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UFC 285: Jon Jones submits Ciryl Gane

Wins heavyweight title at 2:04 of the opening bell

 

LAS VEGAS, NEVADAIf there were doubts that a beefed-up Jon "Bones" Jones could take on a legitimate natural heavyweight in the UFC after a two-year layoff, those doubts were put to rest following his easy contest versus Frenchman Ciryl Gane, May 4, at the T-Mobile Arena here.

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He took Gane down quickly and got his back within seconds. He caught Gane in a guillotine along the fence in Gane’s corner. Gane pulled out the first time, but Jones just grabbed it again and forced the tap.

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The bout ended at 2:04 of the first round and gave Jones his second weight class championship.

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“I’m so excited,” Jones said. “I’ve been working for this for a long time. A lot of people thought I wasn’t coming back. I was reading that all the time. But I was faithful to the goal and faithful to the mission.”

 

Jones was widely considered the greatest MMA fighter of all time when he left the sport following a win over Dominick Reyes in February 2020. He said he wasn’t excited by any of the opponents he might face and was looking for something that would get him fired up.

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He bulked up from 204 pounds to 248 and looked like a natural at his new class.

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Gane offered next-to-nothing. Jones went right at him and was in his face almost as soon as the fight began. Gane was circling but never was able to land a shot. 

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The win not only makes Jones the heavyweight champion, but it also should put him back at No. 1 pound-for-pound as well as earning recognition as the greatest fighter to ever do it.

 

No one has stayed on top as long as Jones against the type of competition he's faced.

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Avis Brown-Riley will test the greens Aug. 27-28 at the LPGA US Senior Women's Open at the NCR Country Club in Kettering, Ohio.

First Black LPGA pro to

tee off at USSW Tourney

Avis Brown-Riley competes in

4th US Senior Women's Open

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LPGA Golf Pro Avis Brown-Riley will make history as the first Black woman to participate in the 4th US Senior Women's Open Championship from August 22-28, 2022, at the NCR Country Club in Kettering, Ohio. 

 

The Championship is conducted by the United States Golf Association. Out of nearly 400 players worldwide who competed to place in the championship, only 120 women will be on the starting field. All participants are required to be 50 years old on the first day of the championship.

 

The championship will air Saturday, Aug. 27: 3-6 p.m. EDT, and Sunday, Aug. 28: 2:30-5:30 p.m. EDT (Peacock)

 

"This is an unforgettable moment for my family and to have one of the best professional caddies on my team," said Riley, a native of San Diego, currently residing in Las Vegas, who played in the U.S. Women's Open Champ- ionship in 1988. Riley's caddy is KayJay McClay, PGA, CHG, and 2nd Assistant Golf Professional at Druid Hills Golf Club in Atlanta, Georgia.

"PGA professional KayJay is not only my coach and trainer but my nephew who I am very proud of," said Riley. "KayJay knows my game inside and out and he has done a great job carrying on the Brown Family Legacy."

 

Riley has been playing golf since age 7, taught by her father, Gordon Brown. Sr. The Brown family has received recognition in the book, "100 Years of Golf in San Diego County" for making unprecedented golf history with more than 324 victories.

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Riley accomplished another milestone on Aug. 8, 2022, when she qualified to play in the prestigious golf tournament following a 25-year absence. Riley was among the six qualifiers at the competition held at the Calabasas Country Club, and the only woman of color.

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"Playing in the U.S. Senior Women's Open Championship at the NCR Country Club is a proud moment for me to open the door for more Black women to have the chance to be a part of this sought-after event," said Riley. "This opportunity is a game-changing event for all the young Black girls worldwide to see someone who looks like them accomplish a history-making moment."

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At 5'2", Riley is known as the "Little Warrior."

 

"I have fought all my life for acceptance and respect in the golf world," she said. "When I survived breast cancer, I knew that I would never give up a game that was a major part of my family's life."

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Click here to view to learn more about the US Senior Women's Open.


