© AP
56-year-old Juan Bernabe had been in the role since 2010
© Getty Images
Former Team USA swimmer Gary Hall Jr., who earned 10 Olympic medals during his career, will be provided with replicas of those medals after he lost them in the deadly California wildfires, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) said on Sunday.
The IOC released a statement over the weekend in response to the multiple wildfires burning in Southern California which have claimed at least 24 lives and destroyed more than 12,000 structures.
"We are in full solidarity with the citizens of Los Angeles and full of admiration for the tireless work of the firefighters and the security forces," the statement read. "Currently the full focus must be on the fight against the fires and the protection of the people and property."
ESSENTIAL PHONE NUMBERS FOR LOS ANGELES-AREA RESIDENTS AND HOW YOU CAN HELP
The IOC also confirmed that Hall, a five-time Olympic gold medalist, would receive replicas of his medals, which he lost in the Pacific Palisades Fire.
"We have also learned that a great Olympian, Gary Hall Jr., has lost his medals in the fire. The IOC will provide him with replicas."
In an interview with The Sydney Morning Herald last week, Hall recalled first seeing the fires in his neighborhood.
"I saw the flames erupt and houses start popping. There were explosions. I didn’t have a lot of time," he said. "Sunset Boulevard was a complete logjam. People abandoned cars and were running for their lives. Police were telling them to do that. My girlfriend was trapped in her car around smoke."
Hall said he only had enough time to grab the essentials, leaving his medals behind.
"I did think about the medals. I did not have time to get them," he told the outlet. "Everyone wants to know did the medals burn? Yeah, everything burnt. It’s something I can live without. I guess everything is just stuff. It’ll take some hard work to start over. What can you do?"
Hall, 50, won four medals, including two gold, in his first Summer Games in the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta. Four years later, he brought home four more medals and in his final Games, the 2004 Athens Olympics, two more.
In 2012, Hall was inducted into the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Hall of Fame.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Follow Fox News Digital’s sports coverage on X, and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.
Minnesota Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell appeared to slam the door shut on Sam Darnold returning to the team following their playoff loss to the Los Angeles Rams on Monday night.
Darnold was sacked nine times and was 25-of-40 for 245 yards with a touchdown pass and an interception in the 27-9 loss. It was one of Darnold’s worst performances of the season.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON FOXNEWS.COM
However, with J.J. McCarthy waiting in the wings, it appeared Darnold would not be back with the Vikings for the 2025 season.
"I just want to say it’s very important we all think about Sam’s body of work, what he was able to do this year, when not many people thought he would be able to lead a team to 14 wins," O’Connell said, via Pro Football Talk. "It did not work out in the end, and I think Sam would be the first one to tell you, could he have played better tonight? I’m sure he would tell you he could have. Could I have coached better? I’m positive I could have."
The Vikings signed Darnold in March before they drafted McCarthy. However, the former Michigan standout suffered a torn Achilles in training camp and missed the season.
WHAT CHIEFS STARS BELIEVE GETS OVERLOOKED ABOUT TEAM AS THEY CHASE NFL HISTORY
Darnold won the starting job and surprised almost everyone in the league with a strong season. Known for "seeing ghosts" while with the New York Jets, he passed for 4,319 yards and 35 touchdowns – both of which were career highs.
The last two weeks of Darnold’s season were the toughest. The team lost the NFC North division title to the Detroit Lions, 31-9, and then suffered another blowout on Monday.
Ultimately, the Vikings only lost to two teams over the course of the season. Detroit defeated Minnesota in Week 7, and Los Angeles picked up the win over them in Week 8.
O’Connell lamented the lack of offense in the final two weeks of the season.
Going into the offseason, the Vikings will have to choose whether to go with McCarthy and a veteran backup or keep Darnold around until McCarthy develops.
Follow Fox News Digital’s sports coverage on X, and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.
Seattle Kraken right-winger Kaapo Kakko is starting to find his groove with his new team.
Kakko was selected with the No. 2 overall pick in the 2019 NHL Draft by the New York Rangers, but he never broke out to become the superstar executives thought he would become.
