Latest news with #Hamilton
New York Post
5 hours ago
- Entertainment
- New York Post
Ravens All-Pro Kyle Hamilton gets engaged to longtime girlfriend in French getaway
Kyle Hamilton's having himself a nice offseason. On Friday, the All-Pro safety is now engaged with his longtime girlfriend, Reese Damm. The pair posted a series of photos of Hamilton getting down on one knee and popping the question on a waterfront in France, with framed pictures and candles to set the scene. 4 Baltimore Ravens safety Kyle Hamilton is engaged to his high school sweetheart. Instagram/@dammreese The high school sweethearts have been together since they attended the Marist School in Atlanta, Georgia. Hamilton went on to play football at Notre Dame, where he spent three years and was named an All-American in his final season before he declared for the 2022 NFL Draft and was selected by the Ravens with the 14th overall pick. He racked up 138 tackles, eight interceptions and eight tackles for loss in 31 career games with the Fighting Irish. 4 Kyle Hamilton (L) and Reese Damm attend the 13th annual NFL Honors at Resorts World Theatre on February 8, 2024 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Getty Images Upon heading to Baltimore, the safety wasted no time making an impact as he was a Pro Bowler and earned First Team All-Pro honors in just his second season when he tallied 81 tackles, four interceptions, three sacks and 10 tackles for loss in 15 games. 4 Hamilton is a star defensive back for the Ravens. Instagram/@dammreese This past season, he raised his tackle total to 107, made the Pro Bowl once again, nabbed All-Pro Second Team honors and was ninth in Defensive Player of the Year voting. As for Damm, she went on to graduate with a bachelor's degree in public relations and image management from South Carolina, according to the Daily Mail. She has since tried her hand in music as she has released two EPs and a single while also working a PR job at Zest Social Media Solutions. 4 Kyle Hamilton with Reese Damm. Instagram/@dammreese The couple went viral when Hamilton was drafted in 2022, as they showed off an elaborate handshake as they celebrated the moment. Hamilton is entering the fourth year of his rookie contract but recently had his fifth-year option picked up by the Ravens, which will pay him $18.6 million that season.
Times
6 hours ago
- Sport
- Times
John Mitchell: Leading Red Roses at World Cup is like coaching All Blacks
It ranks among the most comprehensive midweek defeats for tourists from these isles. In 1993 the British & Irish Lions had beaten New Zealand to take the series to a decider, and three days later they were thumped 38-10 in Hamilton. Among the Waikato XV that day were Ian Foster, Warren Gatland and John Mitchell. 'Antipodeans wait for the Lions,' Mitchell says. 'You just want that opportunity, and then it's a 12-year cycle as well, so that's why it's really important. When you've got confidence as a provincial side and you give yourself a chance of winning, you go for it.' A quantity surveyor at the time, he recalls the occasion: 'Three o'clock on a Tuesday afternoon, 35,000 people, probably not all of them on annual leave. Then the night we won and went into the night, I think I was driving around the Welsh president in my Ford Escort to try to find another pub. 'The next morning I had to report for work at 7.30am. I still remember my workmate, Derek Hobbs, he could see I was a little bit seedy and I had to go to the doctor for antibiotics because I think I cut my elbow open.' Fast forward 32 years and more pressing for Mitchell, 61, is the Women's Rugby World Cup in England, beginning on August 22, for which the Red Roses are favourites after a run of 55 wins in 56 Tests (the defeat being the previous World Cup final). They began their campaign on June 2 after a five-week break, starting with a first day of connection, sharing stories and photographs about the time off. Punishing fitness work from the first two camps will continue, twinned with increasing tactical work, to help deal with incidents such as the first-half red card for Lydia Thompson three years ago, en route to a fifth defeat in finals by the Black Ferns. 'If we don't create that exposure, then we're probably going to let ourselves down like the last World Cup,' Mitchell says. Mitchell has coached at several men's World Cups. In 2003 he led the All Blacks, 16 years on from their only win at the time, into the tournament. 'It does feel similar to that, but probably what's different is that I'm a little bit older and a bit more experienced,' Mitchell says. 'The young John Mitchell, he was 37 or 40 way back then, has done a few miles. I would love to have had the experience that I've got now back then. But hey, that's life, you've got to learn it. 'I've been in too many World Cups where people make it bigger than what it actually is. It's just a tournament, and it's a big tournament. Just focus on what you can control and make sure you don't get distracted by stuff from the outside world that affects the week.' More than 300,000 tickets have been sold for the tournament, more than double the record attendance in New Zealand three years ago, and Mitchell is aware of the World Cup's role in the growth of the women's game, as well as the status of the Red Roses. 'To me, it's significant; we stand for something, we've set a standard, but we also haven't won a World Cup for 11 years, so how do we get down what we haven't had for a long time?' he says. 'We mustn't have been doing something right. 'We've got an opportunity to embrace this, take it on, and create our own story that ultimately can help our girls pass on the message for a lot longer than when you come second. I guess that's the powerful opportunity while this tournament is under our watch.'
