Australian Open
In 2020 Tennis player, Naomi Osaka was named the highest-paid female athlete by Forbes, and she showed the world why after her win this past weekend. Osaka won the Australia Open giving her just 4 titles at the age of 23.
Naomi Osaka overcame these deficits en route to her four Grand Slam titles @espnW
— ESPN (@espn) February 20, 2021
(h/t @BastienFachan) pic.twitter.com/C7LOKcRSFt
Osaka took down top players such as Serena Williams and Jennifer Brady in the finals for her 4th Grand Slam title. During her acceptance speech, Osaka took the time to thank her team as well as her opponent Jennifer Brady.
A true queen @naomiosaka took time to praise and congratulate @jennifurbrady95 and her team after winning the #AusOpen pic.twitter.com/l7K6Yycn0C
— espnW (@espnW) February 20, 2021
Humbleness and respect are things Osaka consistently expresses, and we saw her exemplify the characteristics of a great role model in the post-game press conference. Her message to the public was that she wants to “play long enough to play a girl that said I was once her favorite player.”
"Hopefully I play long enough to play a girl that said that I was once her favorite player."@naomiosaka looks forward to facing the next generation ❤️
— ESPN (@espn) February 20, 2021
(via @AustralianOpen) pic.twitter.com/MkdLyi3R5R
Spring Football Season
I know I promised to give the football news a rest until the draft, but I just can’t seem to stay away. While FBS teams were able to host a ‘normal’ season during the fall amid the COVID 19 Pandemic, FCS schools were not as lucky. They chose to delay their 2020-2021 Football season until the spring. Which means that fans will be able to watch football through May 15th for the FCS Championship game.
The season went into full swing on February 13th with McNeese and Tarleton State battling it out in double overtime. The McNeese State Cowboys gave Tarleton State their first loss of the season in a 40-37 victory. The Cowboys established dominance early in the first quarter but lost that momentum midway through the game. Tarleton State went up 24-10 heading into the 4th quarter, but McNeese State would score 14 unanswered points to tie the teams at 31 and send them to overtime. The two seemed to go back and forth with field goals until Cowboys Quarterback, Cody Orgeron, found a hole to score a 19-yard touchdown securing the win.
Down 14 points with under 3 minutes to play and McNeese's offense came through when it mattered most vs. Tarleton State#McNeese pic.twitter.com/UiMlWYi8jA
— Brady Renard KPLC (@RenardSports) February 16, 2021
As of now, fans can stream these games on ESPN+ as well as YouTube.
Dallas Stars
Amid the extreme weather conditions and power outages, the Dallas Stars were forced to postpone 4 games adding to the difficulty of scheduling a playoff season. Many fans were upset that the team chose to cancel games after the weather started to clear up, but optics-wise it wasn’t a good look for the Stars to be using power as many Texans were stuck without it.
Nevertheless, Stars fans still found a way to bring the joy of hockey to their front doors. Multiple Twitter videos surfaced of kids, teens, and even adults showing their skills on the ice.
@wfaaweather @DallasStars @NHL Outdoor hockey in Dallas!! #SnowStorm2021 pic.twitter.com/qT6W6vDrsS
— Kristin Hughes (@Kris10bd) February 18, 2021
Hey @DallasStars check out our outdoor rink we made in Hurst, Texas. Winter classic at Hurst! #outdoorhockey #winterclassic pic.twitter.com/qg2vtEi8Re
— Adam Kegg (@aekegg) February 16, 2021
Texans are known for their ‘Southern Charm’ but I think after all the disasters they’ve seen this year, one could add ‘optimistic’ to their description.