Full List of Top 20 Hottest Female Sports Broadcasters of All Time
What do you know Erin Andrews Reporter for ESPN and looking Good For A Sportscasters.
Erin Andrews Dancing With The Stars
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If you're not familiar with the annual issue of the magazine, which reached newsstands last week, it's the answer to Sports Illustrated's cheesecakey swimsuit tradition. In the ESPN version, athletes are tastefully displayed in all their glory with hands or props obscuring all the parts that would have given the photographs a sexual tone. Instead, the carefully composed photos show the beautifully sculptured muscles of some of the finest athletes in the world.
Too many girls are looking at the cast of "Gossip Girl" and thinking it's the norm. Too many girls spend their summer staring down at their bare legs, jiggling what they think are globby thighs and being at odds with themselves. Yes, it's that same girl you carried home in your arms from the hospital years ago, fully convinced that bundle contained the most perfect child ever born. Because she was.
And she still is. We just have some convincing to do. So open the magazine and flip to Julie Chu, and then think about signing your girl up for ice hockey. Stat.
In the photo, Chu, a member of the U.S. women's hockey team, three-time Olympian and an assistant coach at Union, has her dark hair pulled up and her left arm angled over her chest, showcasing her shoulder muscles. Her right leg is stepped forward to cover the area below her belly button, further defining the sturdy thighs of a woman who spends seven days a week on skates.
She is strong. She is feminine. She is stunning.
But more important than all of that, her body and her mind aren't at war.
Chu says that when she was growing up playing soccer and hockey in Fairfield, Conn., she was just naive. No, she was lucky.
When she looks at old photos, she sees a 5-foot-8, Asian-American girl towering over everyone in her class. She had to line up at the back for every photograph, but she never thought much of it. Just like she never thought much about being the only girl out of 90 to 120 young hockey players to try out for the New York Rangers' peewee team, which, incidentally, she made.
Miriam and Wah Chu always told their three kids that God made them short or God made them tall for a reason, and Chu figured that's the way it was and moved on. She was too busy writing school essays about wanting to make the U.S. national team one day to worry about how she looked in gym shorts.
And in sports, she knew developing a healthy body and confident attitude was what it took to succeed. So that's what she did.
"That's where she got her confidence," says Chu's mother, who saw the ESPN photo and said the first word that came to mind was "powerful."
At first, Chu was the only girl on a boys' team. By age 10, she started playing on girls' teams, too, and often her teammates were older.
"Early on, I got exposed to teammates who have all different types of body types, and yet you look at all the teammates, and they all can be elite athletes," Chu says. "They were always really positive influences on me, and maybe our conversations in the locker room never went toward body image or the need to be skinny or anything like that. It was more that we were on a sports team to be active or be pushing ourselves."
It's when your mind turns on your body that the problems start, when your brain starts wishing you were taller, or thinner, or wore a bigger bra. But to be successful at sports, mind and body need to be on the same team.
Like every woman, Chu's known the frustration of trying to find a pair of jeans that fit. With a lot of female hockey players, she says, there are certain clothes that just don't work with muscular thighs or well-developed glutes. But that's OK. What might not work on a runway works on the ice.
When USA Hockey said ESPN was interested in photographing her for the magazine, Chu, who's 29, didn't hesitate. She tends to be most comfortable in sweats. But to be included among the elite athletes in the magazine was an honor, she says, and she wanted to show her players at Union how important it was to be comfortable with themselves.
ESPN's Body Issue shows all types of female forms. You get the softly bowed stomach of a tennis player; the wide, powerful shoulders of Chu; the lean-but-compact body of a gymnast; and the hulking biceps of an otherwise lanky WNBA All-Star.
"The best thing about it is it's all beautiful," Chu says, "and whatever skin you're in, as long as you're comfortable, there's a power that comes in the picture. ... This is the only body I have. I can't want that body. I have this body."
