Latest news with #LeagueofTheirOwn
NDTV
01-07-2025
- Entertainment
- NDTV
'Nearly Joined WWE, Was Going To Fight...': Andrew Flintoff Makes Huge Revelation
Former England cricket team all-rounder Andrew Flintoff revealed that he was on the verge of joining the World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) and even face The Undertaker in a fight. Flintoff said that he was offered an 'obscene' deal by the WWE to make the fight happen shortly after he announced his retirement from cricket. The cricketer, who played 227 international matches for England in his 12-year career, retired in 2010. Following the move, he said that he was not sure what his next move was going to be and his plan to fight The Undertaker in Manchester peaked the interest of WWE officials. "I just hid for a bit and started to wonder, 'What am I going to do now?' Some of the TV offers started to come, which was never the plan - I stumbled into that. I nearly joined the WWE, I didn't want to box, that was never the plan! I would have been called 'Big Fred'!" he said on The Overlap's Stick to Cricket. "What happened was, it got to a point in Dubai where I was unfit, I'd put weight on and I was just not in a good place. I wanted to get fit again, but I needed motivation. As a kid, I loved WWE, so I came up with this idea, because I was doing League of Their Own with Sky, to fight the Undertaker in Manchester." "I wrote this treatment up and presented the idea to Sky, it started gathering momentum and next minute it's being passed onto WWE. I was in contact with the WWE, Vince McMahon!" Flintoff also revealed why the WWE deal eventually did not go through. "Two weeks later, I got an email from WWE, saying, 'You can't do your documentary because you'll give the secrets away, we want to put you on a three-year contract.' "They said, 'We'll fast-track you and in 18 months you'll be at WrestleMania and Royal Rumble.' "The money was obscene, but we wanted to move back from Dubai. The kids wanted to play cricket and didn't want to go to America, so I just changed it to boxing and had a fight instead."
Hindustan Times
01-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Hindustan Times
Andrew Flintoff spills on 'obscene' WWE deal to fight Undertaker: 'Had lashes on my back on Day 2'
Andrew Flintoff, on Monday, disclosed how he almost went from being one of England's cricketing greats to facing the Undertaker after being offered an "obscene" deal with the WWE right following his retirement from cricket. However, the deal eventually collapsed after he said no to the offer from WWE co-founder Vince McMahon. Andrew Flintoff almost had a WWE contract after retirement from cricket Flintoff, who played 227 international matches across formats for England in his 12-year career, retired from cricket in 2010. Four years later, he returned to the sport to play in the Big Bash League for Brisbane Heat in the 2014/15 season. During his first retirement stint, the 47-year-old was famously offered a deal by the WWE, which included an appearance in the Royal Rumble and WrestleMania, and a face-off with the Undertaker. For the match against the Phenom, he underwent a two-week training at the WWE Performance Centre in Tampa. However, he eventually decided against moving to America despite the massive contract. Speaking on The Overlap's Stick to Cricket, Flintoff revealed that he started receiving broadcasting offers after his retirement, which is when he stumbled upon the WWE deal. He said: "I just hid for a bit and started to wonder, 'What am I going to do now?' Some of the TV offers started to come, which was never the plan - I stumbled into that. I nearly joined the WWE, I didn't want to box, that was never the plan! I would have been called 'Big Fred'!" Flintoff then opened up on his pitch to fight the Undertaker in Manchester and his training for the big bout. He continued: "What happened was, it got to a point in Dubai where I was unfit, I'd put weight on and I was just not in a good place. I wanted to get fit again, but I needed motivation. As a kid, I loved WWE, so I came up with this idea, because I was doing League of Their Own with Sky, to fight the Undertaker in Manchester. "I wrote this treatment up and presented the idea to Sky, it started gathering momentum and next minute it's being passed onto WWE. I was in contact with the WWE, Vince McMahon! "Dave Roberts' Rooster' who was a physiotherapist who lived with us throughout my career, lived with us and looked after us. I asked him to send a trainer over to Dubai for six weeks because I needed to bulk up. "He sent this fella over, I trained my nuts off, got fit and then the WWE flew me to Tampa. Me and the missus have gone