RNZ News
6 hours ago
- Sport
- RNZ News
Rugby Premier League looks to revive Indian game through sevens league
Former New Zealand captain Scott Curry, who will feature in the Indian RPL, scores a try in the 2019 World Series event in Hamilton. Photo: Photosport Nearly 150 years after the demise of Calcutta Football Club resulted in the creation of rugby's oldest international trophy, a new sevens league was launched this month with the aim of reviving the gladiatorial sport in India. The Rugby Premier League (RPL) has recruited top internationals from the World Sevens circuit to play alongside locals in six franchises under broadcast-friendly rule variations. Organisers not only want to lead a revival of local rugby to the extent that India one day qualifies for the Olympics, but believe they can help revolutionise the future of the game worldwide. "Rugby in India is not so popular and not because it's not played, it's played in more than 250 districts in India and there's a lot of talent pool available, but because people have not seen it," Satyam Trivedi, chief executive of co-organisers GMR Sports, told Reuters. "It has not been commercialised, originally or globally. It is a very aspirational sport. In countries like the UK, Australia, New Zealand, it's a private schoolboy sport, which is not how it is seen in India. "I'm sure with the league getting commercials, going on broadcast, some of the finest athletes of the world coming and participating, the audiences will see it and the sport will catch up." The launch of the RPL comes at a time when sevens, which took off after its inclusion for the 2016 Olympics in Brazil, is facing challenges. Financial pressures have led to cutbacks in some programmes, with Ireland ending its men's programme and Britain's men's and women's going part-time at the end of July. World Rugby plans to introduce a three-division regular season in 2026, increasing the number of events to make the sport more cost-effective and competitive. Unlike World Sevens tournaments, organised on national lines, each RPL squad features five top-level "marquee" players, five from India, and three more internationals dubbed "bridge" players. Scott Curry, who played 321 times for New Zealand's All Blacks Sevens team and represents the Bengaluru Bravehearts in the RPL, believes the franchise model could be a peek into the sport's global future. "The World Series has been changing a lot and there's a little bit of uncertainty there but to see something like this, a franchise league ... I think it could be the future of the game going forward for sure," Curry said. "Having franchises where players from all over the world can come and play together along with local Indian players is really exciting for our sport." Rugby India is another co-organiser of the RPL and its President Rahul Bose senses a major opportunity to get the eyes of 1.4 billion people on the game through the country's potential bid for the 2036 Summer Olympics. "After Indian hockey, we want to be the second team, and by that time (2036), it'll be 80 years that there's no other team that's gone to the Olympics from India," Bose said. "I'm not counting cricket, which is coming into the Olympics through a different route. But certainly when it comes to sports that have 100-plus nations playing it, like soccer and rugby, we've trained our eyes on that." Spaniard Manuel Moreno, who was named in the World Sevens series dream team last season and has been playing for the Hyderabad Heroes in the RPL, thinks India might not have to wait as long as 2036 given the Olympics has regional qualifiers. "It's a long way to try to compete with the best teams in the world ... the World Rugby Series, maybe is too far from now but maybe (India can qualify) for the Games as qualification is from the continent," Moreno said. "They (India) can do it in the next Olympic cycle. There are only two or three big teams in Asia. So I think they have a real possibility to be in the Los Angeles Games in 2028." Moreno might be being a little optimistic given India's men finished seventh in Asian qualifying for the 2024 Paris Olympics, while the women were sixth. Still, playing with the likes of Curry and Moreno can only help accelerate the development of local players and it might not be too long before Indian rugby is known for more than just the source of the trophy that England and Scotland play for every year. - Reuters