And it's a body your daughter needs to see. So she can start appreciating her own.
Reach Jennifer Gish at 454-5089 or jgish@timesunion.com.
ESPN Body Issue 2011: Nude Sport Celebrities
Previously we showed you nude pictures of American artistic gymnast Alicia Sacramone and American soccer goalie Hope Solo.
Vera Zvonareva
Vera Zvonareva is a professional tennis player from Russia. She was introduced to tennis at the age of six and turned professional in 2000. Her career high is world no. 2 by the WTA, and she is currently ranked as the world no. 4.Zvonareva has won twelve WTA Tour singles titles and reached the finals of the 2008 WTA Tour Championships, 2010 Wimbledon Championships, and 2010 US Open. She also was a bronze medalist at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
Gretchen Bleiler
Gretchen Bleiler is an American professional halfpipe snowboarder. She currently resides in Aspen, Colorado and is married to Chris Hotell.When she is not competing, Bleiler enjoys surfing, mountain biking, interior design and fashion. She is also active in several environmental organizations, including the Aspen Snomass Save Snow campaign, and stopglobalwarming.org.
Julie Chu
Julie Chu is an American Olympic ice hockey player who plays the position of forward on the United States women’s ice hockey team and the Montreal Stars.In 2007-08 she was an assistant coach for the University of Minnesota Duluth and helped the Bulldogs win their fourth NCAA Division I national championship. For the 2010-2011 hockey season, she will be joining the Union College Women’s Hockey Team’s coaching staff, serving as assistant coach.
This is an online exclusive story from ESPN The Magazine's Body Issue 2017, on newsstands on July 7. Subscribe today!
The U.S. women's national hockey team is no stranger to making bold statements. Six members posing nude on the ice for the 2017 Body Issue? Not even their bravest move this year. In March, they announced they would boycott the world championship, demanding equitable pay and better training conditions and support by the league. After winning that battle, they swiftly went on to claim gold against Canada -- in overtime, no less. Body Issue reporter Stevland Wilson caught up with them recently to discuss their fearless and groundbreaking year:
Q: What's the biggest misconception you think people have about female hockey players?
LAMOUREUX-MORANDO: You run into people at the airport who ask what sport you play, and they're like, "Oh, I thought you'd be bigger." Or "You look really petite, and you have all your teeth." We're normal women. We like to be feminine. We love to get dressed up and be pretty. But we love to train and be strong and be aggressive. There's this misconception that, if we play ice hockey, we're a certain way off the ice. We're normal.
DUGGAN: From a muscular standpoint, we're strong women. We have big legs and big butts. It's all about acceleration, explosion, power; it's all about the glutes. We're not size 0s, but we're proud of our greatest assets, which are our legs and our butts. We want to be fast. We want to be strong. We want to be dynamic and powerful and conditioned. All of us really represent that in a different way. Everyone brings a different piece to the table.
BELLAMY: We all have different body types. I have a pretty big butt, but then my legs are like bird legs. But I still can lift just as much as these girls can lift.
LAMOUREUX-MORANDO: We're strong women, not just physically but mentally. You don't have to be shy about being strong or being able to lift as much weight as the guy next to you. Yeah, we might not be a size 2, but we're confident in what we do, what we put on the ice, and what we do day in and day out.
LAMOUREUX-DAVIDSON: I work with a lot of college athletes and younger women [as a strength and conditioning coach]. We can use our bodies to do amazing things, and you should be proud of that, not embarrassed. Own it. Young women can develop great confidence in that, and I think they are role models for that. Be proud of yourself and who you are.
Q: I've heard Meghan has quite a reputation for a strict diet. How would you describe her nutrition regimen?
BELLAMY: She had a Cheeto about five years ago [laughing].
DUGGAN: When I was a senior in college [in 2011], I said to my team, "If we win the national championship and a world championship with the U.S. team this year, I'll eat a burger from McDonald's."
DECKER: I remember that. And we won both!