About Avis Brown-Riley

· African American Golfers Hall of Fame in Florida Inductee

· Appeared in more than 54 articles and videos

· Author, “Building of A Champion” inducted into the USGA Golf Museum and Library

· Featured on the LPGA network.com for Black History Month 

· First and only Black woman to win the prestigious Junior World Championship at age 10

· First Black golfer to participate in the Wickes Andy Williams Open (Played with US Open Champion Jerry Pate) 

· First Black Golfer to win the National Minority Collegiate Golf Championship

· First Black Golfer to win the San Diego Women’s City Amateur Championship

· Global Billionaire Roundtable Power Summit Presidential Lifetime Achievement Award 

· Hall of Champions in San Diego Inductee

· LPGA National Championship- finished in 15th place

· Nominated for LPGA Western Section Teacher of the Year Award

· Nominated as LPGA Rolex Teacher of the Year Award

· Third Black woman to play in 1988 U.S. Women's Open

· Twelfth Black Female in the world to hold an LPGA Class A Certification

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To arrange interviews, contact Marie Y. Lemelle; MarieLemelle@platinumstarmediagroup.com or (213) 276-7827.

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Los Angeles Dodgers power-hitting first baseman Gil Hodges was elected to the Hall of Fame on Dec. 5, 2022 receiving 12 votes—the minimum required for election—from the 16-member committee. Courtesy LA Dodgers 

Dodgers retire Gil Hodges' No. 14 

The Los Angeles Dodgers have retired the No. 14 worn by Gil Hodges, the power-hitting first baseman on the Brooklyn Dodgers teams of the 1950s, six months after his election to the Baseball Hall of Fame. The number is the 11th in team history to be retired and first since Aug. 14, 1998 when Don Sutton's No. 20 was retired, eight months after his election to the Hall of Fame.


The ceremony coincided with the New York Mets' lone regular-season series against the Dodgers at Dodger Stadium. Hodges concluded his playing career with the Mets in 1963 and managed them from 1968 until his death on April 2, 1972, two days before what would have been his 48th birthday.


Hodges guided the Mets to the 1969 World Series championship after they had never finished higher than ninth during their first seven seasons. He was elected to the Hall of Fame by the Golden Days Era Committee on Dec. 5, receiving 12 votes—the minimum required for election—from the 16-member committee, which considers candidates whose primary contribution to the game came from 1950-69. He had failed to be elected by the Golden Era Com- mittee in 2011 and 2014.


Hodges was considered for selection by the Hall of Fame's Veterans Committee beginning in 1987, but was never elected. The closest he came to being elected in voting by the Baseball Writers Association of America was in 1983, his 15th and final ballot appearance under rules at the time, appearing on 63.4 percent of the ballots, with 75 percent being required for election.


The slugging first baseman is second in Dodger history in home runs (361) and RBI (1,254), third in total bases (3,357), extra-base hits (703) walks (925), fourth in games played (2,006) and fifth in runs scored (1,088). He shares the team's single-game records for home runs with four and RBI with nine.


During the era there was no draft, the Brooklyn Dodgers signed Hodges as an amateur free agent on Sept. 6, 1943 and made his professional debut with them on Oct. 3, 1943, playing third base, striking out twice and walking once in three plate appearances in a 6-1 loss to the Cincinnati Reds on the final day of the season.

Hodges spent the next two years in the U.S. Marine Corps. He returned to the Dodgers organization for the 1946 season, playing 129 games for Newport News and leading the Class B Piedmont League catchers in putouts, assists and fielding percentage.


Hodges returned to the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947, wearing No. 14. The No. 4 jersey he wore in his 1943 major league debut was given to another future Hall of Famer, Duke Snider. He made seven consecutive All-Star Game appearances from 1949-55, all seasons in which he drove in more than 100 runs, and became an eight-time All-Star in 1957. When Gold Glove awards were handed out for the first time in 1957, Hodges was a recipient, as he was each of the following two seasons.


Hodges drove in both runs in the Dodgers' 2-0 victory over the New York Yankees in Game 7 of the 1955 World Series, their only World Series championship in Brooklyn. He hit .391 in the Dodgers six-game victory over the
Chicago White Sox in the 1959 World Series, including an eighth-inning tie-breaking homer in Game 4 that gave the Dodgers a 5-4 victory and 3-1 series lead.


Hodges played with the Dodgers through 1961 when he was chosen by the Mets in the expansion draft to stock them for their inaugural 1962 season. Hodges began his managerial career with the Washington Senators in 1963, remaining with them through the 1967 season.

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