Paris
Spanish midfielders Rodri and Aitana Bonmatí were honored as the best men’s and women’s soccer players at this year’s Ballon d’Or awards ceremony.
Rodri won his first Ballon d’Or — an award presented by the magazine France Football since 1956 — following his fourth Premier League title with Manchester City and a European Championship victory with the Spanish national team.
Brazilian forward Vinícius Júnior, a frontrunner for the award, boycotted the event alongside his teammates and coach Carlo Ancelotti, who won the men’s coach of the year award. Vinícius’ management staff told Reuters that his outspokenness against the racism he faces in Spain may have led to another player winning the award. Real Madrid, his team and the recipient of the men’s team of the year award, supported his decision, along with Brazilian journalists and political figures.
“I waited all year for Vini Jr. to be deservedly recognised as the best player in the world and now they come to tell me that the Ballon d’Or is not for him?” said former captain of Brazil’s women’s national team Marta in an Instagram video.
Bonmatí won the Ballon d’Or Féminin, which has recognized the best women’s player since 2018, for the second consecutive year. She helped FC Barcelona win an unprecedented four trophies: its fifth Spanish league title, sixth Spanish Cup, fourth Spanish Super Cup and third Women’s Champions League.
Tulsa
On Sunday, the Tulsa Golden Hurricane staged a comeback from a 28-point halftime deficit to secure a 46-45 victory over the University of Texas at San Antonio.
The home win improved the University of Tulsa’s record to three wins and five losses in the American Athletic Conference of NCAA Division I. Tulsa had previously faced UTSA once, a 34-15 loss in 2013.
Trailing 42-17 late in the third quarter, backup quarterback Cooper Legas made his second touchdown of the game after a 74-yard pass to wide receiver Kamdyn Benjamin. Legas went on to score three more touchdowns in the second half, earning him recognition as The Associated Press national player of the week on Monday.
“I’ve come off the bench a lot in my career,” Legas told Inside Tulsa Sports. “It’s really cool when you get an opportunity like that to come back from such a big deficit.”
The Golden Hurricane is set to face the University of Alabama at Birmingham this Saturday, aiming to secure its 36th conference championship, the first since 2012.
Sydney
15-year-old Caoimhe Bray made history as the youngest cricket player to compete in the Women’s Big Bash League during the Sydney Sixers’ 179-run victory against the Melbourne Renegades.
In her Sunday debut, Bray bowled out Barbadian cricketer Deandra Dottin in her first and only WBBL over. She later secured her team’s win by scoring 12 runs off five balls, including a four-run boundary shot.
“I might go visit an ice cream shop or something like that tonight with mum and dad,” Bray told Cricket Australia.
Bray also plays soccer as a goalkeeper and plans to continue playing both sports, according to Sky Sports. She made her debut for the Junior Matildas — the Australian under-17 national team — earlier this year at the AFC Under 17 Women’s Asia Cup in Indonesia.
“I still don’t know which one I will choose,” Bray said, according to The Guardian. “I know that will eventually have to come around, but hopefully not too soon.”
Despite living in Newcastle, Bray will complete her school exams online while staying in Sydney with her team. The Sixers will play eight games this month, hoping to win their fourth championship title.
Contact Krish Dev at [email protected].