over to Tampa, I've got two weeks at wrestling academy. "They fly us over business class, next morning we get in the car and go to WWE's academy, two massive units all branded. We're sitting in the car and these things are walking past me, like 6ft 8in monsters. "My missus asked, are you going to be okay? I said, 'Yeah, I'll be fine.' I walked in - on the first day, nobody liked me because it's really competitive with 60 of us all wanting a contract with the WWE - then this English lad walked in." However, Flintoff was quickly handed a reality check as he understood how intense and dangerous WWE was after suffering broken ribs. He added: "So I go in and we do the warm-ups, then they put me in the ring for three hours and I just ran the ropes, I'd run into someone and they'd throw me. "The second day I went in there, I had lashes all down my back and my missus said, 'Are you alright with this?' I was sore and thought something's not right here. "I said to this physio, 'I think I'm having a back spasm,' so they're all like, 'Ohh the English lad's got a back spasm,' so they put me on the couch, he's pushing me and I can feel my ribs separating. "I said, 'Mate, I think I've broken my ribs.' He said I'd be in so much pain and I was like, 'Mate, I want to cry but I can't in there.' I went for an X-ray and this fella who puts it up asked, 'What do you do'?, I said, 'I'm a wrestler,' He asked, 'How long have you been doing this' and I said, 'Two days.' "We did all of that - on the third day, you do acting lessons, but I didn't think I was in on it. I was just sitting minding my own business and they said, 'Fred, you're up.' I got up, and I had the microphone in my hand saying how hard I am, but I didn't like that so said, 'Can I do another?' I looked out and there were all of these weird and wonderful-looking people, so I just tore them all a new one. They were trying to get me to wind up after two minutes, but I was not finished." However, the deal eventually collapsed after Flintoff realised that he wanted to move back to Dubai and that his kids were interested in cricket and did not want to go to America. "Two weeks later, I got an email from WWE, saying, 'You can't do your documentary because you'll give the secrets away, we want to put you on a three-year contract.' "They said, 'We'll fast-track you and in 18 months you'll be at WrestleMania and Royal Rumble.' "The money was obscene, but we wanted to move back from Dubai. "The kids wanted to play cricket and didn't want to go to America, so I just changed it to boxing and had a fight instead." In 2012, Flintoff made his only appearance on professional fighting, where he faced Richard Dawson in Manchester.
Sky News AU
30-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Sky News AU
Rosie O'Donnell eviscerates Jeff Bezos and ‘fake fembot' Lauren Sánchez for gluttonous $76 million wedding: ‘Sold his soul'
Rosie O'Donnell tore apart Jeff Bezos and his 'fake fembot wife,' Lauren Sánchez, for their over-the-top $50 million ($76 million AUD) wedding in Venice, Italy. 'The BEZOS wedding,' the comedian wrote via Instagram Monday, along with alleged photos of the former journalist's appearance before and after cosmetic work. O'Donnell called out the 'billionaires' who gathered for the nuptials 'in the gross excess of it all' — adding that it 'turned [her] stomach.' 'Is Oprah friends with Jeff Besos [sic] really — how is that possible,' the 'View' alum, 63, continued. O'Donnell claimed the Amazon founder 'treats his employees with disdain' and that 'by any metric he is not a nice man.' She then called out Sánchez, saying, 'And his fake fem bot [sic] wife who looks like that. Why would he choose her after the salt of the earth Mackenzie.' The 'League of Their Own' star was referring to Bezos' first wife, MacKenzie Scott, whom he was married to from 1993 to 2019. 'Sold his soul is what it looks like from here. The devil is smiling at all his conquests,' O'Donnell concluded. Reps for Bezos, 61, and Sánchez, 55, were not immediately available to Page Six for comment. Social media users in O'Donnell's comments section were divided over her harsh commentary about the newlyweds. 'We've lost touch completely. With what's real, with what matters, with each other,' one person agreed. 'All those members of the arts … it's disappointing, really,' another added. 'I was shocked to see Leonardo DiCaprio there … Mr Climate change himself partying with one of the most destroyed people on the planet,' a third chimed in. But Robin Thicke's wife, April Love Geary, was one of many to chide O'Donnell, writing, 'I'm not a fan of them — but I don't think it's a good look to make fun of other people's appearances. 