During his Rangers career, he never scored more than 40 points (18 goals, 22 assists in 2022-2023) in a season.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON FOXNEWS.COM
This season with the Rangers, Kakko had just four goals and 10 assists over 30 games this season, averaging just 13:17 minutes of ice time per game. The Finnish forward was playing on the third line and not receiving regular power play minutes.
On Dec. 15, Rangers head coach Peter Laviolette made Kakko a healthy scratch, and then Kakko was traded to the Kraken a few days later. The Kraken acquired Kakko in exchange for defenseman Will Borgen and their third and sixth-round picks in the 2025 NHL Draft. With the Kraken, Kakko is finally receiving consistent first-line minutes and producing.
Playing alongside left-winger Jaden Schwartz and center Matty Beniers, Kakko has eight points (three goals, five assists) in 11 games.
PRESIDENT-ELECT TRUMP SAYS HE ASKED WAYNE GRETZKY TO BECOME 'GOVERNOR OF CANADA'
Kakko is getting more consistent power play minutes and is averaging 15:58 seconds of ice team per game, nearly three minutes more than he was getting with the Rangers. The 23-year-old has especially played better of late, with seven points (two goals, five assists) in his past seven games.
Kakko will also be playing for Team Finland in the upcoming 4 Nations Face-Off, which will give him a chance to showcase his skills in the best-on-best international tournament. As a teenager, Kakko had a lot of success on the international stage. Kakko won gold at the IIHF U18 World Championship in 2018, and won gold in both the World Junior Championship and World Championship in 2019, when he was 17 and 18 years old.
In those three tournaments combined, Kakko had 22 points (12 goals, 10 assists) in 24 games.
Finland will compete against Canada, Sweden and the United States in the 4 Nations Face-Off from Feb. 12-20.
Until the tournament begins, Kakko will look to continue to settle in and produce for his new team.
The Kraken’s next game is against the Pittsburgh Penguins on Tuesday at 7:00 p.m. ET.
Follow Fox News Digital’s sports coverage on X, and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.
On Sunday, police arrested a man accused of stalking WNBA superstar Caitlin Clark. The details of the alleged stalking are disturbing.
As OutKick reported Monday, "the Marion County Prosecutor's office alleged the man sent the Indiana Fever star numerous threats and sexually explicit messages via his social media accounts'" before eventually trying to physically contact Clark by traveling to Indianapolis.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON FOXNEWS.COM
So, how does Jemele Hill fit into all of this? Well, in September, Hill posted a lengthy message on X where she said, essentially, that Clark doesn't face the same "hate" that black women in the WNBA face.
Except, no other WNBA player has seen a man arrested because they were "very concerned for [their] safety." Clark did.
Now, several Chicago Sky players, including Angel Reese, claimed that a man "harassed" them and used racial slurs during an alleged incident in June. But there's no evidence that occurred, especially as the Sky players claimed.
And while Reese and the rest of the Chicago WNBA players couldn't wait to take to social media and claim that they were victims of harassment that may or may not have occurred, Clark never publicly mentioned that she had a man travel from Texas to Indianapolis to try and confront her.
It sure seems like Clark faced harassment unlike anything any other WNBA player had to endure. And, remember, this is just the one man that we know about because he took it to an extreme and had to be arrested. Who knows how many other people are badgering Clark on social media?
Certainly, we won't hear about it from Clark, who never talks about the "hate" she receives, even though many of her WNBA colleagues love constantly talking about their "haters."
So, Jemele Hill issued an apology and an acknowledgment that she was wrong, right? Well, not quite.
Instead, Hill tried to quietly delete the post and pretend she never sent it. Fortunately, social media and the Internet never forget.
Hill isn't alone. The majority of the media spent the entirety of Clark's WNBA rookie season telling the star that she needed to speak out in defense of her black teammates and opponents against online "hate."
But did anyone ask Clark about the "hate" that she faces on a daily basis? No. They were much more concerned with the black and LGBTQ players and their feelings than Clark's physical safety.
Hill had a chance to stand out among the crowd and issue an apology to correct her previous statement.
Unfortunately, she's just like the rest of the sports media; they have decided that Caitlin Clark is incapable of being a victim – even when she literally is the victim of a crime – because she's white and the black women of the WNBA are perpetual victims – even when they aren't actually victims of anything.
