admin

Emma Hayes has been named as the fourth and final inductee of 2021 into the Women’s Super League (WSL) Hall of Fame.

The Chelsea Women boss is the longest-serving head coach in the WSL, having first taken charge in 2012.

She has since led Chelsea to four league titles, two Continental Tyres League Cups and two FA Cups, as well as the final of the Women’s Champions League earlier this year.

Chair of the Barclays FA Women’s Super League Hall of Fame panel, Kelly Simmons, said: “Induction into the Hall of Fame is the highest individual honour offered by the league and I am delighted that Emma has been inducted.

“Her record is incredible, but she’s so much more than that. She’s a great ambassador for the league, who works tirelessly behind the scenes, whilst also encouraging the development of coaches.

“She’s taken her knowledge into the broadcast world to become a great pundit, and I feel we are really lucky to have her in the league and recognised in the Barclays FA Women’s Super League Hall of Fame.”

Hayes, who recently passed 150 WSL games in charge of Chelsea, joins fellow inductees Fara Williams, Rachel Yankey and Kelly Smith in receiving the accolade which was set up to mark the league’s 10-year anniversary.

The inauguration of the WSL Hall of Fame has also coincided with the launch of a new dedicated website, wslhalloffame.thefa.com.

Extended interviews with all four inductees – Williams, Yankey, Smith and Hayes – will be available to watch on Sky Sports’ Inside the WSL show at 6pm on Thursday, on Sky Sports Premier League.

Olbia hosts the Junior World Championships and the United States has travelled in a big way, with an impressive delegation of 18 athletes and 8 coaches, which means that they take the matter very seriously. The issue is not only to win medals, but to build a team and a dynamic to fight for the medals in the most difficult tournament and also at home.

The United States has staked everything on the youth and it is understandable. The country will host the 2028 Olympic Games and the judo federation wants to be there with a competitive team. It is a long-term task. You have to be constant and patient, faithful to the established plan. The road has taken shape in Italy.

In the team roster we find three Rodríguez and as many Yonezuka. It is normal, because in addition to judo, they have blood ties. Two coaches, four children, a flag and a mission.

His sons Nicholas and Dominic are both are registered in the -73kg category. It’s a double ration of stress; it is understood that the father can be tense like the string of a violin. Nicholas Yonezuka, whom we will call Nick, hoping he is not offended because his son is also called Nicholas, is here though and before we get closer we observe him from afar.

Nick occupies the chair reserved for the coach, barely moves, gestures very little and only speaks when the referee calls mate. It’s not an easy fight for Jack but he ends up winning by osae-komi.

This is where the heart of the problem lies. Nick, the father, is clear. “Olbia is where it all begins: the path that should lead us to the Los Angeles Olympic Games in 2028. We are here to learn and to improve and then we will think about the World Judo Tour.”

That is called a plan, but those who say plan also say budget and at this point the issue is not easy.

“I have a dojo in New Jersey and one or two small sponsors. Parents bring their children to me to learn values, discipline, sacrifice and to defend themselves. I don’t have the financial capacity to cover the entire professional circuit,” confesses the coach.

But the father who is also a coach does not back down; he has a strategy.

“First I want them to improve and then to go to the World Judo Tour.” It is a practically compulsory, necessary learning stage, because the European and Asian programmes are more developed than the American ones. “It’s normal,” says Nick, “because in America judo isn’t that popular yet.”

What they do know is that to learn and win you have to have fun on the tatami. They already have the values and are already stepping on European soil with their eyes wide open. It is a crucial first step. The rest, that part as inelegant as it is necessary, that is money, will come, somehow. Or not! But, if from this experience the Yonezuka family comes out wiser, American judo will too and by extension, so will all the rest.

Britain’s Hannah Mills will make history once again when SailGP includes female sailors for the first time.

The 33-year-old has been picked by Ben Ainslie to join his Great Britain SailGP team after completing trials.

“This is pretty groundbreaking for female sailors and the sport,” Mills said.

“I know how inspiring it would have been for me when I was young.”

SailGP introduced its Women’s Pathway Programme in 2020 to “promote inclusion, inspire change and provide opportunities across all levels of the sport”.

The $1m (£735,305) prize competition has added an extra crew position aboard each of it F50 catamarans.

The other female sailors racing this weekend are Nina Curtis for Australia, Katja Salskov-Iversen for Denmark, Amelie Riou for France, Sena Takano for Japan, Erica Dawson for New Zealand, Andrea Emone for Spain and CJ Perez for the United States.

“The more professional opportunities there are, the more females will participate,” Mills added.

“It’s adrenaline-fuelled like no other sailing I’ve ever done. The speed and the G-forces you get going round corners are absolutely phenomenal. It can feel like the boat is on the edge.”

Ainslie, the most successful male Olympic sailor, said: “Hannah is a great team player. Talent speaks for itself. Results speak for themselves. In female sailing they don’t get any better.

“She is just as motivated, if not more motivated to win than the rest of us.”

What a difference a few hours made for Max Scherzer.

Earlier in Wednesday’s NL wild-card game vs. the Cardinals, the Dodgers ace seemingly refused to leave the mound after manager Dave Roberts came out to replace him. Shortly after Los Angeles’ wild-card win, however, a shirtless and seemingly drunk Scherzer was all smiles when he hopped on the TBS postgame show with Ernie Johnson Jr. and Co.

MORE: Frustrated Max Scherzer refuses to give ball to Dave Roberts before exiting from NL wild-card game

Here’s the moment Scherzer surprised Johnson, Pedro Martinez, Jimmy Rollins and Curtis Granderson with his bare chest:

Oh, but Scherzer wasn’t done there. Later on in the interview, he complained about feedback from TBS’ headset, getting agitated to the point of saying, “I can’t talk … I’m drunk. Whatever.”

MORE: Cardinals vs. Dodgers results: Chris Taylor walks off Cardinals with homer as Dodgers advance to NLDS

That was a far cry from his earlier disposition; when Roberts came out to get the ball from him, Scherzer offered his hand instead, forcing his manager to take the ball from his glove. Scherzer ended the game credited with 4.1 innings pitched, three hits, three walks, one earned run and four strikeouts. He later was seen discussing Roberts’ decision in the dugout, clearly still agitated at being removed from the game.

Scherzer was plenty sober when discussing his manager’s decision with Johnson.

“Yeah, Dave Roberts … understands where he wants — sorry, I got an echo — where he wants his relievers in each spot,” Scherzer told Johnson. “And so, look, he wanted Joe Kelly there. Even though I was good. He wanted Joe. So, that’s how you win a ball game.”

MORE: Twitter reacts to Chris Taylor’s walk-off home run in Dodgers-Cardinals NL wild-card game

Indeed. It certainly helped matters that Chris Taylor hit a walk-off two-run homer in the bottom of the ninth with two outs to earn the 3-2 win and send Los Angeles to the NLDS. It even prompted Scherzer to high-five his former Nationals teammate Juan Soto and hitting coach Kevin Long: