Category Archives: Deportes

Glover Teixeira Becomes Oldest First-Time Champion in UFC History

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Glover Teixeira has accomplished what many thought impossible.

The 42-year-old Brazilian-American mixed martial artist defeated Jan Blachowicz via submission (rear-naked choke) at 3:02 of the second round to win the UFC light heavyweight title on Saturday in the main event of UFC 267 in Abu Dhabi.

Glover Teixeira

Teixeira was a +210 underdog, per Caesars Sportsbook.

At 42 years old, Teixeira is the oldest first-time champion in UFC history and the second-oldest fighter to win a UFC title, behind only Randy Couture.

Teixeira joins Couture and Daniel Cormier as only the third UFC fighter to win a title at age 40 or older.

The 14 UFC fights between Teixeira’s title loss to Jon Jones at UFC 172 on April 26, 2014, and Saturday, were the most between title shots in the same division in UFC history.

“Never give up on your dreams,” Teixeira said in his postfight interview. “No matter what people say, don’t listen to them. They’re gonna put you down. Don’t listen to those negative people. Believe in yourself.”

Teixeira took down Blachowicz in the first round and basically kept him there for the duration. In the second round, Blachowicz had success with his boxing. But Teixeira wobbled him with a left hook and then took him down again. This time, Teixeira was able to get mount, then take Blachowicz’s back and lock in the choke. “I’m breaking the rules — 42 years old,” Teixeira said. “I’m gonna keep breaking those rules.”

ESPN has Blachowicz ranked No. 5 in the world on its pound-for-pound MMA list. At light heavyweight, ESPN has Blachowicz ranked No. 1 and Teixeira at No. 2.

Teixeira (33-7) has won six straight and seven of his past eight, most recently before this weekend a third-round submission win over Thiago Santos in November 2020.

The Brazil native has 28 finishes in 33 career victories. Teixeira, a Connecticut resident, has been considered one of the top light heavyweights in the world for more than a decade, an incredible stretch of consistency and quality.

He has the most finishes (13) and submission victories (7) in UFC light heavyweight history. Teixeira’s 16 UFC light heavyweight wins are second most next to Jones (20).

“Glover Teixeira is and has been one of the toughest guys in the division for a very long time, this was his dream forever to get this title shot,” UFC president Dana White said. “He finally gets it and did it tonight.”

On Saturday, Teixeira said he would be returning to his childhood town of Sobralia, Minas Gerais, Brazil, with the UFC gold. “I told you guys I’m coming home with the belt,” Teixeira said. “And I am. The promise is done.”

“This guy never gave up,” White said. “All the adversity that he’s faced in his career and here at 42 years old, a few days after his birthday, he wins the title. It’s a pretty cool story. Couldn’t happen to a better guy, too.”

Miguel Rojas Agrees to Two-Year, $10 Million Deal with Miami Marlins

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Miguel Rojas is staying in South Florida…

The 32-year-old Venezuelan professional baseball infielder and the Miami Marlins have announced a two-year, $10 million contract, the first big step the team has taken this offseason.

Miguel Rojas

The deal has Rojas under contract through 2023. He’ll make $5 million in each of the next two seasons.

Rojas batted .265 this season for Miami, with nine home runs and 48 RBIs. No current member of the Marlins roster has appeared in more games for the franchise than Rojas, whose 730 appearances is the ninth most in team history.

“Miguel embodies a lot of the things that we want as Marlins,” Miami general manager Kim Ng said Thursday at a news conference inside Marlins Park. “On the field, the consummate professional. Defensively, extremely sure-handed, a great stabilizer. In terms of leader, there’s no one who shows more leadership skills out on that field than Miguel Rojas, as well as in the clubhouse.”

Rojas came to the Marlins in 2015 as a bench player, eventually becoming the team’s every-day shortstop and clubhouse leader. He has played all four infield positions during his time with the Marlins and was deputized by manager Don Mattingly to run the club for its regular-season finales in 2019 and 2021.

“I just want to win, and I want to win here in Miami,” Rojas said.

Rojas initiated extension talks with the Marlins this season by simply telling the team he wanted to remain in Miami. From there, it was only a matter of time until a deal got done.

“It was an extraordinarily easy thing to do,” Ng said.

Jose Altuve Homers to Tie for Second on MLB’s All-Time Playoff Home Run Leaderboard

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Jose Altuve has batted his way into the Major League Baseball history books…

During Game 2 of the World Series, the 31-year-old Venezuelan professional baseball player and Houston Astros second baseman hit a home run off a first-pitch fastball from Drew Smyly, leading off the bottom of the seventh by sneaking a fly ball just inside the left-field pole for a 7-2 Astros lead.

