Category Archives: Deportes

Tomas Martin Etcheverry Defeats Cameron Norrie to Reach Barcelona Open Semifinals

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Tomas Martin Etcheverry is one step closer to a Spanish title…

The 24-year-old Argentine professional tennis player defeated Cameron Norrie to advance to the Barcelona Open semifinals.

Etcheverry, ranked No. 30 in the workd, stormed through two tiebreakers to win 7-6 (7-4) 7-6 (7-1).

Norrie and Etcheverry went head-to-head for only the second time in their careers during Friday’s match.

Their only previous encounter came last February in Buenos Aires, where Norrie prevailed 5-7, 6-0, 6-3–also in the quarterfinals.

But Etcheverry has made significant improvements in his game over the past 14 months. Along with being up to No. 30 in the world, he made a run to the French Open quarterfinals last spring.

Proir to knocking out Norrie, Etcheverry ousted Nick Hardt and Brandon Nakashima.

Norwegian third seed Casper Ruud, who claimed a straightforward 6-4 6-3 win over Italy’s Matteo Arnaldi, awaits Etcheverry.

Chicago Sky Select Kamilla Cardoso with No. 3 Overall Pick in 2024 WNBA Draft

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The Sky’s the limit for Kamilla Cardoso, who is officially going pro.

The 22-year-old Brazilian college basketball star, who was named the Most Outstanding Player of the NCAA Women’s Tournament after leading the South Carolina Gamecocks to the national championship, was selected No. 3 overall by the Chicago Sky in the 2024 WNBA draft on Monday night at the Brooklyn Academy of Music.

Kamilla CardosoThe draft was held with fans for the first time since the 2014-16 iterations of the event. Tickets for 1,000 spectators sold out within 15 minutes of them going on sale a few months ago.

Cardoso had a busy week, helping the Gamecocks win the national championship to complete an undefeated season.

She took part in the team’s championship parade on Sunday before traveling to New York.

But Cardoso wasn’t the only Latina player to be drafted to the WBNA…

Celeste Taylor, of Colombian and Puerto Rican descent, was selected by the Indiana Fever in as the No. 3 pick in the second round.

Esmery Martinez, who played for Arizona, became the first-ever Dominican player drafted into the WNBA when the New York Liberty drafted her as the No. 5 pick in the second round.

Meanwhile, her teammate at Arizona, Spaniard Helena Pueyo, was chosen by the Connecticut Sun as the No. 10 pick in the second round.

The Indiana Fever picked Puerto Rican basketball standout Leilani Correa, who played for Florida, as the No. 3 pick in the third round.

Alex Pereira Retains UFC Light Heavyweight Title with First Round Knockout of Jamahal Hill

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Alex Pereira is keeping his title…

The 36-year-old Brazilian professional mixed martial artist and former kickboxer knocked out former champ Jamahal Hill on Saturday to retain the UFC light heavyweight title in the main event of UFC 300 — one of the biggest events in promotion history — at T-Mobile Arena.

Alex Pereira, The finish came at 3 minutes, 14 seconds of the first round after one of Pereira’s trademark left hooks.

The finish will live on highlight reels forever.

Hill kicked Pereira low, prompting referee Herb Dean to step in and try to pause the fight. Pereira held up his right hand, stopping the official from intervening. Pereira then blasted Hill with the left hook and followed with violent punches on the ground.

“I was gauging the distance and timing,” Pereira said through an interpreter. “Everything went perfect.”

Pereira said the groin kick hurt him a little, but he was just starting to figure out that distance and didn’t want to have to reset if the bout was paused. UFC CEO Dana White lauded Pereira not only for the performance but also the style points he gained for how it ended.

“He got hit in the groin,” White said. “He was like, ‘Nuh uh,’ [to Dean] and then knocks [Hill] out. … That was incredibly gangster.”

Pereira landed 24 of 30 significant strikes, according to ESPN Stats & Information.

He has landed 63% of his significant strikes in UFC, which is the fourth-best mark in the promotion’s history. Pereira has eight knockouts in 10 career wins.

