Hezly Rivera Claims U.S. All-Around Women’s Title at U.S. Gymnastics Championships

Hezly Rivera has added to her medal collection.

The 17-year-old Dominican-American Olympic gold medalist gymnast, the youngest U.S. Olympian across all sports at the 2024 Paris Games, is now an all-around national champion.

Hezly RiveraRivera totaled 112 points in two nights of competition in New Orleans, prevailing by eight tenths over Leanne Wong, a two-time Olympic alternate. Joscelyn Roberson, another 2024 Paris Olympics alternate, was third.

Rivera led Wong by two tenths going into the last rotation, then delivered the best floor exercise score (14.2) by anyone on either night.

“I was aware it was pretty close, right before I went on the floor, probably a minute or two,” she told NBC Sports. “It’s a little bit nerve-racking, but I just tried to trust the process and trust God and just let my body do what it knows how to do.”

While the rest of her Paris gold-medal teammates are taking this season off, Rivera took a major step in her young career by becoming the youngest U.S. all-around champion since Ragan Smith in 2017.

She’s also the first woman to win junior and senior all-around titles since Jordyn Wieber (2008 and 2011-12), as well as the sixth American woman since 2000 to pair Olympic gold with a national all-around title (Simone Biles, Wieber, Shawn Johnson, Nastia Liukin and Carly Patterson).

Rivera, the 2023 U.S. junior all-around champ, opened the 2024 Olympic selection season by placing 24th at the U.S. Classic (about a week after her grandmother died).

She climbed to sixth in her senior U.S. Championships debut, then fifth at the Olympic Trials as some veteran gymnasts became sidelined by injuries.

Rivera was picked to be the lone rookie on the Olympic team alongside Biles, Suni Lee, Jade Carey and Jordan Chiles. She competed on uneven bars and balance beam in the qualifying round in Paris.

“My mindset is kind of like, I achieved my dreams, I achieved my goals, but I still have more (goals), so I kind of like to put that (the Olympics) in the back of my head for now,” she said in July. “Every time in the gym, I don’t think that I went to the Olympics. I’m just kind of training like I’ve almost never been, in a way.”

This week, Rivera had the highest scores on beam and floor, plus shared the bars title with Skye Blakely.

Wong, the most experienced woman in the field at 21, won vault. She was bidding to become the second non-teen in the last 50 years to win a U.S. all-around title after Biles.

Next up: a selection competition in early autumn, after which four women will be named to compete at October’s World Championships in Jakarta, Indonesia. These worlds include individual events only.

The all-around winner at the selection event automatically makes it. A committee picks the other three, taking into account results at nationals and other 2025 meets.

Carmelo Anthony Joining Roster of NBC Sports & Peacock’s NBA Coverage as a Studio Analyst

Carmelo Anthony is heading to the broadcast studio…

The 40-year-old Puerto Rico former professional basketball player is joining the roster at NBC Sports and Peacock as a studio analyst for the network’s revitalized NBA coverage.

Carmelo AnthonyAppearing Saturday on NBC Sports’ coverage of the Kentucky Derby, the 10x NBA All-Star announced that he’s expected to be in the studio one or more nights per week starting in October, reporting on the 2025-’26 season throughout the playoffs.

“A new chapter begins @NBAonNBC this fall,” wrote Anthony on X with a video teasing his new gig.

After more than two decades on other networks, NBA makes its return to NBC this fall. Anthony recalled the influence the network’s coverage had on him as a child.

“Watching the NBA on NBC growing up shaped my love for the game,” he said. “Now, I’m thrilled to join the NBC Sports family. I’ve always used my platform to help grow the game, and I’m excited to bring fans a fresh perspective as we usher in a new era of NBA coverage and programming.”

During Saturday’s broadcast, Anthony said he’s most excited to be “just building a team, getting back into a team-oriented aspect,” following the news that Jamal Crawford and Reggie Miller will join NBA on NBC game analysts. Mike Tirico and Noah Eagle will also serve as play-by-play analysts.

“Talking the game, speaking the game, figuring out what’s the ‘why’ on what a lot of people are doing, what a lot of players are doing in the game,” added Anthony. “The game within the game, I think, needs to be talked about.”

Anthony, who was drafted as the Denver Nuggets’ first-round pick in 2003, ended his 19-season NBA career in 2022 with the Los Angeles Lakers. Since retiring, he’s gone on to discuss the league on his 7PM in Brooklyn with Carmelo Anthony podcast.

Apple Renews “Ted Lasso,” Featuring Cristo Fernández, for Third Season

Cristo Fernández will still be bending it like Beckham…

Apple’s hit comedy Ted Lasso, featuring the scene-stealing Mexican actor as part of the ensemble cast, is returning for a third go-round.

Cristo Fernández

The streamer has given an early season 3 renewal to the comedy starring Saturday Night Live alum Jason Sudeikis in the title role, following the series’ breakout first season, early second season renewal, and before production even starts on Season 2 in London in early January.

