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The England wing scored the hosts’ only try in a 16-15 thriller
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Draper went down in three sets to Rublev but will rise to 12th in the world rankings on Monday
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Nearly 50 years after New York Yankees owner George Steinbrenner implemented a policy banning facial hair, the team made the shocking announcement to end what Hal Steinbrenner came to learn was an "outdated" rule that could have potentially serious consequences for the organization.
Hal Steinbrenner announced the change on Friday prior to the Yankees’ spring training opener and delved into the process that led him to make a new policy where players can now sport "well-groomed beards."
As Steinbrenner explained, facial hair has become the new norm. He pointed to our nation’s leaders, including Vice President JD Vance, as an example of how times have changed since the policy was first implemented in 1976.
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"This generation, the vast majority of 20s, 30s into the 40s, men in this country have beards. Our new vice president has a beard, members of congress have a beard – the list goes on and on and on in this country and in this world," he told members of the media during a press conference.
"It is part of who these younger men are, it’s part of their character, it’s part of their persona. Do I totally relate to that? It’s difficult for me, I’m an older guy who’s never had a beard in his life. But it’s a very important thing to them and they feel it defines their character."
Steinbrenner went on to explain that knowing this led him to a "real concern" that the policy could potentially be detrimental to the Yankees’ ultimate goal of winning its first World Series title since 2009.
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"If I ever found out that a player we wanted to acquire, to make us better, to get us a championship, did not want to be here, and if he had the ability, would not come here because of that policy – as important as it is to that generation – that would be very, very concerning.
"I am fairly convinced that’s a real concern," he said.
Steinbrenner, who succeeded his father as controlling owner in November 2008, said he had considered the issue for some time, but said he spent this season actively discussing the issue with players and others.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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Angel Reese put on a show Friday night in the 3-on-3 Unrivaled league.
The 2023 NCAA champion scroed 22 points and grabbed 21 rebounds for the first 20-20 game in the league's young history.
That was before she fouled out of the contest.
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Playing for the Rose Basketball Club, Reese was posting up down low when her defender took a charge. The defender might have sold the call, but it was enough to get Reese, who had dominated all night, out of the game.
Reese thought the refs made a bad call, so she wanted her coach to challenge the call, and she was emphatic about it.
There was no challenge, and Reese was done for the rest of the game. Her team held on for a 72-63 win.
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After the game, a fan of Reese posted to X to not "be on the wrong side of history" when her career is over, saying "Reese is exactly who she thinks she is."
It was a compliment, but Reese seems to want her haters to keep on hating.
"no. tell them stay on that side. please," she replied.
Reese was the seventh pick in last year's WNBA Draft by the Chicago Sky after a dominant career at LSU that included a national championship win over Caitlin Clark and the Iowa Hawkeyes in 2023.
In her rookie year, Reese broke the record for most rebounds in a single season, but multi-time WNBA MVP A'ja Wilson later surpassed her.
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