DUGGAN: So we showed up for our team parade and they walk right into the locker room with a McDonald's bag. They didn't forget.
RIGSBY: We videotaped the whole thing. Her unwrapping it and everything.
DUGGAN: I just love to cook, and I'm really passionate about certain foods and certain ingredients and what they do to your body.
BELLAMY: I think the way Meghan eats, being our captain and leader, rubs off on everyone else. When you're training, you eat the right things.
RIGSBY: I really focus on the protein. I don't like eating too many carbs. It's about balance. I definitely like my ice cream. I go out for a scoop here and there. But at the same time, we have to be focused on our nutrition too because it's going to translate to the ice.
DUGGAN: I take so much pride in my body, and I take so much pride in the bodies of my teammates. We train day in and day out to put ourselves in the position to be the best athletes we can be. We're certainly shaping our body in a certain way, but, at the same time, it's propelling us through our sport. And that just makes me really proud.
Q: You're clearly a close group. How else do you push each other when you're training?
RIGSBY: It's the most incredible culture I've ever been a part of. You experience things that you can't explain to other people -- the mental and physical grind that we go through on a daily basis to be a part of this team. We love training for each other. Especially being in a camp situation, or a tryout situation, you know, it gets competitive out there. We're competing for a spot on the [national] team, but at the same time, we're great teammates, really encouraging each other all the time.
LAMOUREUX-DAVIDSON: It's very rare to get a group like we have, all dialed in. It doesn't matter if someone had a crappy day, a great day -- everyone leaves it at the door.
LAMOUREUX-MORANDO: We'll call each other out if things aren't good enough. "Hey, that's not going to cut it. It's got to be better." It's not all kumbaya all the time, but we get through it and don't hold grudges. That's why our culture is so great. We don't pretend like everything's always roses and flowers.
DUGGAN: All 23 girls on our team are the best players from where they came from -- their college teams, their high schools, their whatever. The leadership of the team really has to set the groundwork for the culture of the team. Our goal is to win a gold medal in the next Olympics, and there's nothing that can stand in the way of that. That means people's egos have to be pushed aside. No one cares how many minutes you played in the gold medal game if you didn't win. That's the mindset.
Q: You had your focus on another big win this year too: boycotting the world championship in March in demand of equal pay. What was it like to be a part of an iconic moment in women's sports?
DUGGAN: Over the 10 years that I've played on the national team, we started to see things within the governing body that we just didn't think were fair, to put it frankly. About a year and a half ago, we started having more conversations with each other behind closed doors and sought to change the mindset within U.S.A. Hockey regarding how the women in this program are treated. We engaged in meetings with them over a 15-month period, but we were just at a standstill. The next step was to put something on the line -- to say to them, "We're serious. Stop underestimating us." It just so happens there was a world championship on home soil in Michigan, and we had to leverage it. We had to say, "We really feel strongly about this. We will not participate in the world championships unless we can come to terms on some of these things."
LAMOUREUX-MORANDO: I mean, in a non-Olympic year, that's our Stanley Cup. That's what we train for, and we were absolutely willing to put that on the line because we knew we were doing the right thing. We knew full-heartedly that this was the group that was going to change women's hockey in the U.S. It was the right thing to do for the next generation ... the 11-year-old girls that dream of playing on the national team.
LAMOUREUX-DAVIDSON: The biggest thing was equitable treatment. What you provide your men's team should also be provided for the women's program. It wasn't about dollar signs. We were asking for a livable wage. Some of us had full-time jobs, and we're trying to be elite athletes. That's just not conducive.
BELLAMY: It made us stronger on the ice. We were not going to settle. Without every single one of these teammates, everyone that supported us, it wouldn't have happened. Anyone they called to play in place of us said no.