'I'm all for disliking people because of how they treat others/etc but it is sad to see women post overly edited pictures of women and talk poorly about their appearances so publicly.' 'Can't we just stick to talking about how Bezos treats his employees terribly? Why do we have to tear women's looks apart on social media,' Geary continued. 'This is called bullying … so sad … it's sad to see women bullying other women,' another person echoed. Bezos and Sánchez were also shaded by Charlize Theron, who said 'they suck' while speaking at a charity event over the weekend. The couple invited A-list guests, including the Kardashians, Orlando Bloom and Sydney Sweeney, to their extravagant three-day wedding celebration, which began with a welcome party on Thursday evening. They then tied the knot on San Giorgio Maggiore island Friday and hosted a pajama-themed party the following night. The weekend came to a close as several celebrities were spotted leaving for the airport on Sunday. Originally published as Rosie O'Donnell eviscerates Jeff Bezos and 'fake fembot' Lauren Sánchez for gluttonous $76 million wedding: 'Sold his soul'
Yahoo
25-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
The Rosie O'Donnell and Ellen DeGeneres feud, explained
Rosie O'Donnell and Ellen DeGeneres are both lesbian comedians with successful acting careers. They've both had major daytime talk shows, and both fled to Europe because of the current political climate, and yet despite how much they have in common, they've been feuding for more than two decades. In a new interview with Us Weekly, O'Donnell is speaking out about the deterioration of her relationship with DeGeneres and what led to the falling out between the former friends who have such a long and shared history. Although there have been years' worth of simmering animosity, O'Donnell said she doesn't have any 'malice' toward her old friend. 'I don't want to fight against another gay woman. It's not like we're tenaciously opposed to each other. We're just very different people. We have had some stuff in the past that we never resolved,' she explained. But how did the feud start, and where do the women stand now? The two women both came up in the stand-up comedy scene at the same time in the '90s so they ran into each other frequently and according to O'Donnell they used to go to parties together with other lesbian celebrities. 'I had known her for years doing stand-up and as young entertainers in Hollywood. Me, Melissa [Etheridge], k.d. [lang] and Ellen, we all would go to parties together,' O'Donnell told The Hollywood Reporter in an interview back in 2023. The League of Their Own actress explained that they were such good friends that right before DeGeneres came out on her sitcom Ellen and then on the cover of Time, she came on The Rosie O'Donnell Show and teased coming out. To support her friend, despite still being in the closet herself, O'Donnell made a lesbian joke on air. 'It was a good relationship. We were friends,' O'Donnell said. 'We supported each other. Which is why when she came on my show, I said, 'Let me not have you standing there by yourself. Let's get a joke in there.' And we sat down and came up with that, 'Oh my God, I love Casey Kasem. Maybe I'm Lebanese.' It became a big thing.' The relationship between the comedians deteriorated when DeGeneres appeared on Larry King Live in 2004 and acted like she and O'Donnell weren't friends. 'She said it on Larry King Live. Larry King said, 'Whatever happened to Rosie O'Donnell's show? She went down the tubes as soon as she came out.' And the quote that Ellen said was, 'I don't know Rosie. We're not friends.' I was watching TV in bed with my wife going, 'Did she just say that?'' The reality of what DeGeneres told Larry King is slightly different: "I don't really know Rosie that well. I mean, I've spoken to her, but we're not really friends," she said. On an episode of Watch What Happens Live in 2022, O'Donnell admitted that she was hurt by DeGeneres snubbing her on Larry King Live. "It hurt my feelings like a baby and I never really got over it," she told host Andy Cohen after relaying the whole saga. O'Donnell also claimed in the interview with THR that DeGeneres hired the staff from her talk show to work on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, which started in 2003, shortly after O'Donnell left her own talk show. 'She used the same staff from my show — Jim Paratore, Andy Lassner. So that was odd. It was very similar to my show,' O'Donnell told the publication. "And then I asked to go on because of something I was promoting, and she said no. And I remember going, 'Seriously?' After she said no that one time, whenever they would ask [me to appear] on the show, I would say no." O'Donnell told THR back in 2023 that after she appeared on Watch What Happens Live, she received a text from her old friend apologizing and admitting that she didn't remember saying that to Larry King. But at the time it doesn't sound like O'Donnell was ready to live and let live. 