Hill relinquished the title last summer after rupturing his left Achilles tendon in a pickup basketball game. Pereira won the vacant belt by knocking out former champ Jiří Procházka in November at UFC 295 in New York.

Coming in, ESPN had Pereira ranked No. 3 in its pound-for-pound rankings.

Afterward, Pereira said he wanted to get right back in the Octagon and fight at UFC 301 on May 4 in his native Brazil. Pereira said he would like to do so at heavyweight, which would be his third weight class in UFC.

“I want this fight,” Pereira said. “I’m not hurt. Nothing happened.”

That wasn’t completely true. White said Pereira suffered a broken toe while training for the fight.

“I had to just push through,” Pereira said.

White said Pereira should probably pump the brakes on a move up in weight.

“The heavyweight division is nasty,” White said. “I don’t know if that’s the right move for him. He looked damn good tonight in the division he’s in.”

Pereira (10-2) is the quickest fighter to win two UFC titles in two divisions (seven fights). The Connecticut resident knocked out Israel Adesanya to win the UFC middleweight title in 2022 before dropping the title back to Adesanya last year.

Pereira is a former two-division champion in Glory Kickboxing and a Hall of Famer in that promotion.

Hill (12-1, 1 NC) had won four straight coming in. The Chicago native, who fights out of Michigan, beat Glover Teixeira, Pereira’s coach and training partner, to win the UFC light heavyweight title at UFC 283 in January 2023. Hill, 32, was the first Dana White’s Contender Series alum to win a UFC championship.

“I don’t let this belt go to my head,” Pereira said. “I have to go in here and win this belt every time to be champion.”

Nate Diaz Protégé Chris Avila to Fight Former UFC Champion Anthony Pettis in Boxing Match

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Chris Avila is preparing to battle a former UFC champion in the boxing ring…

The 31-year-old mixed martial artist and Nate Diaz protégé will battle Anthony Pettis, once a UFC lightweight titleholder, on the undercard of Diaz vs. Jorge Masvidal later this summer.

Chris AvilaThe event will take place on June 1 at The Forum in Inglewood, California, per ESPN. The bout is contracted for six rounds at 175 pounds.

Pettis, 37, made his pro boxing debut in April 2023, a majority decision victory over boxing legend Roy Jones Jr. The Milwaukee native is coming off a unanimous decision win over fellow former UFC lightweight champion Benson Henderson at Karate Combat in December 2023. Pettis, who last fought in MMA for PFL in 2022, held the UFC lightweight belt from 2013 to 2015.

Avila, 31, is 5-1 as a pro boxer and has had success in the influencer space of the genre. The Stockton, California, native owns boxing wins over MMA fighters Jeremy Stephens and Anthony Taylor, as well as influencers Paul Bamba and Mikhail “Dr. Mike” Varshavski. Avila is a longtime training partner of Diaz’s out of Nick Diaz Academy.

Diaz and Masvidal fought for the UFC’s symbolic BMF in 2019 at New York’s Madison Square Garden, with Masvidal winning via TKO (doctor’s stoppage) due to a Diaz cut. The two have harbored bad blood since before that bout.

Kamilla Cardoso Named Most Outstanding Player Following NCAA Women’s Tournament Performance

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Kamilla Cardoso has ended an outstanding NCAA women’s tournament and her college career with a special honor.

After leading the South Carolina Gamecocks to an 87-85 win over the Iowa Hawkeyes to help her team become the10th team to ever finish a season undefeated while giving the team its third NCAA championship in program history, the 22-year-old Brazilian college basketball star was awarded the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player award.

Kamilla Cardoso, The All-America player helped create a wonderful ending to a unique collegiate career with 15 points and 17 rebounds.

The Montes Claros, Brazil native wasn’t given anything during her time at South Carolina, it was earned.

The Gamecocks weren’t the most respected undefeated team, but people knew about how good this team was, and what the 6-foot-7 Cardoso brought to the game.

“They’ve got so many really good shooters that you can’t sit down on (Kamilla) Cardoso and collapse on her, because they got a lot of people that can knock down threes around her,” NC State coach Wes Moore said ahead of the Final Four. “Even as great a player as (Cardoso) is, you’ve also got to be concerned about the others.”