DUGGAN: Kacey, Brianna and myself played on the same pro team back in Boston, and we had just finished a game, and I had a text message from an unknown number. "Hey, Billie Jean King here. I heard what you girls are going through and want to lend any support that I can." I just flipped. You know you've made a splash when Billie Jean King reaches out. It makes me emotional to think about. Basically, what she said was, "I will do whatever [to help]. You girls are powerful and amazing. I stand behind you."
DECKER: What we were doing had a bigger purpose, not only for our team but for young girls around the country. So, I wasn't nervous at all. I knew that our team would get through it, and for some reason, I had a gut feeling that we would be playing at the world championships.
DUGGAN: This is a veteran core group, but we had two or three girls who were [world championship] rookies. I talked with them about the magnitude of this boycott. I did have a private conversation with one of them who said, "I support this, I'm passionate about it, but it makes me really uncomfortable because this is my chance and I want to play." I totally sympathized with that. "I understand. Please, just trust me." She did, and there was never a conversation after that. When we won the world championship in overtime, I went up to her and grabbed her around the neck and said, "Remember three weeks ago when I told you to trust me?"
LAMOUREUX-MORANDO: Every once in a while, we need to take a step back and have perspective on what we just accomplished and the ripple effects it'll hopefully have on other women's sports.
DUGGAN: It's an incredible time to be a female athlete. It's a powerful movement. I'm proud to be a part of it.
For more Body interviews: AJ Andrews | Javier Baez | Julian Edelman | Ezekiel Elliott | Kirstie Ennis | Julie and Zach Ertz | Malakai Fekitoa | Gus Kenworthy | Nneka Ogwumike | Isaiah Thomas | Joe Thornton and Brent Burns | US Women's National Hockey Team | Ashley Wagner | Michelle Waterson | Novlene Williams-Mills | Caroline Wozniacki
The U.S. women's national hockey team is no stranger to making bold statements. Six members posing nude on the ice for the 2017 Body Issue? Not even their bravest move this year. In March, they announced they would boycott the world championship, demanding equitable pay and better training conditions and support by the league. After winning that battle, they swiftly went on to claim gold against Canada -- in overtime, no less. Body Issue reporter Stevland Wilson caught up with them recently to discuss their fearless and groundbreaking year:
Q: What's the biggest misconception you think people have about female hockey players?
LAMOUREUX-MORANDO: You run into people at the airport who ask what sport you play, and they're like, "Oh, I thought you'd be bigger." Or "You look really petite, and you have all your teeth." We're normal women. We like to be feminine. We love to get dressed up and be pretty. But we love to train and be strong and be aggressive. There's this misconception that, if we play ice hockey, we're a certain way off the ice. We're normal.
DUGGAN: From a muscular standpoint, we're strong women. We have big legs and big butts. It's all about acceleration, explosion, power; it's all about the glutes. We're not size 0s, but we're proud of our greatest assets, which are our legs and our butts. We want to be fast. We want to be strong. We want to be dynamic and powerful and conditioned. All of us really represent that in a different way. Everyone brings a different piece to the table.
BELLAMY: We all have different body types. I have a pretty big butt, but then my legs are like bird legs. But I still can lift just as much as these girls can lift.
LAMOUREUX-MORANDO: We're strong women, not just physically but mentally. You don't have to be shy about being strong or being able to lift as much weight as the guy next to you. Yeah, we might not be a size 2, but we're confident in what we do, what we put on the ice, and what we do day in and day out.
LAMOUREUX-DAVIDSON: I work with a lot of college athletes and younger women [as a strength and conditioning coach]. We can use our bodies to do amazing things, and you should be proud of that, not embarrassed. Own it. Young women can develop great confidence in that, and I think they are role models for that. Be proud of yourself and who you are.
Q: I've heard Meghan has quite a reputation for a strict diet. How would you describe her nutrition regimen?
BELLAMY: She had a Cheeto about five years ago [laughing].
DUGGAN: When I was a senior in college [in 2011], I said to my team, "If we win the national championship and a world championship with the U.S. team this year, I'll eat a burger from McDonald's."
