Month: February 2025

Tiger Woods announced on Tuesday that his mother, Kultida Woods, has died at the age of 81. No cause of death was immediately available. Kultida was last seen in public attending the golfer’s TGL match in south Florida last week, per NBC Sports.

Woods, 49, shared on social media Tuesday, Feb. 4: “It is with heartfelt sadness that I want to share that my dear mother, Kultida Woods, passed away early this morning. My Mom was a force of nature all her own, her spirit was simply undeniable. She was quick with the needle and a laugh. She was my biggest fan, greatest supporter, without her none of my personal achievements would have been possible. She was loved by so many, but especially by her two grandchildren, Sam and Charlie. Thank you all for your support, prayers and privacy at this difficult time for me and my family. Love you Mom.”

Kultida – known as Tida hailed from Thailand and met his Tiger’s father, Earl, while he was on a military tour in the country in 1968. The couple, who were married for 37 years until Earl Woods’ death in May 2006, settled in Orange County, California, where Earl taught Tiger to play golf from 18 months old. Throughout Woods’ career, his mother Tina was seen supporting her son, and would be the first to embrace him after victory.

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Los Angeles Rams wide receiver announced that the Los Angeles Rams will attempt to trade Cooper Kupp this off-season.

Kupp wrote Monday on social media: “I was informed that the team will be seeking a trade immediately and will be working with me and my family to find the right place to continue competing for championships. I don’t agree with the decision and always believed it was going to begin and end in LA. Still, if there’s one thing that I have learned over the years: there are so many things that are out of your control, but it is how you respond to these things that you will look back on and remember … I have taken so much pride in playing alongside my teammates for the LA community, so thank you for embracing my family and making this such a special place for us … 2024 began with one of the best training camps of my career. Preparations start now for 2025. Highly motivated, as healthy as ever, and looking forward to playing elite football for years to come. Love you guys … But coming for it all.”

Kupp, 31, led the NFL with 145 catches, 1,947 yards and 16 receiving scores in 17 appearances in 2021, when he earned All-Pro honors and was named Offensive Player of the Year. Kupp has compiled over 600 catches for more than 7,700 yards and 57 touchdowns across eight seasons, despite the majority being marred by injury.

Amid the Rams’ championship 2021 campaign, Kupp took home football’s prestigious Triple Crown — leading the league in receptions (145), receiving yards (1,947), and receiving TDs (16) — en route to Super Bowl LVI MVP, Offensive Player of the Year, All-Pro, and Pro Bowl honors.

Kupp signed a three-year, $80.1 million contract extension in 2022. He carries a $29.8 million salary cap hit in 2025. The third-round pick in the 2017 NFL Draft totaled 67 catches for 710 yards and six scores in 12 games last season.

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Florida State men’s basketball coach Leonard Hamilton — the program’s winningest men’s basketball coach in their history — announced on Monday that he will resign from his
position following the conclusion of the 2024-25 season.

In his 23rd season leading the Seminoles, the 76-year-old Hamilton has a record of 434-290 with 16 postseason appearances, including eight NCAA tournament berths. Hamilton is also ranked 10th on the NCAA’s list of winningest active Division I coaches and is fifth among ACC coaches all time behind Duke’s Mike Krzyzewski, North Carolina’s Roy Williams and Dean Smith and Maryland’s Gary Williams.

Hamilton said in a statement: “I am deeply thankful for the tremendous support of our fans, alumni, and everyone associated with Florida State throughout my time here. I am proud of the quality of the young men that it was my privilege to lead, for their faith in this program and in their belief in the philosophy that we tried to instill in them over the years. I have been blessed beyond words for the opportunity and the experience we’ve had here. My family and I truly love this place, this institution, and its people. I’m very fortunate to be able to have given this job my all with no regrets. Every head coach inherits a legacy and is obligated to leave the job better than they inherited it. I’m very proud of what we have been able to accomplish here over the last 23 seasons. We were a consistent contender, and we created success for our players during their time here. So many of them have gone on to be successful in life. I hope that it will be remembered as my legacy. I look forward to working with our administration during this transition and being as helpful as possible through this process.”

Florida State athletic director Michael Alford said in a statement: “Coach Hamilton’s personal character and integrity, and his leadership, set a tremendous standard for all of FSU Athletics. Few people have been as important in building the positive reputation of Seminole Athletics. FSU’s stature as one of the leading brands in college sports has been possible, in part, to his leadership of our men’s basketball program. He steadily developed a culture of excellence that reflects his personal values: commitment to academic success, competitive success, community service, leadership, and ongoing personal excellence. The success of the men who have been part of our basketball program is proof of that legacy.”

Hamilton is facing a lawsuit filed by six former FSU players over alleged unpaid NIL compensation totaling $1.5 million. The former players allege Hamilton promised them the money from his “business partners,” with the lawsuit stating they walked out of a practice last season over the missed payments and intended to boycott a Feb. 17 game against Duke. According to the suit, they ended up playing amid a guarantee from Hamilton that they would be paid, but they never were.

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Cleveland Browns defensive end Myles Garrett announced on Monday morning that he h as formally requested a trade from the Browns.

Garrett’s statement (as shared by ESPN’s Ian Rapoport) reads: “As a kid dreaming of the NFL, all I focused on was the ultimate goal of winning a Super Bowl – and that goal fuels me today more than ever,” wrote Garrett. “My love for the community of Northeast Ohio and the incredible fanbase of the Cleveland Browns has made this one of the toughest decisions of my life. These past eight years have shaped me into the man that I am today … While I’ve loved calling this city my home,” he continued. “My desire to win and compete on the biggest stages won’t allow me to be complacent. The goal was never to go from Cleveland to Canton, it has always been to compete for and win a Super Bowl. With that in mind, I have requested to be traded from the Cleveland Browns.”

The 29-year-old Brown was selected with the No. 1 overall pick by the Browns in the 2017 NFL draft. Over the last eight seasons, Garrett was a four-time first-team All-Pro, a two-time second-team All-Pro, a six-time Pro Bowler, and was named the NFL’s Defensive Player of the Year in 2023. The defensive end is coming off another excellent season with Cleveland, recording 14 sacks and a career-high 40 solo tackles, and is a finalist for 2024 Defensive Player of the Year.

Garrett signed a five-year, $125 million extension in 2020, and as recently as last week Browns general manager Andrew Berry told reporters at the Pro Bowl that he was not planning on trading Garrett, and was instead aiming to sign him to a contract extension.

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