Cardoso dominated NC State with 22 points and 11 boards while making 10 of her 12 field goal attempts.

Kamilla Cardoso,Next up was Iowa’s coach Lisa Bluder, who spoke on how good Cardoso had been the day before the championship game.

“You know, Kamilla (Cardoso)’s been playing so well, (she) just runs the floor beautifully, rebounds incredibly, (and is) shooting the ball well,” Bluder said. “One person can’t stop her. There’s no way. I don’t know if two or three can stop her, to be quite honest. So I’m not going to give that up just to one person to have to try to handle that.”

But no one better than her own coach, Dawn Staley, had spoken on the second-half adjustment made in the semifinal win over NC State and alluded to her team needing to give Cardoso the ball if they are unsure of their next decision.

“If you want to score, have a plan. If you don’t, pass the ball. Give it to Kamilla, give her an easy look, knock down a 3 here or there when you’re open — very, very simple,” Staley said.

Her teammates would do so early on Sunday against Iowa, but it wasn’t gelling at first.

Cardoso’s performance in the first quarter could’ve been better. She still gave the rebounding presence needed with six rebounds in the period, but missed layups she’d usually make, and missed four of her first six field goal attempts.

It also didn’t help that Iowa went on a 10-0 run to start the game. And Caitlin Clark had already gotten going with 18 of her team’s 27 points in the period, breaking her own record for most points in a quarter in a national championship game.

If the Gamecocks were to finish on top, Cardoso had to mark her territory in the paint. And for the rest of the game, she did.

The Gamecocks started the second period on a 7-0 run, capped off by Cardoso completing a three-point play after she banked in the layup while fouled by Hannah Stuelke.

Cardoso grabbed seven points and made one block in the quarter, only missing one of her four field goal attempts.

“I think (I was) just trying to get the post-ups, and my teammates (were) finding me and giving me the ball, even though I didn’t shoot really good tonight,” Cardoso said. “I think just by — we just move the ball really good, and they were able to find me while I was open.”

The better Cardoso played, the better the Gamecocks played in holding the game in a chokehold.

She helped put the game away in the fourth, from blocking Addison O’Grady layup when Iowa tried to make a late game push, to out-rebounding (seven) Iowa’s whole team (four) in the last quarter.

With a little over 2:30 left in the game, Cardoso was fighting for position with O’Grady down low. Raven Johnson’s shot was a miss, and Cardoso’s position moved O’Grady back, and after Iowa’s Sydney Affolter jumped to fight for the ball with Cardoso, she fell to the ground and Cardoso simply banked in the layup to put the Gamecocks up eight.

Cardoso finished the game with 15 points, 17 rebounds and three blocks.

“It was amazing. I feel like I just wanted to get out there in this tournament and just play really well for my teammates, for my coaches, and to win the championship,” Cardoso said. “So I think that’s what I did.”

What makes this win for Cardoso even sweeter was her grind to becoming the Gamecocks’ best player. All three seniors on the roster this year were transfers, and Cardoso was the only returning player.

After winning Atlantic Coast Conference co-Defensive Player of the Year during her freshman year at Syracuse, Cardoso decided to transfer to South Carolina ahead of the 2021-22 season.

She had started 23 games for the Orange as a freshman and was starting from scratch as she competed with South Carolina’s “Freshies” class.

The “Freshies” were five players who came in together in 2019 and complied a record of 129-8 going into the 2023 Final Four. This included three of the 2023 WNBA Draft’s top 10 picks, featuring the No. 1 overall selection in Aliyah Boston.

Despite being the tallest player on the roster since her arrival, she stayed the path and waited her turn, never starting a game for the Gamecocks until her senior year.

Last season as a junior she averaged 9.8 points and 8.5 boards in 18.8 minutes a game, and of course played in the Gamecocks’ Final Four loss to Iowa.

Fast forward to her senior year and coach Staley gave the native Brazilian a chance to lead this team.

