't been that great, either. Too much of the weight there is carried by Jose Ramirez and the bullpen. Also: So far, Cleveland has played one of MLB's easiest schedules. Meanwhile, the Twins have way too much talent and depth to have played as poorly as they have over the last few weeks. They are already snapping back into form.

David Berding-USA TODAY Sports

Schoenfield: I agree with Brad. I think the Twins can still mimic the 2019 Nationals, a team that was 19-31 before turning things out, winning a wild card and then running the table in the postseason. They need to figure out the closer situation, maybe trading for Seattle's Kendall Graveman or the Rangers' Ian Kennedy. I also wonder a bit about the Brewers. They're hovering around .500 even though Brandon Woodruff, Corbin Burnes and Freddy Peralta entered the weekend with a combined 2.03 ERA. You have to expect SOME regression there from that outstanding trio. I just don't know if they have enough offense, even if Christian Yelich overcomes his back problems and starts slugging again. The pitching is too good for a complete free fall, but the Cardinals and Cubs may start pulling away.

Olney: This is like plucking low-hanging fruit, but the Dodgers will continue to gather momentum, with Cody Bellinger and others returning from the injured list, and with whomever L.A. adds leading up to the trade deadline.

Which team's place in the standings right now is the most disappointing?

Olney: It's got to be the Angels, right? Shohei Ohtani has been the most valuable player in the sport this year with the value he's providing. Before Mike Trout got hurt, he was having the best season of his career. Yet the Angels still are apparently not close to contending. The starting pitching around Ohtani has been shockingly bad.

Doolittle: Since I've already touched on the Twins, I'll go with the Angels. You figure that one of these seasons they'd at least run into a luck of good pitching, but maybe not. It's a shame, because a postseason that featured Mike Trout and Shohei Ohtani would be really fun to see.

Schoenfield: The Twins and Angels are the answer here. You can throw in the entire NL East if you want, but I'll mention the Royals. After starting 14-7, there was hope that this team could challenge the AL Central, but they quickly squandered that hot start with an 11-game losing streak. The thing is, this isn't really a young team. Using Baseball-Reference's average age, which is weighted for playing time, the Royals have the fourth-oldest lineup in the majors. They are younger on the pitching side -- 10th -- but the young rotation hasn't stepped up as of yet. In a sense, this is a team that is built to win now with 30-somethings Salvador Perez, Carlos Santana and Whit Merrifield carrying the offense, but right now the Royals look like a .500 team at best.

Which team's place in the standings is the biggest surprise in a good way?

Doolittle: My projection system didn't love the Giants, yet when I commented on them in the preseason, I was always careful to mention that they were a likely candidate to outplay the forecasts. It's just a really well run club with a smart manager and a core of players who have been a part of a lot of winning. Can they keep hanging with the Padres and Dodgers? That's a hard road, but so far, the Giants have been on a great ride.

Catch the 2021 MLB season on ESPN and the ESPN App.

Monday, May 31
Twins-Orioles, 1 ET on ESPN
Red Sox-Astros, 4 ET on ESPN
Pirates-Royals, 8 ET on ESPN

Wednesday, June 2
Red Sox-Astros, 8 ET on ESPN

Olney: The Red Sox. Chaim Bloom spent last year building the infrastructure within the organization's talent, and between that progress and the return of Alex Cora as manager, Boston has stepped back into the AL East race. Now the question will be how much ownership will bet on the team's playoff chances and is willing to spend before the trade deadline.

Schoenfield: I might go with the Mets here, actually. Let's see: Lindor struggling, Dom Smith struggling, James McCann struggling -- and those are the three hitters who have been healthy. Jacob deGrom missed a few starts. Carlos Carrasco hasn't pitched yet, and Taijuan Walker was pitching great before landing on the IL. David Peterson and Joey Lucchesi are a combined 2-7. Cameron Maybin went 0-for-26, and Michael Conforto has two home runs. And yet, they're in first place. Did we mention the NL East is bad?

Which team should go into sell mode between now and the trade deadline?

Olney: The Angels absolutely should be sellers, given how many players have free agency looming -- and they should be thinking right now about a looming contract quandary. It's very difficult for big-market teams to carry three $30 million-a-year deals. Mike Trout will be an Angel for life, of course, and Anthony Rendon is also making huge dollars. With Shohei Ohtani now a couple of years from free agency, it's possible he could be a $30 million-a-year player -- and if he continues to play this well, with this much attention, the Angels are going to want to keep him. So the team should be thinking about proactively looking for opportunities to move as much of Rendon's contract as possible to put it in a better position to retain Ohtani.