Jose Altuve

It was Altuve’s 22nd career home run in the postseason, tying him with Bernie Williams for second on the all-time list.

The two trail behind Manny Ramirez‘s 29 postseason homers.

While Williams did it in 121 games, Altuve has required just 75. Altuve had struggled in the ALCS, hitting .125 (although with two home runs), and then went 0-for-5 with three strikeouts in Game 1.

He then turned around and gave Houston two big swings in Game 2 on Wednesday night — including an historic one.

“To hit 22 homers in the playoffs and tie him — always every time that my name is mentioned, before it was Derek Jeter, now it’s Bernie Williams — it means a lot to me,” Altuve said. “It makes me keep going out there, hitting homers to help my team, to keep accomplishing things like this. As long as we win, everything’s good.”

Overall, the 2017 American League MVP Award winner is Houston’s all-time leader in postseason hits (88), runs (66) and home runs (22), and this year, he became the fastest player in MLB history to hit 20 postseason home runs when he went deep in Game 1 of the AL Championship Series against the Boston Red Sox.

Nelson Cruz Receives Major League Baseball’s Roberto Clemente Award

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Nelson Cruz is being celebrated for his charity…

The 41-year-old Dominican-American professional baseball designated hitter and right fielder for the Tampa Bay Rays has been awarded Major League Baseball‘s Roberto Clemente Award for his character, community involvement and philanthropy.

Nelson Cruz

Cruz, the 50th winner of the honor, received the award before World Series Game 2 on Wednesday night.

“Growing up as a Latin, you always heard about Roberto Clemente,” he said. “I never had a chance to see him play. I knew what a great player he was. Once I came to the States I found out, oh, he’s not only a good player, he’s a great human being.”

Cruz, a 17-year MLB veteran and seven-time MLB All-Star, provided financial support to 1,200 families in his hometown of Las Matas de Santa Cruz, Dominican Republic, during the COVID-19 pandemic, helping feed 700 families.

After a fire destroyed the home of a childhood friend, Cruz provided the town with a fire engine, 80 firefighter uniforms and an ambulance for transportation for people to the nearest hospital, which is about an hour away.

His Boomstick23 Foundation began construction of an education and technical center last year and he will stock the center with computers to assist athletes in their education.

Cruz also organizes dentists and optometrists to go the town’s clinic for checkups, medicine and eyewear, and 500 patients received dental services last year.

He helped arrange for MLB, the Major League Baseball Players Association and the union’s Players Trust to donate $400,000 to the Dominican Republic for medical equipment and food aid during the pandemic.

“We first started with the dental clinic, and the next year we started asking how we can do the mental [health] and the eye doctors,” he said. “We started doing everything all at the same time. We even went to schools and provided kids with all the books and stuff that they need.”

Cruz was nominated by the Minnesota Twins, who traded him to the Rays  in July. He joined Hall of Famers Rod Carew (1977), Dave Winfield (1994) and Kirby Puckett (1997) as Minnesota players to win the award.

Xavi Hernandez Reportedly Top Choice to Become New FC Barcelona Head Coach

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Xavi Hernandez could be taking on a new role with FC Barcelona…

The team is reportedly opening talks with the 41-year-old Spanish professional football manager and former Barca team captain following the firing of coach Ronald Koeman.

Xavi Hernández

Koemamn’s firing came after the team’s 1-0 LaLiga loss to Rayo Vallecano on Wednesday, their third defeat in their last four league games.

Hernandez is reportedly now the first choice.

However, the same sources add that Barca don’t expect to have a replacement in place until after the November international break. An interim coach is set to take charge of the next three games against Alaves, Dynamo Kiev and Celta Vigo.

Koeman’s position had been seriously weakened after poor results prior to the October international break, with back-to-back defeats against Real Madrid and Rayo this week proving to be the tipping point.

He leaves Barca in ninth place in the league and in danger of missing out on the Champions League knockout phase for the first time in 20 years, with the side yet to register an away win in any competition this season.

The club said in a statement: “FC Barcelona have relieved Ronald Koeman of his duties as first-team coach. The president of the club, Joan Laporta, informed him of the decision after the defeat against Rayo Vallecano.

“Koeman will say goodbye to the squad on Thursday at the Ciutat Esportiva. FC Barcelona wishes to thank him for his service to the club and wishes him all the best in his professional career.”

