France 43-0 Wales: The maestro of a scrum half led the tournament favourites to an opening victory as Warren Gatland’s side were kept scoreless
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The France playmaker was dismissed after a high tackle on Wales counterpart Ben Thomas
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LeBron James is used to hearing MVP chants no matter where he plays, but most of the time, they're for him.
However, on Thursday night, they were for a different James: his son Bronny.
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The 20-year-old got some playing time late in Los Angeles' 134-96 win over the Wizards in Washington. The game was practically over from the jump, as the Lakers led 78-45 at halftime.
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This prompted Bronny, the 55th pick of last year's NBA Draft, to get some minutes in garbage time. Perhaps it was better than the "tough spot" JJ Redick had put Bronny in the night before, when he went 0-for-5 from the floor while getting time at a crucial part of the game.
In his 12 minutes played, Bronny impressed with five points, including a tough and-one bucket that even got his father out of his seat.
But when James went to the line, some fans had some fun with the rookie by hitting him with "MVP" chants.
Of course, they were sarcastic, but they were loud, and it's more MVP chants than most people out there have gotten.
Bronny had not seen the floor for more than six minutes entering Wednesday, but he's now seen 27 minutes of time in the Lakers' last two games.
It's been a struggle for Bronny, who entered Thursday's contest just 1-for-16 from the floor. He averaged fewer than five points per game during his lone season at USC.
James has spent a decent portion of the season developing in the G League, which has been much kinder to him. In those games, he's putting up 16.3 points per game.
The tongue-in-cheeck chants came after ESPN mogul Stephen A. Smith ripped LeBron for stunting his son's growth in the pros.
"I am pleading with LeBron James, as a father. Stop this. Stop this. We all know that Bronny James is in the NBA because of his dad," Smith said on Wednesday's edition of "First Take."
The win improved the Lakers to 27-19 with the win, good for fifth in the Western Conference. They'll face a tough test on Saturday night when they visit Madison Square Garden to face the third-place Knicks.
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Angel Reese will be back on her old stomping grounds later this year.
As part of the WNBA preseason, Reese and her Chicago Sky will be headed to Baton Rogue to face the Brazilian National Team.
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The game will take place at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center, where Reese spent two college seasons.
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"It will be amazing to return to Baton Rouge, a community that means so much to me," Reese said in a statement. "LSU was instrumental in preparing me for the WNBA, and I can't wait to hit the court in front of both Tigers and Sky fans."
Reese made her mark in LSU lore after carrying the Tigers to the 2023 national championship over Caitlin Clark and the Iowa Hawkeyes.
"We are excited to host a WNBA game in May featuring the Chicago Sky and Angel Reese," LSU coach Kim Mulkey said. "Angel played a major role in establishing our program at LSU, and I know our fans are going to be excited to have her back in the PMAC. She had such a great rookie season, and we can't wait to continue to watch her thrive in the WNBA."
That title game featured Reese's now-infamous taunt of Clark, which drew much criticism and started an unofficial rivalry between the two.
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Clark dismissed any notion that Reese "should be criticized at all" after the fact, but the two have gone hand-in-hand in conversations surrounding women's basketball, both on and off the floor.
Reese's teammate Kamilla Cardoso will go against her home national team. She was the third pick of the draft, behind Clark and Cameron Brink, after completing an undefeated season with South Carolina.
"I am so excited to play against my former Brazilian national team," Cardoso said. "Brazil has played such an important role in my life and has shaped the person I am today. Playing for the Sky against my former team gives me a wonderful opportunity to connect with my roots and play in front of old friends and teammates back home."
In her two seasons at LSU, Reese averaged 20.9 points and 14.4 rebounds and was twice a First-Team All-American.
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A Georgia state Senate committee passed the Fair and Safe Athletic Opportunities Act Thursday after testimony from multiple female athletes who have competed against and shared locker rooms with transgender athletes.
The bill would require athletes to participate on teams that align with their biological sex at birth. If it is signed into law, Georgia would become the 26th state in the U.S. to have a law in place to prevent or restrict transgender athletes from competing in women's sports.
Georgia has been a prime frontier for this issue after the state hosted the 2022 NCAA women's swimming championships, which included transgender swimmer Lia Thomas.
Two of Thomas' former opponents testified at Thursday's state congressional hearing.
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Former North Carolina State women's swimmer Kylee Alons, a 31-time All-American and two-time NCAA champion, spoke about the experience competing against and sharing a locker room with Thomas.
"We all were just guinea pigs for a giant social experiment formed by the NCAA regarding how much abuse and blatant disregard women would be forced to take in silence," Alons said.
Alons recounted the emotions she felt sharing competitive areas with Thomas, and how much sadness she felt watching women lose out on chances to compete fairly at the event. Alons even said she wanted to cry and leave the event after seeing Thomas win the 500-meter freestyle.
"It all just felt so off and wrong," she said.
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Things got much more difficult for Lyons after she experienced sharing a locker room with Thomas.
"I go to the locker room that day only to see Thomas and realize there is no escape from this nightmare, no matter where I go. I had no idea he was going to be allowed in the women's locker room as we did not consent to have a man in our locker room," Lyons said
"I am immediately on edge every time I enter that locker room afterward, knowing at any moment a man can walk in on me changing.