“I feel like, especially me, I’m international, and I don’t have my family here (in America). She’s just like a family for me, a family away from home, and I’m just so thankful to have her as a coach,” Cardoso said while crying.

Cardoso led the team this season in points (14.4) and rebounds (9.7) per game, along with tying for 13th in the nation in blocks (2.5). She averaged 18.5 points, 14.0 boards and 2.5 blocks in the Final Four games.

But most importantly, she capped off a unique college career with a second national championship and a Most Outstanding Player award, and cemented herself as one of the best players ever to come out of the South Carolina program.

Kamilla Cardoso Helps Lead South Carolina Gamecocks to NCAA Women’s Tournament Title

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Kamilla Cardoso is officially ending her college basketball career with a bang.

The 22-year-old Brazilian college basketball player helped her South Carolina Gamecocks vanquish the Iowa Hawkeyes on Sunday 87-75 in the NCAA women’s tournament title game to become the 10th team in Division I history to complete an undefeated season (38-0), joining UConn (six times), Baylor (2011-12), Tennessee (1997-98) and Texas (1985-86) as the only programs to achieve such a feat.

Kamilla CardosoThe emotional win came a year after a stunning Final Four defeat that ended what could’ve been a perfect season and national championship run.

“We’re unbeatable,” junior Bree Hall said. “That’s the statement that was made tonight.”

After graduating 2023 No. 1 WNBA draft pick Aliyah Boston and four other starters from last year, South Carolina became the first team since at least 2000 to win a title after returning none of its primary starters from a team that reached the Final Four the previous season.

“They made history,” coach Dawn Staley, overcome with emotion, told ESPN‘s Holly Rowe. “They etched their names in the history books when this is the unlikeliest group to do it.

“When [God] closes a door, he opens up a door that’s giving you unimaginable success.”

With its third national title in seven tournaments and second in three seasons — including a 109-3 record in that span — South Carolina tied Baylor and Stanford for the third-most championships ever and cemented its status as women’s college basketball’s newest dynasty, one that won’t be going anywhere anytime soon. Staley — a former two-time Player of the Year who played in three Final Fours but missed out on a championship herself — became the fifth head coach to win at least three national titles.

To clinch history, the Gamecocks defeated the team that ended their season last year in Iowa and Caitlin Clark, the presumptive No. 1 pick in next week’s WNBA draft.

Clark ended her collegiate career with the most points in Division I men’s or women’s history at 3,951. Staley thanked Clark during the postgame ceremony for her contributions to the sport, saying, “You are one of the GOATs of our game, and we appreciate you.”

Iowa, which beat South Carolina in the national semifinal last year before losing to the LSU Tigers in the title game, once more fell short of its first national championship.

“The biggest thing is it’s really hard to win these things,” Clark said. “I think I know that better than most people by now. To be so close twice really hurts.”

Cardoso finished with 15 points and a career-high 17 boards, becoming the fifth player with at least 15 points and 15 rebounds in a championship game in the past 25 seasons. Having already announced she is entering the draft, where she is expected to be an early pick, Cardoso is the only major contributor for South Carolina who won’t return next season.

“Kamilla Cardoso was not going to let us lose a game in the NCAA tournament,” Staley said. “She played through an injury, she played like one of the top picks in the WNBA draft and her teammates did something that no teammates have done for anybody who went to the WNBA in our program. They send her off as a national champion. So this is history for us.”

With Cardoso’s help, the Gamecocks outrebounded the Hawkeyes 51-29 on the afternoon, using those opportunities to score 30 second-chance points.

South Carolina trailed early Sunday, falling behind by as many as 11 in the first quarter as Clark put up the most points by a player in any quarter of a women’s championship game.

But the Gamecocks did what they do best and stormed back to hold the lead for over 21 minutes, including the entire second half. They extended their streak of winning games when having trailed by 10-plus points to 11, the longest active one in Division I, and became the first team to win the national championship game by at least 10 points after trailing by 10 points.