Yahoo
8 hours ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Matthew Schaefer was so emotional after being picked No. 1 overall at NHL Draft
The New York Islanders made Erie Otters defenseman Matthew Schaefer the first overall pick in the 2025 NHL Draft on Friday night. A native of Hamilton, Ontario, Schaefer was also the first overall pick in the Ontario Hockey League draft in 2023. It was an emotional moment for the 17-year-old prospect, whose mother passed away from breast cancer in February of 2024. Schaefer was brought to tears of joy after his selection was announced, and as he put on the Islanders jersey on stage with commissioner Gary Bettman, he kissed the breast cancer awareness ribbon on his jersey and pointed to the sky. Advertisement The emotions continued as Schaefer met with New York brass, including general manager Mathieu Darche. "It's a great day in the Islander organization," Darche said. "Your parents should be extremely proud of you. I know your mom is proud of you." Schaefer shined in 17 games last season with the Otters, totaling 22 points with seven goals in that span before suffering a broken clavicle in December while competing for Canada at the World Junior Championship. He's had quite a bit of success in international play already in his career, winning gold medals for Canada in the 2023 World Under-17 Hockey Challenge, the 2024 IIHF U18 World Championship and the 2024 Hlinka Gretzky Cup. Advertisement After overcoming personal tragedy, Schaefer's draft dreams came true on Friday night. Now, he'll join an Islanders franchise that hasn't advanced beyond the first round of the playoffs since 2021 and is coming off a 35-35-12 season in which it missed the postseason. This article originally appeared on College Sports Wire: 2025 NHL Draft: Matthew Schaefer was emotional after going 1st overall
Fox News
8 hours ago
- Sport
- Fox News
New York Islanders choose Matthew Schaefer with No. 1 pick in 2025 NHL draft
Print Close By Jackson Thompson Published June 27, 2025 The New York Islanders made defenseman Matthew Schaefer the No. 1 pick in the 2025 NHL draft Friday. The 17-year-old Schaefer is 6-foot-2 and from Hamilton, Ontario. He spent the past two seasons with the Ontario Hockey League's Erie Otters. CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON Schaefer only played 17 games last year before breaking his collarbone in December, but his acumen on both ends of the ice still propelled him to the top of nearly all draft boards. Schaefer is just the fifth defenseman drafted No. 1 overall in the NHL draft since 2000, and the first since Owen Power went to Buffalo in 2021. CITY-RUN GROCERY STORES, DEFUNDING POLICE, SAFE INJECTION SITES: WHAT TO KNOW ABOUT NYC'S NEXT POTENTIAL MAYOR Schaefer persevered through tragedy to reach this milestone. Schaefer's mother, Jennifer, died of cancer 16 months ago, and he endured the recent deaths of the Otters' owner, Jim Waters, and the mother of his billet family. When Schaefer pulled on his Islanders sweater for the first time, he kissed the pink ribbon patch on the chest representing breast cancer awareness before breaking into tears. The San Jose Sharks pick second, and the Chicago Blackhawks go third in the newly decentralized draft at the Peacock Theater in downtown Los Angeles. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP The Islanders won the lottery to pick first in a draft packed with talent. There was no absolute lock of a No. 1 pick in this field, although Schaefer clearly came out on top. The draft also lacked the centralized format that has long been a staple of this annual exercise. The 32 teams' various executives are mostly at home, not on the draft floor at the Peacock Theater in downtown Los Angeles. The Associated Press contributed to this report. Follow Fox News Digital's sports coverage on X , and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter . Print Close URL