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Lyons added she felt so uncomfortable she resorted to abandoning the locker room altogether and instead changed in a storage closet behind the bleachers.
Former University of Kentucky swimmer Kaitlynn Wheeler joined Lyons in recounting the experience of sharing a locker room with Thomas.
"Young women, teenage girls were forced to undress next to a fully intact biological male who exposed himself to us, while we were simultaneously fully exposed," Wheeler said. "We were never asked. We were never given a choice or another option. We were just expected to be OK with it, to shove down our discomfort, our embarrassment, our fear, because standing up for ourselves would mean being labeled as intolerant or hateful or bigoted."
Wheeler and Lyons are plaintiffs in an ongoing lawsuit against the NCAA led by fellow former swimmer and 2022 NCAA championship competitor Riley Gaines over the NCAA's policies on gender ideology.
Wheeler and Lyons shared their experiences with a message urging state senators at the hearing to pass the Fair and Safe Athletic Opportunities Act.
The bill drew opposition from parents, physicians and others. Dr. Jodi Greenwald, a Roswell pediatrician, told the panel that transgender girls are not predators and warned that transgender youth are more at risk of suicide.
The bill passed by a vote of 8-3 after a nearly two-hour hearing.
Lt. Gov. Bill Jones called the vote an important step toward one of his critical goals of the session.
"Biological men do not belong in women’s sports, period," Jones said.
"This is common sense to everyone but the most radical liberals in Georgia. The Senate has always led the way on protecting women’s sports, and with Senate Bill 1, we will continue to be on the right side of this commonsense issue.
"I will never waver in the fight to protect our sisters and our daughters participating on equal footing in Georgia sports. I look forward to Senate Bill 1 becoming law and the protection of women’s sports becoming a reality for all female athletes in Georgia."
A federal ban on transgender inclusion in girls and women's sports is also moving through Congress.
The House of Representatives passed the Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act Jan. 14, which would cut federal funding for any public educational institution that allows transgender athletes to compete against girls and women in sports.
Every Republican U.S. representative voted in favor of the bill. Only two Democrats, Henry Cuellar and Vicente Gonzalez, both of Texas, voted to pass it. The remaining 206 House House Democrats opposed it. Rep. Don Davis, D-N.C., voted "present."
A recent New York Times/Ipsos survey found the vast majority of Americans, including a majority of Democrats, don't think transgender athletes should be permitted to compete in women's sports. Of the 2,128 people polled, 79% said biological males who identify as women should not be allowed to participate in women's sports.
Of the 1,025 people who identified as Democrats or leaning Democrat, 67% said transgender athletes should not be allowed to compete with women.
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Tempers flared during Thursday's highly anticipated Top-25 women's college basketball matchup between the one-loss LSU Tigers and the Oklahoma Sooners.
The game featured players shoving — which led to ejections — coach's technical fouls and a noticeable clipboard-slapping moment from LSU coach Kim Mulkey. LSU forward Sa'Myah Smith and Oklahoma forward Liz Scott were both tossed from the game after the shoving incident in the first quarter.
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Oklahoma center Beatrice Culliton was battling for position in the paint with Smith when the two got tangled up. Culliton elevated her arm to create some separation, and Smith retaliated by pushing her to the ground. Scott, who was also in the paint area, responded by shoving Smith.
Smith was corralled by Joe Schwartz, LSU's assistant of basketball operations. The teams separated and went back to their bench areas. The normally even-keeled Smith was called for a foul on the play and then ejected following a review.
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"Pushing, I guess, is considered fighting," Mulkey said. "It (Smith's reaction) was shocking. It hurt our team with her not being a part of tonight, because we're trying to develop her. My old mentor (former Louisiana Tech coach), Leon Barmore, always said you've got to keep a cool head in a hot game. . . . Never let ’em see you sweat."
Mulkey also gave a nod to the game's entertainment value: "I guess it was entertaining for the fans."
Play resumed after the ejections, with Oklahoma leading 12-11. The Sooners took advantage of the 6-foot-2 Smith's advantage to keep it close, rallying from a 24-point deficit late in the third quarter to get within one point in the final minute.
In the third quarter, Mulkey slapped a clipboard that assistant coach Seimone Augustus was holding. LSU was enjoying a 67-45 lead at the time. Mulkey proceeded to yell and point for several seconds, while Augustus appeared to contend with a brief moment of shock.
Referees later assessed a technical foul after the Tigers' coach argued a foul call against star guard Flau'Jae Johnson. Oklahoma coach Jennie Baranczyk also received a technical at a different point in the game.
The chippy game ended with a total of five technical fouls and 63 free throw attempts.
"We saw a lot of things tonight," Mulkey said. "You saw ejections. You saw two teams score over 100. You saw a technical on the second flop. . . . I got teed up, and she told me I got teed up for pointing at the big screen. I was definitely looking at the big screen, and I was not real happy, but I don’t know if I point. But she’s across the way. Whatever."
The Tigers' 107-100 win over the Sooners improved seventh-ranked LSU's record to 22-1.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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