South Carolina went into the break up 49-46 and built its game-high 14-point lead in the fourth behind a barrage of 3-pointers from Hall and freshman Tessa Johnson, a marked difference from the meeting against Iowa last year when the Gamecocks hit just 4 of 20 shots from beyond the arc. They finished 8-for-19 from 3 on Sunday, and when they weren’t getting it done from there, they got it inside, managing 48 points in the paint.

Although the Hawkeyes pulled within five with a little over four minutes to go, Iowa got no closer.

Of South Carolina’s 38 wins this season, 31, including Sunday’s, were by double figures.

Three-point shooting wasn’t a trademark of the Gamecocks, but their depth was, and it was on display once more Sunday as South Carolina’s backups outscored Iowa’s 37-0, the most bench scoring for any team in a championship game since at least 2000.

That effort was led by freshman guard Johnson with a career-high 19 points, the fourth freshman in the past 25 seasons to lead her team in scoring in a national title game. She joined former Gamecock Destanni Henderson (2022) as the only players to set their career highs in a national championship game in the past 25 seasons.

Camila Osorio Defeats Top Seed Marie Bouzkova to Claim Second Career Bogota Open Title

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Camila Osorio has claimed her second WTA Tour title…

The 22-year-old Colombian professional tennis player overcame the top seed Marie Bouzkova 6-3, 7-6 (5) to win her second Bogota Open title in front of a rapturous home crowd in Colombia.

Camila OsorioIt’s just Osorio’s second WTA title, having previously won the Bogota Open back in 2021, before Germany’s Tatjana Maria claimed the last two.

But Osorio knocked the German out of this year’s tournament en route to reclaiming her crown and returning to the winner’s table for the first time in three years.

Currently ranked 85th in the world, Osorio is considered one of the WTA’s brightest young prospects and in the Bogota final, it was clear to see why.

Osorio was excellent throughout, taking the opener courtesy of two breaks to Bouzkova’s one, before a thoroughly engrossing second set followed.

It was Osorio who again struck first, earning a commanding set-and-a-break lead. But her Czech opponent struck back, before Osorio broke again to serve for the title.

Osorio initially faltered under the pressure, however, as Bouzkova took her third break point to take the match into a fitting tiebreak.

The breaker was close until 3-3, when Osorio upped her groundstroke intensity to ensure that she gave her home crowd the final cheer as she sealed her second WTA title.

Earlier in the tournament, Osorio, ranked No 85, defeated Canadian qualifier Marina Stakusic (6-4, 6-2), Romanian qualifier Anca Alexia Todoni (7-6 (4), 6-4), German Tatjana Maria, the second seed (1-6, 6-3, 6-3) and Italian Sara Errani (7-6 (4), 6-4).

Pablo Sandoval Agrees to Contract with Staten Island FerryHawks

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Pablo Sandoval is headed to Staten Island…

The 37-year-old Venezuelan-American professional baseball player and former World Series MVP has agreed to a contract with the Staten Island FerryHawks of the independent Atlantic League.

Pablo SandovalThe announcement comes nine days after he was released from a minor league deal with the San Francisco Giants.

Sandoval, 37, hit .250 with two RBIs in 28 spring training at-bats for the Giants, the team he helped to World Series titles in 2010, ’12 and ’14.

A fan favorite nicknamed Kung Fu Panda, the two-time MLB All-Star was last in the major leagues in 2021 when he hit .178 with a .302 on-base percentage, four homers and 11 RBIs in 69 games with the Atlanta Braves.

Sandoval has a .278 batting average, .330 on-base percentage, .443 slugging percentage, 153 homers and 639 RBIs in 1,380 career games while primarily playing third base.

The veteran has also batted .338 with a .921 OPS in 42 postseason games, including a .426 average and 1.162 OPS in 12 World Series contests.

Julen Agirrezabala Makes Great Save to Help Athletic Bilbao Claim Copa del Rey Title

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Julen Agirrezabala is celebrating a massive save that helped his team win a historic title…

The 23-year-old Spanish professional footballer and goalkeeper for Athletic Bilbao saved a spot kick from Mallorca‘s Manu Morlanes as Athletic Club beat Mallorca 4-2 on penalties on Saturday to win their 24th Copa del Rey title and their first since 1984, ending a 40-year major silverware drought in a nerve-wracking final in Seville.