Xavier Hernandez

As for Xavi, the former midfield great won a slew of trophies with Barca in his 17 years as a senior player, including eight LaLiga titles and four Champions League medals. He then joined Al Sadd in 2015, becoming head coach at the Qatari club after hanging up his boots in 2019. It’s his only managerial experience so far.

Along with Xavi, sources had previously told ESPN that Belgium boss Roberto Martinez and was among the candidates.

Laporta had first considered sacking Koeman in the summer and even told him he needed two weeks to try and find a new manager. In the end, due to a lack of credible alternatives, Laporta decided to stick with Koeman.

However, sources said that former Netherlands boss Koeman was upset by Laporta’s actions and the relationship between the two has never been the same since.

Despite that, Laporta handed Koeman a stay of execution last month after the 3-0 Champions League defeat to Benfica in Lisbon. Since then, though, Barca have lost to Atletico Madrid, Real Madrid and now Rayo in the league.

“[Being ninth in LaLiga] is not good,” Koeman said after striker Radamel Falcao‘s goal condemned Barca to defeat in Vallecas on Wednesday, with Memphis Depay missing a penalty.

“It shows the team’s level has dipped, in terms of the balance in the squad. We have lost players with a lot of effectiveness in the final third. I think in recent years the teams at the top have strengthened and we have not been able to. That counts.

“But not today, because despite missing players we played well, but you can’t say that when you don’t score, not in Spain.”

Asked if the result placed his job in danger, hours before he was fired, Koeman said “I don’t know.”

Koeman also lamented the exit of star player Messi in recent weeks. He said the Argentina international had disguised many of the team’s flaws and was responsible for making the players around him even better.

Oscar Rivas Defeats Ryan Rozicki to Claim Inaugural WBC Bridgerweight Title

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Oscar Rivas is a new champion…

The 34-year-old Colombian professional boxer defeated Ryan Rozicki on Friday in Montreal to become the inaugural WBC bridgerweight champion.

Oscar Rivas

Rivas, at 222¼ pounds, dished out punishment on the undersized Rozicki over 12 rounds en route to the unanimous decision victory via scores of 116-111, 115-112 and 115-112.

Rozicki, at 203 pounds, applied pressure and sought to work on the inside but was repeatedly countered and outworked on the inside by the more experienced fighter.

The 224-pound weight class was introduced by WBC president Mauricio Sulaiman last year to sit between cruiserweight and heavyweight.

The WBC now has 18 divisions, the most in boxing; so far, the other three major sanctioning bodies haven’t adopted the bridgerweight division.

Rivas (28-1, 19 KOs) was originally set to fight Bryant Jennings, whom he defeated via 11th-round TKO in a January 2019 heavyweight fight. However, Jennings couldn’t enter Canada because he is unvaccinated and was forced to withdraw.

Since that win over Jennings, Rivas has competed just twice, most notably a July 2019 points loss to heavyweight contender Dillian Whyte.

Rivas now resides in Montreal and enjoyed the hometown advantage over Rozicki, a fellow Canadian from Nova Scotia.

Rozicki (13-1, 13 KOs) has competed at cruiserweight his entire career. He and Rivas both fought the same opponent in their previous outings: journeyman Sylvera Louis.

The 26-year-old Rozicki had never faced an opponent of note before Rivas.

Houston Astros Slugger Yordan Alvarez Named American League Championship Series MVP

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Yordan Alvarez is celebrating his ALCS performance with a special trophy…

The 24-year-old Cuban professional baseball player, a designated hitter and outfielder for the Houston Astros was named the American League Championship Series Most Valuable Player (MVP) after almost single-handedly leading his team to the American League pennant.

Yordan Alvarez

In the final three games of the ALCS — a run that started with the Astros facing a 2-1 series deficit to the Boston Red Sox — Alvarez went 9-for-13.

In Games 5 and 6, he outhit the entire Red Sox roster on his own, 7-5. His ALCS performance peaked at Minute Maid Park in Game 6: 4-for-4 with a single, a double, a triple, a run and an RBI, as Houston finished off the series with a 5-0 victory over Boston.

“It was all about focus,” Alvarez told ESPN‘s Marly Rivera after the game. “That’s all I wanted to do. I wanted to do damage and that’s what happened.”

Alvarez’s showing in the ALCS surprised even himself, especially after a 2020 season when he only played two games and underwent surgery to repair a torn patellar tendon in his right knee, along with arthroscopic surgery on his left knee.