'She wrote, 'I'm really sorry and I don't remember that.' I guess she saw me talk about it on Andy Cohen's show. I remembered it so well, I had T-shirts printed and I gave them to my staff that said 'I don't know Rosie. We're not friends.'' O'Donnell said that at one point the two women were so close that they knew each other's family, but after the feud started, she no longer trusted DeGeneres. 'I have a picture of her holding [my then-infant son] Parker. I know her mother. I could identify her brother without her in the room. I knew her for so many years. It just felt like I don't trust this person to be in my world,' she said. While DeGeneres hasn't spoke publicly about the feud, O'Donnell went into detail about her feelings toward DeGeneres in the new Us Weekly interview. 'I don't want to fight against another gay woman. It's not like we're tenaciously opposed to each other. We're just very different people,' she admitted. 'We have had some stuff in the past that we never resolved. And not in any way as, as partners or lovers or anything like that, just as friends and comedians, but I wish her the best. I seriously do,' she told Us. 'I think that there's enough room in the world for all of the gay comedians, and we all need to stick together because gay people are the next group to be threatened. And the way they attack trans people is absolutely terrifying. If people don't understand that they're a vital part of the LBGTQIA+ community, that's tragic because we protect our own, especially the most vulnerable.'
CBS News
31-03-2025
- Sport
- CBS News
Women of all ages step up to the plate for the Eastern Women's Baseball Conference
One baseball league has women taking the field by storm. Masi Seal, who is part of the Eastern Women's Baseball Conference, has loved baseball since before she could walk. "My dad, our whole family, has been playing for like, years and years, so I keep it going," the 14-year-old said. Some say Seal plays better than the boys. "Half of all the girls I know can play better than all the boys I've played against," she said. "I know all the girls that I've played with are better than thousands of people." The EWBC is a league created by women, for women. "The Eastern Women's Baseball Conference is a league that was created over 30 years ago by women for women, to give women the opportunity to play baseball in a competitive environment, but also have a lot of fun," said Jennifer Francis, president of the EWBC. The conference officially launched in 2000, but its roots stretch back to the Washington Metropolitan Women's Baseball League, founded in 1990-three years before *A League of Their Own* brought national attention to women's baseball. Bonnie Hoffman, tournament director and coach, said it's simple. "Baseball is a game for everybody," she said. And at the EWBC, everybody means everybody. "Our players range from about 13 to players in their 70s," Hoffman said. "It really is intended to be a space in which every woman who wants to play has an opportunity to play a game they care about." The season runs from May through August. Players join one of five teams based in Baltimore, D.C., and Virginia. They play by Major League Baseball rules. "We are all competitive. We all want to win, but we want to have fun," said Jo Ann Kruger, vice president of the EWBC. Kruger has played for nearly 25 years. "Brooks Robinson, I've been number five my whole life because of Brooks," she said. "I was going to replace Cal Ripken as a shortstop on the Orioles. But honestly, growing up, I realized I'm not THAT good." Still, her passion for the game hasn't changed. "As much as I enjoyed the game and played the game... I was going to be Cal and every play, my brain was thinking, hey, this is what Cal would do," Kruger said. "Here I am still playing - maybe not for the Orioles, but I am still playing." For many players, the league is about more than the game. "People should have access to sports," Hoffman said. "And that includes, especially women, having access to baseball... rather than to feel like they're directed or guided into one spot." Seal said the league's leaders help players feel accepted and empowered. "They're just representing girls' baseball in general," she said. "They show that no matter how old you are, no matter what you look like or what you do, like, just do what you love." And they'll keep swinging for the fences.
