The Olympian Laurie Hernandez has so many interests she can’t seem to sit still.
The gold medal gymnast recently launched a new clothing line with JCPenney for tweens and teens. And she has written a second book, this time a fictional children’s story called “She’s Got This,” scheduled to be published in the fall.
The new book, from HarperCollins, is about a young gymnast named Zoe following her dreams. It’s similar in theme to her first book, a memoir called “I Got This: To Gold and Beyond,” which was published last year.
“I’m afraid of limiting myself,” Hernandez said in an interview with Cheddar. “I love to do so many things that it’s hard for me to pick just one. So I figured, why not do all of them?”
It’s not clear what’s next for the high-achieving 17-year-old, but she said she’s willing to go in whatever direction her ambitions take her.
“If I want to write, then I’m going to write. If I want to be an athlete, then I’m going to be an athlete,” she said. “If I want to sing, I’m going to sing. If I want to act, I’m going to act.”
For the full interview, [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/backflip-into-spring-with-laurie-hernandez).
The NCAA tournament kicks off this week, so it's about that time to finalize your march madness brackets if you haven't already, and decide where to call the upsets. Iain MacMillan, senior editor at MacMillan, joins Cheddar News to discuss.
March Nadness is officially underway, and betting on this year's tournament has the potential to reach record levels. About 45 million Americans are expected to wager a total of $3.1 billion on just the men's tournament alone, according to a new survey from the American Gaming Association. Prince Grimes, Senior Writer for USA Today's sports betting media property, BetFTW, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss how betting could play into this year's tournament and other storylines surrounding March Madness.
March Madness is finally here as everyone is looking for which team to bet on and which teams to fade. Sports betting expert Alex Glaze joins Cheddar Bets to tell you which Cinderella team you should bet on and which teams to avoid for the NCAA Tournament.
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Sean Green, Co-founder of the Sports Gambling Podcast Network, discusses which teams he's leaning towards and away from, who the breakout stars will be, and explains why UCLA, a No. 4 seed, will leave New Orleans with the title.
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BetMGM host Olivia Harlan Dekker gives her plays for some of the NCAA Tournament's biggest storylines, and explains why she is selling on both Coach K and - yes - Sister Jean.
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Erika Nardini, CEO of Barstool Sports, joined Cheddar News senior reporter, Michelle Castillo at South by Southwest to talk about Barstool Sportsbook and the NCAA March Madness tournaments. "What we really believe is that there's going to be the next generation of sports bettor, [who] will follow sports the way Barstool Sports follow sports," she said. "They'll like winners. They'll like losers. They'll like the storylines. They'll like the drama with the fans.”
Amy Purdy, the three-time Paralympic medalist and first double-leg amputee competitive snowboarder, made her debut as a commentator at this year's games, and she joined Cheddar News to recap the event. "I like to challenge myself because I was challenging myself as a Paralympic athlete myself," she said. "But then to be able to be a commentator and be able to, you know, support the game, support the athletes in a completely different way, it was a lot of fun."
College basketball forward for the HBCU Texas Southern University, Mimi O'Neal, daughter of Hall of Famer Shaquille O'Neal, is pushing for more changes in light of gender equity scandals in NCAA college hoops brought to light on social media last year.