Doolittle: The Rockies had better be lining up the suitors for Trevor Story, because that team isn't going anywhere. They are winning at a .143 clip on the road and have darn near been doubled up in run differential away from home. It's time to tear this thing down to the studs and have another go at it with a fresh front office.

Schoenfield: It will be interesting to see what Farhan Zaidi ultimately decides to do with the Giants. Even if they fall six or seven games behind the Dodgers and Padres, the second wild-card could still be in play. Kevin Gausman, a pending free agent, would be one of the most attractive pitchers on the market if he's made available -- but he's also a pitcher capable of winning that wild-card game.

Ranking Shohei Ohtani's top 5 hits -- and pitches -- of the 2021 MLB season.

Alden Gonzalez

Jerry Dipoto, on the other hand, has an easier decision. The Mariners aren't good, can't hit and are still building up. Kendall Graveman hasn't allowed a run and would be a late-game option for contenders. Mitch Haniger is having an outstanding season, and while he's under team control for another season, Jarred Kelenic is in the majors, and Julio Rodriguez could arrive next season. Given the need for offense across the league, Haniger should bring back a nice prospect or two in return (but could also help the team next year).

Who will finish the season with the most wins in the AL, and how many?

Doolittle: The Rays will top the league with 96 wins. Everyone else has injuries or roster holes to steer around, while Tampa Bay is already humming along with all sorts of replacement parts at the ready if any one cog breaks down.

Olney: The Rays, 98 victories.

Schoenfield: The Rays are a damn miracle, aren't they? They just find a way. But I'm going with the White Sox with ... 95 wins. An easier division than the AL East, a strong rotation and bullpen that should prevent any extended losing stretches and a good lineup even without Eloy Jimenez and Luis Robert. Plus, they've only played the Tigers three times so far, so that's 16 more games against them.

Who will finish the season with the most wins in the NL, and how many?

Doolittle: The Dodgers will win 104 games, two more than the Padres. The presence of the latter accounts for the win total of the former. These teams will push each other all season to avoid the wild-card game, and it'll be glorious.

Two months from draft day, it's time for our first look at how every first-round selection will play out.

Kiley McDaniel's Mock Draft 1.0

Olney: The Dodgers are due for a long winning streak, and they'll finish with 102 wins.

Schoenfield: They won't get to my 110 preseason prediction, but I'll also go with the Dodgers at 102. Finishing one game ahead of the 101-win Padres.

Which team will lose the most games and get next year's No. 1 overall draft pick?

Olney: The Orioles, who will be beaten up the rest of this season by four AL East organizations that are actually trying to win.

Doolittle: The Orioles have the early lead, and they've proved over the past few years that there is no useful veteran that they aren't willing to unload if it'll net them a few more ticks under the "L" column.

Schoenfield: This will be one of the most intriguing storylines the final two months because super-prospect Elijah Green is the jewel of the 2022 draft, a high school outfielder who could end up as the top amateur draft prospect since Bryce Harper.

This looks like a heated four-team race between the Orioles, Tigers, Pirates and Rockies. The Orioles have the "advantage" of playing in a division with four other good teams. The Rockies still have 13 games against the Padres and 12 against the Dodgers and will probably trade Story right after the All-Star Game (which, remember, is now in Denver this year). The Pirates are terrible. The Tigers at least have a little pitching. I'll go with the Orioles as well, although John Means may single-handedly keep them the worst record.

Adblock test (Why?)

"from" - Google News
May 31, 2021 at 05:48PM
https://ift.tt/3c2rvEP

Memorial Day MLB standings check - Surprises, disappointments and who will rule from here - ESPN
"from" - Google News
https://ift.tt/2SO3d93
Shoes Man Tutorial
Pos News Update
Meme Update
Korean Entertainment News
Japan News Update

What's Blocking Bill That Would Reform Military Justice System - NPR

opinionfrom.blogspot.com

Enlarge this image

For years, New York Democratic Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (left) has sought approval of her bill to reform the military's criminal justice system. This year, Gillibrand joined forces with Iowa Republican Sen. Joni Ernst, seen here, a sexual assault survivor herself before she became a combat company commander. Stefani Reynolds/Getty Images

Stefani Reynolds/Getty Images

For three straight nights, New York Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand took to the Senate floor to ask for quick approval of her bill to reform the military's criminal justice system.

After eight years of trying, the Democrat and longtime member of the Senate Armed Services Committee finally has the votes needed to approve the transformative legislation in the upper chamber. The bill has more than 60 cosponsors.

But night after night, her Democratic colleague who chairs the powerful committee, Rhode Island Sen. Jack Reed, said no. "Reserving my right to object," he said on their last night of openly sparring on the chamber floor.

It's the latest chapter in a battle that has been years in the making.

Reed is among a cadre of influential lawmakers who are still not on board with all facets of the proposal, even as its support grows elsewhere.