Ted Lasso, which hails from Sudeikis and Bill Lawrence, is Apple’s No. 1 comedy across all top 50 countries, including the U.S., UK, Germany, France, Canada, Russia, Japan and more. It has broken audience records for Apple TV+, ranking as the No. 1 comedy each week, drawing 25% new viewers to the service since its August 14 launch, according to the streamer. The pop culture phenom has grown its viewership more than 600%, fueled by binge watchers, setting new records for completion and engagement worldwide.

Co-written by Sudeikis and Lawrence, Ted Lasso is based on the popular Coach Ted Lasso character Sudeikis played in NBC Sports videos several years ago. It was developed for television by Sudeikis, Lawrence, Joe Kelly and Brendan Hunt. It stars Sudeikis as Ted Lasso, a small-time college football coach from Kansas hired to coach a professional soccer team in England, despite having no experience coaching soccer. Hannah Waddingham, Brendan Hunt, Jeremy Swift, Juno Temple, Brett Goldstein, Phil Dunster and Nick Mohammed also star.

Sudeikis also serves as executive producer, alongside Lawrence (Scrubs) via his Doozer Productions, in association with Warner Bros. Television and Universal Television, a division of Universal Studio Group.

All episodes of Ted Lasso‘s first season are available for streaming on Apple TV+

Fernández’s previous credits include the short films Jaguar and Mis Mejores Días.

Melissa Fumero Taking Part in NBCUniversal’s New “The More You Know” Social Justice, Equality and Equity PSAs

Melissa Fumero is helping people get in the know

NBCUniversal will launch a new series of its popular The More You Know PSAs that tackle systemic racism and speak up for social justice, equality and equity, with the 38-year-old Cuban American actress and Brooklyn Nine-Nine star among the artists taking part.

Melissa Fumero

Fumero joins a roster of NBC talent that includes Dulé Hill, James Roday Rodriguez and Kelly Clarkson, among others.

The campaign was developed in collaboration with social and racial justice organizations Fair Count, The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, the NAACP, the National Action Network and the National Urban League, and focuses on standing up against injustice, teaching children about equity, and the importance of voting and completing the census, especially for how it impacts the Black community and communities of color.

The campaign kicked off this week on NBC’s Today with a spot on teaching children about inclusion and acceptance. The campaign will be rolling out over the next few weeks, with spots now available on TheMoreYouKnow.com and YouTube.

The More You Know site also includes comprehensive resources and educational guides.

“For over 30 years, ‘The More You Know’ has sought to bring light to the nation’s most pressing social issues,” said Craig Robinson, Executive Vice President and Chief Diversity Officer, NBCUniversal, “and we hope this new iteration will continue to educate, encourage and inspire people of all ages to take an active role in improving the world we live in.”

In addition to Fumero, Hill, Roday Rodriguez and Clarkson, stars participating in the campaign include: Carlos Adyan (En Casa con Telemundo), Freema Agyeman (New Amsterdam), Notah Begay III (NBC Sports), Gizelle Bryant (The Real Housewives of Potomac), Kandi Burruss (The Real Housewives of Atlanta), Victor Cruz (E! News), Dexter Darden (Saved by the Bell), Ester Dean (Songland), Ryan Eggold (New Amsterdam), Soleil Moon Frye (Punky Brewster), Damon Hack (Golf Channel), Zuri Hall (Access Hollywood), Ana Jurka (“En Casa con Telemundo and Titulares y Más), Aneudy Lara (100 Días Para Enamorarnos), Howie Mandel (America’s Got Talent), Christopher Meloni (Law & Order: Organized Crime), Wendy Osefo (The Real Housewives of Potomac), Jeimy Osorio (Telemundo), Nina Parker (E! News’ Nightly Pop), Nichole Sakura (Superstore), Jocko Sims (New Amsterdam), Chris Sullivan (This Is Us”), Justin Sylvester (E! News’ Daily Pop), Elyfer Torres (Enemigo Íntimo) and Reno Wilson (Good Girls).

Quintanilla Joins HBO’s Emmy-Winning “Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel”

It’s about to get real for Carl Quintanilla

The Latino award-winning broadcast journalist and CNBC anchor has joined HBO’s Emmy-winning Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel.

Carl Quintanilla

HBO and Gumbel made the announcement on Monday.

“Carl’s experience and on-air skills figure to boost our lineup tremendously,” said Gumbel in a statement. “Since the focus at Real Sports is primarily on financial and social issues in the world of sports, Carl’s background makes him a great fit for what we like to do.”

Quintanilla’s responsibilities at CNBC will remain the same; he’ll still anchor weekday programs Squawk on the Street and Squawk Alley.

“The quality of [Real Sports‘] reporting is as good as there has ever been on television, led by correspondents I’ve admired my entire career. I couldn’t ask for a better team on which to play a part,” added Quintanilla.

Real Sports has a long history of bringing on correspondents who work with other networks.

Veteran TV sports reporter Andrea Kremer is the chief correspondent of the NFL Network‘s recently formed health and player safety unit. Soledad O’Brien, who joined the show last year, also reports for Al Jazeera America. And Mary Carillo has several other jobs including a significant presence on NBC Sports during coverage of the Olympics.