United States' Mikaela Shiffrin speeds down the course of an alpine ski, women's World Cup super-G race in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, Sunday, Jan. 23, 2022. (AP Photo/Gabriele Facciotti)
The 223-person U.S. Olympic roster revealed Monday includes four athletes making their fifth trip to the Games: Shaun White and Lindsey Jacobellis in snowboarding, Katie Uhlaender in skeleton and John Shuster in curling.
There are 114 men, 108 women and one athlete who identifies as nonbinary — figure skater Timothy LeDuc — on the roster. The 223 athletes make up the second-biggest contingent the U.S. has ever sent to the Games. The opening ceremony for the Beijing Olympics is Feb. 4, with some of the curling action beginning on Feb. 2.
Most athletes had already been nominated by their respective sports for the Olympic team. The U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee's announcement makes their spots official.
On Monday night, Anna Hoffman was given a quota spot for women's ski jumping. Hoffmann won the U.S. Olympic ski jumping trials last month and she becomes the only American woman in the Olympic ski jumping competition.
There are 131 U.S. athletes making their debuts. Among the 92 veterans, 39 have already won medals. That includes White, who could become only the second person to win individual gold medals at four separate Winter Olympics, joining speedskater Ireen Wust of the Netherlands.
Mikaela Shiffrin comes into Beijing with two gold medals. If she wins one more, she'll snap a tie with Ted Ligety and Andrea Mead-Lawrence for the most of all American Alpine skiers.
Kona Brewing Co., pro surfer Anna Gudauskus, and surf photographer Sarah Lee are embarking on an 1,500+ mile beach cleanup down the East Coast. Gudauskus and Lee join Cheddar News to discuss the initiative.
Join Cheddar News as we break down the top headlines this morning including updates on the Jan. 6 hears, the PGA suspension of 17 of the world's best golfers, and NASA's plans to study UFOs.
The PGA Tour has announced that it will suspend players that are competing in the LIV Golf event that teed off today. At least 17 players, including names like Phil Mickelson, Dustin Johnson, and Sergio Garcia are banned from the PGA Tour competition. Hilary Fordwich, a business analyst and golf expert, joined Cheddar News to discuss why the PGA had to go this route. This is a threat to the future of golf for them, and there's been many contentions about them not being fair and that this is vindictive," she said. "Don't forget, of course, they represent sort of a monopoly in the history of golf. So you've got two sides to this story. You've got those the purists, those that feel that golf should only be a certain way and that there are only these limited events that the PGA puts on. And then you've got other people who are saying … this is all about money"
Sports merchandising company Fanatics announced it will be making trading cards featuring college athletes, a deal made possible by the NCAA's change to NIL rules for its players. Anchors Kristen Scholer and Ken Buffa break down the deal for Cheddar.
Survivors of Larry Nassar, including Olympian Simone Biles, are seeking $1 billion in damages from the FBI due to its failure to investigate the former gymnastics team doctor convicted of committing years of serial sexual abuse of minors. Jack Queen, a senior reporter at Law360, joined Cheddar News to break down the legal grounds of this case. "This is one of the biggest black eyes that the Bureau has faced in generations, quite frankly, and the FBI has taken full responsibility and admitted that it completely botched this investigation," he said. "So, there's a lot of pressure to settle."
The victims from the USA gymnastics sexual abuse scandal continue to seek justice. Survivors of Larry Nassar are seeking more than one-billion dollars from the FBI for failing to stop the convicted sports doctor when the agency first received allegations. According to a report released by the Justice Department's Inspector General, FBI agents knew
in July of 2015 that Nassar was accused of abusing gymnasts; however, Nassar wasn't arrested until December of 2016. The group that filed the claim includes Olympic medalist Simone Biles and around 90 other women. Louise Radnofsky, sports reporter at The Wall Street Journal, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss.
A controversial professional golf tour backed by Saudi Arabia tees off on Thursday. Today, two-time Major winner Dustin Johnson announced he's resigned from the PGA Tour ahead of headlining the Saudi-backed tour, called the LIV Golf Invitation Series. The announcement comes as the PGA tour has threatened disciplinary action for its golfers who take part in the Saudi golf league event, which will also feature notable golf stars like Phil Mickelson and Sergio Garcia; however, LIV Golf's CEO, Greg Norman, told The Washington Post that Tiger Woods rejected a contract worth 'high nine digits' to play in the tour. Chris Bumbaca, reporter for USA Today Sports, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss.
Marques Ogden, former NFL offensive lineman turned author and celebrity success coach, joins Cheddar to discuss his career transition after his NFL playing days and how he overcame a low point to prioritize family and re-shape his life as a success coach.
Abe Stein, Head of Innovation at Sports Innovation Lab, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell, where he explains why the top four spots on his company's 2022 list are European soccer clubs and discusses Sports Innovation Lab's plan to publish data on women's pro sports teams in the not-too-distant future.