Yordan Alvarez“I didn’t really imagine myself being able to come out of that surgery on both knees and be able to do this as quickly as I did,” Alvarez said. “So it was really unbelievable for me to be able to come back and do what I did. Just super happy to be here and be able to contribute like that.”

Throughout the series, Astros manager Dusty Baker noted the exceptional impact Alvarez made in the middle of Houston’s lineup — and how his power bat changed the trajectory of the team’s season.

“He is a big boy in the middle,” Baker said.

Alvarez is the second Astros player with 11 hits in a playoff series, behind only Jose Altuve‘s 12 in the 2020 ALCS. He became the fifth player in MLB history with 11 or more hits in a single series against the Red Sox, joining a club with Hideki Matsui and Bernie Williams (2004), Lou Brock (1967) and Buck Herzog (1912).

Baker noted Alvarez’s all-fields approach, which has drawn comparisons to the way David Ortiz consistently drove pitches on the outer half of the plate the other way. During the 2021 season, Alvarez pulled baseballs 36.4%, and hit them up the middle and to the opposite field 36.3% and 27.3% of the time, respectively.

His average exit velocity of 93.2 mph ranked ninth in MLB, ahead of Manny Machado, Juan Soto and Bryce Harper, according to Baseball Savant.

“He hits the ball in the opposite field and it stays straight,” Baker said. “It doesn’t have a slice on it, and everybody knows he can pull the ball, but he also has power the other way. He is only going to get better. Like last year at this time, we didn’t have Alvarez, and we came close to going to the series last year without Alvarez. And now we have Alvarez, and we’re very, very grateful and thankful that we have him.”

After the game, Alvarez gave credit to Baker for his support throughout the season.

“He understands how it is to be a ballplayer,” Alvarez said. “He understands what guys go through every day. I got a chance to spend time with him in spring training as well. He has been really helpful to me, and I’m thankful for everything that he has given to me in this time together.”

Alvarez’s three extra-base hits in a potential series-clinching game tie Carlos Correa for the most in Astros history, and he joins Yuli Gurriel and Craig Biggio as the only Astros with consecutive three-hit games in the postseason.

That historic performance did not go unnoticed by his teammates.

“Yordan was, like, something else,” said Astros pitcher Luis Garcia. “He was really clutch, everything.”

Alvarez’s successful 2019 campaign for Rookie of the Year — where he hit .313/.412/.655 with 27 homers, 26 doubles and 78 RBIs with 3.7 bWAR in 87 games — served as his introduction to the national stage, but he cemented his place among the best designated hitters with his 2021 season, hitting .277/.346/.531 with 33 homers, 104 RBIs, 35 doubles and a triple with 3.2 bWAR this year.

But none of them meant as much as winning the ALCS MVP trophy.

“It means everything,” Alvarez said. “It means everything. I think there’s a lot of things that I could say that’s behind that trophy, but all I can say is it just means everything.”

As the spotlight got brighter, so did Alvarez’s performance at the plate. The ALCS MVP trophy served as a cherry on top.

Luis Garcia Helps Lead Houston Astros to American League Championship Title

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Luis Garcia is celebrating an Astros-nomical feat…

The 24-year-old Venezuelan professional baseball pitcher helped shut out the Boston Red Sox to help lead the Houston Astros to 5-0 victory in Game 6 of the American League Championship Series on Friday night.

Luis Garcia

As a result, the Astros win the 2021 American League pennant and will advance to their third World Series in five years. The Red Sox, conversely, will head home for the winter, having lost the best-of-seven series by a 4-2 margin.

The Astros received a stellar start from Garcia, a rookie right-hander, who atoned for his poor performance in Game 2.

Garcia threw 5 2/3 scoreless innings, holding the Red Sox to a single hit (an Enrique Hernández triple in the sixth) and a walk. He struck out seven batters and showed no ill effects from the knee injury that plagued him earlier in the series.

The Astros were paced offensively by Yordan Alvarez, the ALCS MVP. He delivered a pair of doubles as well as a triple. He drove in one run and scored the other.

Nathan Eovaldi, pitching just two days after his Game 5 relief appearance, permitted five hits and a walk across 4 1/3 innings. He gave up a run and struck out four batters.

The Astros will await the winner of the National League Championship Series between the Atlanta Braves and the Los Angeles Dodgers. The Braves lead that series by a 3-2 margin heading into Saturday’s Game 6 at Truist Park in Atlanta.

