Month: January 2025

American Madison Keys beat No. 2 seeded Iga Swiatek in a thrilling 5-7, 6-1, 7-6(8) victory in the semifinals, defeating Swiatek in two hours and 38 minutes to advance to her first Australian Open final. Keys, the No. 19 seed, rallied after facing a match point against Swiatek, a five-time Grand Slam champion. Keys advanced to her second career Grand Slam final after losing the 2017 U.S. Open final to Sloane Stephens.

Keys said after the match: “Yeah, I’m in the finals. That match was just such high level and she played so well and I felt like I was just fighting to stay in it..I felt like I blacked out there at some point, and was out there running around. I’m still trying to catch up to everything that’s happening … It was so up and down and so many big points. I kind of really ran with the second and then the third was just a battle. To be able to be standing here and be in the finals is absolutely amazing and I’m so excited that I get to be here on Saturday.”

The 29-year-old Keys will face No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka on Saturday for the trophy  Sabalenka, the two-time defending champion, beat Paula Badosa 6-4, 6-2 in the semifinal for her 20th straight victory in the Australian Open. She will also hold on to the No. 1 ranking for the 15th straight week no matter what happens in her match against Keys.

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The Miami Heat have suspended Jimmy Butler for two games after he missed a team flight for a road trip. The team shared the statement: “we have suspended Jimmy Butler for two games for continued pattern of disregard for team rules, insubordinate conduct and conduct detrimental to the team, including missing today’s team flight to Milwaukee.”

According to ESPN’s Shams Charania, Butler missed a Wednesday flight as the Heat traveled to Milwaukee for Thursday’s game against the Bucks. Butler intended to join the team for the game, but instead will be suspended for the road trip that also includes a Saturday game against the Brooklyn Nets.

The new suspension is the second of the season for Butler, amid reports that he’s demanded a trade out of Miami. The Heat previously suspended Butler on Jan. 3 for seven games, citing “multiple instances of conduct detrimental to the team.”  Just one day prior to that suspension, Butler indicated his desire to play for another team: “I want to see me get my joy back from playing basketball and wherever that may be, we’ll find out pretty soon. I want to get my joy back. I’m happy here off the court, but I want to be back to somewhat dominant, I want to hoop and I want to help this team win. Right now, I’m not doing that.” In their statement announcing Butler’s seven-game suspension at the time, the Heat also announced that “we will listen to offers.”

Butler’s seven-game suspension was without pay and cost him roughly $2.4 million in salary. Butler served the suspension and returned to play in Miami’s three games since while averaging 13 points, 3.3 rebounds and 5.7 assists per game. For the season, Butler is averaging 17 points, 5.2 rebounds and 4.8 assists per game. His scoring average is his lowest since his third season in the league in 2013-14.

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The Southeastern Conference announced Wednesday that the highly anticipated women’s basketball matchup between No. 2 South Carolina and No. 5 LSU will be postponed to Friday due to a severe (and unusual) winter storm in the area. Classes on LSU’s Baton Rouge, La., campus were canceled through Thursday. Highways in and around the city remained closed Wednesday after the winter storm dropped heavy snow throughout south Louisiana.

The Gamecocks were scheduled to play LSU on Thursday evening this week, but due to the snowstorm, the game has been moved to Friday at 5 PM. ESPN also announced that the first women’s basketball College GameDay show of the season, planned for Thursday in Columbia, S.C., will be canceled, stating on X: “Programming Update: The women’s @CollegeGameDay show originally slated for Thursday, Jan. 23 has been canceled due to the postponement of No. 5 @LSUwbkb at No. 2@GamecockWBB. Info on future shows will be announced in the coming weeks.”

LSU and South Carolina will now meet at 5 p.m. EST Friday at Colonial Life Arena in Columbia, S.C., airing on ESPN.

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The Baseball Hall of Fame has announced the results of this year’s voting, with Ichiro Suzuki, CC Sabathia and Billy Wagner exceeding the necessary 75% threshold for induction into the Class of 2025. The induction ceremony will be held July 27 at the Clark Sports Center in Cooperstown, N.Y.

Suzuki received 393 of 394 possible votes from the Baseball Writers Association of America, thus failing to join Mariano Rivera as the only player unanimously elected to the HOF. His 99.7% vote percentage was tied with Derek Jeter for the second-highest in history, trailing only Rivera. Starting pitcher Sabathia received 342 (86.8%) votes in his first year of eligibility, with closer Wagner earning 325 (82.5%) in his 10th and last year eligible.

Ichiro, the first Japanese player elected to the Hall of Fame, told reporters Tuesday: “I don’t think anybody in this whole world thought that I would be a Hall of Famer. As a baseball player, this is the highest honor you can achieve. It started in 2001, at that time there was probably not one person on this earth that thought that this day would come. Obviously, many things have happened, not just good but some bad, too. But to be able to be here through all the things that have happened means a lot. I’m just very honored.”

Ichiro, 51, hit .311 with 3,089 hits, 117 home runs, 780 RBIs and 509 stolen bases over his 19-year career. He recorded at least 200 hits and recorded a batting average of at least 310 through each of his first 10 seasons, earning 10-consecutive All-Star selections to start his MLB career. Ichiro also won 10 Gold Glove Awards and was a three-time Silver Slugger Award winner. The Seattle Mariners also announced that they will retire Ichiro’s No. 51 jersey, with a ceremony planned for Aug. 9 in Seattle. Mariners president Jerry Dipoto said in a statement: “Ichiro is truly one of a kind. His commitment, legendary work ethic, physical endurance, mental toughness, attention to detail and passion for the game are all on a different level.”

Sabathia, 44, is a six-time All-Star, went 251-161 with a 3.74 ERA over 561 career appearances, including 560 starts. The left-handed pitcher went 19-7 with a 3.21 ERA en route to Cy Young Award honors with the Indians in 2007, and won an American League-best 19 games in 2009, when the Yankees went on to win the World Series. He won an MLB-best 21 games the next season.

Wagner, 53, was a seven-time All-Star and went 47-40 with a 2.31 ERA over 853 appearances during his 16-year MLB career. The left-handed relief pitcher totaled 422 saves, the eighth-most in MLB history.

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