Julen AgirrezabalaAlong with Agirrezabala’s great save, Nemanja Radonjic missed the goal with his effort.

Meanwhile Athletic’s penalty takers were flawless in their execution, scoring all of their first four.

Iker Muniain received the trophy from Spanish King Felipe VI before lifting it high for his team and fans to celebrate.

Since their last Copa del Rey triumph, Athletic had lost six straight finals, including in 2020 and 2021.

Only Barcelona and their 31 Copas have more than Athletic, despite the team from Bilbao fielding players only from or near Spain’s northern Basque Country region.

Athletic’s only previous silverware in the last 40 years has been two Spanish Supercopa triumphs, in 2015 and 2021.

“We’ve made history. The fans deserve it… I’ve dreamed a lot about this,” an emotional man-of-the-match Nico Williams told TVE. “Me, my family, my brother. I did it for my family, with what we’ve fought for. I’m happy to make history with this club.”

Valverde, who won two LaLiga titles and a Copa del Rey with Barcelona, said Saturday’s triumph was the most meaningful of his career.

“This is incredible. This doesn’t compare to any other [trophy],” he told Moistar.

“With what the stadium was like, what this competition means for our fans, the years we’ve been looking for it … and in the end, with the penalties, something they’re specialists in … It means a lot to this club.”

Athletic Bilbao, Copa del Rey 2024NBA great Steve Nash, a minority owner of Mallorca, was at the game, as well as Rafael Nadal, a native of the island of Mallorca. Each club had 20,000 tickets for traveling fans at the packed 57,000-seat La Cartuja Stadium. Some 40,000 more fans, mostly for Athletic, were expected to descend on the southern city without tickets.

Even though Athletic are fifth in LaLiga and Mallorca down in 15th place, there was little difference between them in the final. Javier Aguirre, Mallorca’s journeyman coach, succeeded in nullifying the more explosive attack of Valverde‘s Athletic.

The game had finished 1-1 after extra time. Despite Athletic dominating proceedings with almost 70% of possession, Dani Rodríguez fired in a curling shot after a couple of other efforts had been charged down, giving Mallorca the lead in the 21st minute.

But Oihan Sancet equalized in the 50th minute before Athletic laid siege to Mallorca’s goal.

They were wasteful, however, missing several chances to score late on, including Williams hitting the post in extra time. But a gritty Mallorca outfit held strong in defense and were a threat in counter-attacks as well, before finally succumbing in the shootout.

“The first thing I have to do is to congratulate Athletic and its fans. They have been waiting a long time for this,” Mallorca scorer Rodríguez said. “I am moved because I am very proud of my teammates and our supporters who accompanied us.

“Our dream was to win this cup. We tried to, but it wasn’t to be.”

Roberto Carballes Baena Defeats Pabel Kotov to Reach Marrakech Open Final

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Roberto Carballes Baena is one win away from his third ATP Tour title…

The 31-year-old Spanish tennis player and the tournament’s defending champion advanced to the final of the Marrakech Open by defeating Russia’s Pavel Kotov in straight sets, 6-4, 6-2, at Royal Tennis Club de Marrakech.

Pedro MartinezCarballes Baena, ranked No 64, will play the Italy’s Matteo Berrettini, who defeated Argentina’s Mariano Navone, the No 7 seed.

In the previous rounds of the Marrakech tournament, Carballes Baena won against Italian qualifier Matteo Gigante (6-2, 2-0 ret.), No 3 seed Daniel Evans (6-4, 7-6 (3)) and American qualifier Nicolas Moreno De Alboran (6-4, 4-6, 6-4).

Kotov, ranked No 68, beat Moroccan wildcard Elliot Benchetrit (7-5, 6-3), Italian Flavio Cobolli, the No 8 seed (6-1, 7-6 (5)) and Italian qualifier Fabio Fognini (6-1, 6-2) earlier in the tournament.

Carballes Baena previously claimed the 2018 Ecuador Open and 2023 Grand Prix Hassan II titles.