Joseph Diaz Jr. Agrees to WBC Lightweight Title Fight Against Devin Haney

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Joseph Diaz Jr. is thisclose to a title fight…

The 28-year-old Mexican American boxer and Devin Haney have agreed to terms for a WBC lightweight title fight on December 3 or December 4 in Las Vegas on DAZN, according to ESPN.Joseph Diaz Jr.

Contracts haven’t been signed yet but details are in the process of being finalized, sources said. The framework of the deal includes a rematch clause in the event Haney loses.

The fight is part of an intriguing three-week stretch for the lightweight division. Teofimo Lopez, who holds four lightweight titles, fights George Kambosos on November 27 on DAZN.

One week later, Eddie Hearn will promote another important lightweight fight with the Haney-Diaz clash. That same weekend, on December 5, Gervonta Davis fights Rolando Romero on Showtime PPV.

And then on December 11 on ESPN, Vasiliy Lomachenko meets Richard Commey.

The Haney-Diaz agreement caps months of back-and-forth insults traded between the boxers. When Diaz (32-1-1, 15 KOs) agreed to fight Ryan Garcia on November 27, Haney (26-0, 15 KOs) accused Diaz of ducking a chance at him.

But that fight fell through when Garcia suffered a hand injury in training and underwent surgery on Monday. With Haney and Diaz both in need of an end-of-year fight, the matchup made too much sense for all parties.

Haney, ESPN’s No. 3 lightweight, is coming off the biggest win of his career, a May decision victory over former champion Jorge Linares. Diaz, too, is coming off a strong performance, a July points win over Javier Fortuna that earned him the No. 7 spot in ESPN’s lightweight rankings.

That was the Olympian’s first fight at 135 pounds. He defeated Tevin Farmer in 2020 to win a 130-pound title and in his other title bid, lost to Gary Russell Jr. at 126 pounds in 2018.

Haney, No. 3 on ESPN’s list of the top 25 boxers under 25, is one of the sport’s fastest-rising stars. The Las Vegas-based fighter boasts over 1 million followers on Instagram, and with his abundant charisma, surely has a chance to break through to the mainstream. What’s stopped him thus far is lack of opposition.

The 22-year-old Haney often calls himself the most-avoided fighter in the sport. That can no longer be said with a stern challenger in Diaz lined up for December.

Carlos Vela Remains Major League Soccer’s Highest-Paid Player

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Carlos Vela is a major league money-maker…

The 32-year-old Mexican professional footballer and Los Angeles FC star remains Major League Soccer‘s highest-paid player with a guaranteed compensation of $6.3 million, according to the latest round of salary data published by the MLS Players Association.

Carlos Vela

The latest disclosure included players signed during the summer transfer window.

As such the top four wage earners remained the same, with LA Galaxy‘s Javier “Chicharito” Hernandez checking in at $6m, Inter Miami CF‘s Gonzalo Higuain earning $5.79m, and Toronto FC‘s Alejandro Pozuelo taking in $4.69m.

Atlanta United FC‘s Luiz Araujo was the only recent signing to crack the top 10, with his guaranteed compensation of $3.94m ranking him fifth. Other notable newcomers were Austin FC‘s Sebastian Driussi, whose guaranteed compensation of $2.69m ranked 15th, while the Vancouver Whitecaps‘ Ryan Gauld came in at 26th in the league with guaranteed compensation of 2.03m.

The average guaranteed compensation for the entire player pool is $418,048 — down slightly from the mark of $423,232 recorded last May, but up 1.5% from the September 2019 mark of $411,996.

The median guaranteed compensation is $200,000, down slightly from the May mark of $210,000. But thanks to the new Collective Bargaining Agreement negotiated earlier this year, the latest mark is still up 11.4% from the September 2019 figure of $179,498.

In terms of team payroll based on guaranteed base compensation, there was some movement. The Galaxy moved up from fourth last May to take the top spot with a total guaranteed compensation of $20.32m. The top three were rounded out by Atlanta United ($20.06m) and Toronto FC ($19.27m).

Inter Miami, which had been highest back in May, fell to fourth with a total guaranteed compensation of $17.55m. LAFC was fifth at $15.88m.

The Colorado Rapids, in third place in the Western Conference, had the lowest guaranteed compensation at $9.89m. This was followed by the New York Red Bulls ($9.98m), the Philadelphia Union ($10.57m), the Vancouver Whitecaps ($10.96m) and the San Jose Earthquakes ($11.04m).

The New England Revolution, runaway leaders for the Supporters Shield, had the 20th-highest total guaranteed compensation at $11.68m. FC Cincinnati, set to finish in last place in the league-wide table for the third year running, had the 10th-highest mark at $13.11m.