In the military, commanders who are not lawyers get to choose which serious criminal cases go to trial. That means leaders who are pilots, infantry officers and hold other positions can be tasked with making weighty legal decisions with little to no experience.

Gillibrand and supporters of her measure say that system is no longer working. They want to see those cases pulled from the chain of command and into the hands of experienced military prosecutors.

They point to Pentagon reports showing cases of sexual assaults remain at record highs, while prosecution and conviction rates are falling.

For example, reports of these crimes were 37% higher in 2019, when compared with two years prior. That's while prosecution and conviction rates for related cases were down 7% since Gillibrand's legislation was first introduced.

Reed recently announced that after longtime opposition to the measure, he's on board when it comes to pulling sex-related crimes away from commanders. But he hasn't signed on to a broader plan to make that also apply to other serious crimes such as murder, manslaughter and child pornography.

Reed says the bill should go through the regular order of the committee process, and that could get buy-in from other holdouts. The plan could get taken up in committee later this summer when the panel considers the annual defense bill.

"I believe that the committee must start from a base that reflects the broadest consensus possible among our members," Reed said.

Enlarge this image

Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I., chairs the Senate Armed Services Committee. Samuel Corum/Pool/Getty Images

Samuel Corum/Pool/Getty Images

Among others who are still not on board, Reed has backup from the top Republican on the Armed Services Committee, Oklahoma Sen. Jim Inhofe.

"When it comes to important issues like this, we should not rush," Inhofe said in response to Gillibrand's attempts to pass the legislation on the floor.

There's recent momentum behind Gillibrand's measure.

Earlier this month, Gen. Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said he was dropping his opposition to the plan. And a panel created by Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin also agreed recently that at least sexual assault cases should be pulled from the chain of command.

Gillibrand, who has served on the Armed Services Committee for the past decade, has sponsored the legislation since 2013.

"I asked for a vote in 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, and I was denied every single time," Gillibrand said on the Senate floor recently.

But this year, Gillibrand joined forces with Iowa Republican Sen. Joni Ernst, a sexual assault survivor herself before she became a combat company commander.

"It is time we take new action to stop these attacks to bring justice for the victims and to prevent these actions going forward," Ernst said in defending Gillibrand's recent attempts to get the plan passed quickly.

A former holdout on the bill, Ernst is fed up with the military's climbing criminal caseloads. "I was torn," she said. "But we have not seen improvement."

Some skeptics have said other serious crimes such as murder and manslaughter should be kept in the chain of command, but supporters of this legislation say that would be a move to water it down.

"Whether it's in the military or whether it's outside the military, a crime is a crime, and it should be punished," said Iowa GOP Sen. Chuck Grassley, who has cosponsored the bill with Gillibrand since it was first introduced in 2013.

Supporters also argue that the legislation protects both victim and defendant rights alike. That includes, for example, a servicemember facing a serious crime worried about their rights as a defendant when they already have an acrimonious relationship with their current commander.

Backers of the plan like Grassley say the time is right for the reforms.

"We've been waiting almost a decade, there's no need to wait any longer," he said.

The bill has made for some strange bedfellows, drawing cosponsors from Vermont independent Bernie Sanders and Massachusetts Democrat Elizabeth Warren to Republicans Ted Cruz of Texas and Rand Paul of Kentucky.

Despite the new hurdles, Gillibrand has signaled she's nowhere near giving up, and will try on the Senate floor again.

"How long must our servicemembers wait for real reform? How long must they wait for a criminal justice system that is worthy of their sacrifice?" Gillibrand asked. "There is no persuasive argument for the need to allow more time to consider this legislation in committee. The committee has had nearly a decade to consider it."

Adblock test (Why?)

"to" - Google News
May 31, 2021 at 04:00PM
https://ift.tt/3fArryD

What's Blocking Bill That Would Reform Military Justice System - NPR
"to" - Google News
https://ift.tt/368wPko
https://ift.tt/2YvVgrG

China allows couples to have three children - BBC News

opinionfrom.blogspot.com

EPA

China has announced that it will allow couples to have up to three children, after census data showed a steep decline in birth rates.

China scrapped its decades-old one-child policy in 2016, replacing it with a two-child limit which has failed to lead to a sustained upsurge in births.

The cost of raising children in cities has deterred many Chinese couples.

The latest move was approved by President Xi Jinping at a meeting of top Communist Party officials.

It will come with "supportive measures, which will be conducive to improving our country's population structure, fulfilling the country's strategy of actively coping with an ageing population and maintaining the advantage, endowment of human resources", according to Xinhua news agency.

But human rights organisation Amnesty International said the policy, like its predecessors, was still a violation of sexual and reproductive rights.

