World Series MVP on What a Championship Means for Houston
George Springer, Houston Astros outfielder and World Series MVP, joins Cheddar to discuss his journey to the biggest stage in major league baseball.
Springer talks about being on that famous cover of Sports Illustrated in 2014, which predicted the Astros would win the World Series in 2017. He says he remembers when it happened, but at that point, the team had a lot of work to do in order to get there. Springer says a lot of data and science goes into bringing the team together.
He's provided with a lot of information from the scouting and analytic members on staff. But he points out that ultimately the team is made of human beings, and instinct & heart need to also be taken into consideration.
Springer also talks about being mentally and physically prepared for game day. He says he does anything he can to have his body recover at nighttime because he needs to play the next day. It's a draining sport, so he finds ways to relax his mind and body through yoga, meditation, or just watching a show on TV.
He also talks about growing up with a stutter and transforming from a shy kid to the MVP of the World Series. At the age of 21, he realized he can't control his stutter and decided to embrace it. He now works with kids who stutter to provide a role model and inspiration.
Five women have been named to the U.S. short-track speedskating team for the 2022 Beijing Olympics. Among those five, there was only one returning Olympian of the group, Maame Biney, who competed in the 2018 Olympics as the first African-American woman to ever qualify for the U.S. short-track speedskating team. JD sat down with Biney to discuss how she's preparing for the games.
Eric Mitchell, Sports Analyst and President & CEO of LifeFlip Media, breaks down the updated rules around testing in the NFL and outlines how vaccinated players are impacted by new return-to-play guidelines.
Carlo and Baker kick off the weirdest week of the year with all the news you missed over the holiday weekend, including calls for the CDC to shorten its isolation window as Omicron sweeps through the country.
The 2022 Winter Olympics will be without some of hockey's biggest players. The NHL and the NHL Player's Association have agreed to not participate in the men's hockey tournament at the Games in Beijing next year. The league has been forced to postpone some games because of a rise in COVID-19 cases among players. Washington Post sports reporter Samantha Pell joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss what this could mean for the Winter Olympics and the sport of hockey.
Former professional tennis player Patrick McEnroe joined Cheddar to discuss the troubling issues surrounding player Peng Shuai who appeared potentially to have been silenced following her social media post accusing former Vice-Premier Zhang Gaoli of sexual assault. Shuai's subsequent disappearance, reappearance, and apparent retraction of the accusation in an interview only added to worries. "When this happened, all of us in the tennis community were very concerned. And, by the way, another thing Peng said in this interview was that she doesn't speak very good English," McEnroe noted. "Well I can assure you, she speaks darn good English, 'cause I spoke to her on many occasions over the last 15 years."
Carlo and Baker cover the heartening news on the Covid front ahead of the holiday, plus President Biden punting student loan repayments again, a new space telescope and Love, Hate, Ate: Christmas Eve Eve Edition!
The boys discuss President Biden's plans to send out free rapid tests as the testing supply chain starts to buckle ahead of the holidays. Also, why aren't Americans having more babies, and The Matrix returns.
Cam Rogers, host of 'Lock It In with Cam Rogers,' and betting analyst at the Bleav Podcast Network, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell, where he breaks down how sportsbooks - and bettors - need to adapt to changes to sporting events due to the spread of the Omicron variant.
Anthony Tall, sports agent and president of Miracle Sports Agency, joins Cheddar News to talk about the challenges professional sports leagues are facing amid a surge in coronavirus cases across the U.S.