"Governments have no business regulating how many children people have. Rather than 'optimising' its birth policy, China should instead respect people's life choices and end any invasive and punitive controls over people's family planning decisions," said the group's China team head, Joshua Rosenzweig.

• Why don't Chinese women want more babies?
• The Chinese family in five charts

Also, some experts were sceptical of the impact.

"If relaxing the birth policy was effective, the current two-child policy should have proven to be effective too," Hao Zhou, a senior economist at Commerzbank, told Reuters news agency.

"But who wants to have three kids? Young people could have two kids at most. The fundamental issue is living costs are too high and life pressures are too huge."

On a rainy, bleak day in Beijing I was out buying a coffee when the news broke.

People started looking down at their phones as they beeped and whirred with the headline flashing across their screens - China to allow couples to have three children.

This is big news in a country which didn't start suddenly producing more babies when the one-child policy eased off to two.

In fact, many are asking how a three-child policy might mean more children when the two-child version didn't and why birth restrictions have remained here at all given the demographic trend.

Very good questions.

One thought is that, among those prepared to have two children, at least some parents will have three.

However, I have interviewed many young Chinese couples about this subject and it is hard to find those who want bigger families these days.

Generations of Chinese people have lived without siblings and are used to small families - affluence has meant less need for multiple children to become family-supporting workers, and young professionals say they'd rather give one child more advantages than spread their income among several kids.

What did the census say?

The census, released this month, showed that around 12 million babies were born last year - a significant decrease from the 18 million in 2016, and the lowest number of births recorded since the 1960s.

The census was conducted in late 2020 - some seven million census takers had gone door to door to collect information from households.

Given the sheer number of people surveyed, it is considered the most comprehensive resource on China's population, which is important for future planning.

It was widely expected after the census data results were released that China would relax its family policy rules.

'Too many big pressures'

By Kerry Allen, China Media Analyst

China's leading media are giving a lot of fanfare to the "three-child policy".

Newspaper People's Daily, broadcaster CCTV and news agency Xinhua are all posting happy cartoon images of children today on their social media pages and saying that the new policy has "arrived".

It is already the top talking point on popular social network Sina Weibo - posts mentioning the new policy have already racked up tens of thousands of views, and hundreds of thousands of comments.

More than 180,000 users have commented on Xinhua's upbeat post, and the ones with the most likes do not look upon the policy kindly.

"There are too many big pressures in life at the moment," one user says, "Young people are not willing to have kids."

Many talk about modern day "workplace dilemmas" for people leaving on maternity/paternity leave and there not being even "the most basic reproductive benefits".

And with a shrinking labour market, young Chinese people today accept that they have to work longer hours. Overtime and overwork are endemic.

More women meanwhile are choosing to pursue further education and employment, rather than settle down early to start a family.

What were China's previous policies?

The government's move in 2016 to allow couples to have two children failed to reverse the country's falling birth rate despite a two-year increase immediately afterwards.

Yue Su, principal economist from The Economist Intelligence Unit, said: "While the second-child policy had a positive impact on the birth rate, it proved short-term in nature."

China's population trends have over the years been largely shaped by the one-child policy, which was introduced in 1979 to slow population growth.

Families that violated the rules faced fines, loss of employment and sometimes forced abortions.

The one-child policy also led to a severe gender imbalance in the country. The traditional preference for male children led to large numbers of girls being abandoned or placed in orphanages, or cases of sex-selective abortions or even female infanticide.

"This poses problems for the marriage market, especially for men with less socioeconomic resources," Dr Mu Zheng, from the National University of Singapore's sociology department, said.

Can China lift birth restrictions entirely?

Ahead of China's latest census, experts had speculated that birth restrictions might be lifted entirely - though it appears as though China is treading cautiously.

But others said that such a move could potentially lead to "other problems" - pointing out the huge disparity between city dwellers and rural people.

As much as women living in expensive cities such as Beijing and Shanghai may wish to delay or avoid childbirth, those in the countryside are likely to still follow tradition and want large families, they say.

"If we free up policy, people in the countryside could be more willing to give birth than those in the cities, and there could be other problems," a policy insider had earlier told Reuters, noting that it could lead to poverty and employment pressures among rural families.

Experts had warned that any impact on China's population, such as a decline, could have a vast effect on other parts of the world.

Dr Yi Fuxian, a scientist at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, said: "China's economy has grown very quickly, and many industries in the world rely on China. The scope of the impact of a population decline would be very wide."

Adblock test (Why?)

"to" - Google News
May 31, 2021 at 08:57PM
https://ift.tt/2RcpgI8

China allows couples to have three children - BBC News
"to" - Google News
https://ift.tt/368wPko
https://ift.tt/2YvVgrG