DECKER: I remember that. And we won both!
DUGGAN: So we showed up for our team parade and they walk right into the locker room with a McDonald's bag. They didn't forget.
RIGSBY: We videotaped the whole thing. Her unwrapping it and everything.
DUGGAN: I just love to cook, and I'm really passionate about certain foods and certain ingredients and what they do to your body.
BELLAMY: I think the way Meghan eats, being our captain and leader, rubs off on everyone else. When you're training, you eat the right things.
RIGSBY: I really focus on the protein. I don't like eating too many carbs. It's about balance. I definitely like my ice cream. I go out for a scoop here and there. But at the same time, we have to be focused on our nutrition too because it's going to translate to the ice.
DUGGAN: I take so much pride in my body, and I take so much pride in the bodies of my teammates. We train day in and day out to put ourselves in the position to be the best athletes we can be. We're certainly shaping our body in a certain way, but, at the same time, it's propelling us through our sport. And that just makes me really proud.
Q: You're clearly a close group. How else do you push each other when you're training?
RIGSBY: It's the most incredible culture I've ever been a part of. You experience things that you can't explain to other people -- the mental and physical grind that we go through on a daily basis to be a part of this team. We love training for each other. Especially being in a camp situation, or a tryout situation, you know, it gets competitive out there. We're competing for a spot on the [national] team, but at the same time, we're great teammates, really encouraging each other all the time.
LAMOUREUX-DAVIDSON: It's very rare to get a group like we have, all dialed in. It doesn't matter if someone had a crappy day, a great day -- everyone leaves it at the door.
LAMOUREUX-MORANDO: We'll call each other out if things aren't good enough. "Hey, that's not going to cut it. It's got to be better." It's not all kumbaya all the time, but we get through it and don't hold grudges. That's why our culture is so great. We don't pretend like everything's always roses and flowers.
DUGGAN: All 23 girls on our team are the best players from where they came from -- their college teams, their high schools, their whatever. The leadership of the team really has to set the groundwork for the culture of the team. Our goal is to win a gold medal in the next Olympics, and there's nothing that can stand in the way of that. That means people's egos have to be pushed aside. No one cares how many minutes you played in the gold medal game if you didn't win. That's the mindset.
Q: You had your focus on another big win this year too: boycotting the world championship in March in demand of equal pay. What was it like to be a part of an iconic moment in women's sports?
DUGGAN: Over the 10 years that I've played on the national team, we started to see things within the governing body that we just didn't think were fair, to put it frankly. About a year and a half ago, we started having more conversations with each other behind closed doors and sought to change the mindset within U.S.A. Hockey regarding how the women in this program are treated. We engaged in meetings with them over a 15-month period, but we were just at a standstill. The next step was to put something on the line -- to say to them, "We're serious. Stop underestimating us." It just so happens there was a world championship on home soil in Michigan, and we had to leverage it. We had to say, "We really feel strongly about this. We will not participate in the world championships unless we can come to terms on some of these things."
LAMOUREUX-MORANDO: I mean, in a non-Olympic year, that's our Stanley Cup. That's what we train for, and we were absolutely willing to put that on the line because we knew we were doing the right thing. We knew full-heartedly that this was the group that was going to change women's hockey in the U.S. It was the right thing to do for the next generation ... the 11-year-old girls that dream of playing on the national team.
LAMOUREUX-DAVIDSON: The biggest thing was equitable treatment. What you provide your men's team should also be provided for the women's program. It wasn't about dollar signs. We were asking for a livable wage. Some of us had full-time jobs, and we're trying to be elite athletes. That's just not conducive.
BELLAMY: It made us stronger on the ice. We were not going to settle. Without every single one of these teammates, everyone that supported us, it wouldn't have happened. Anyone they called to play in place of us said no.
DUGGAN: Kacey, Brianna and myself played on the same pro team back in Boston, and we had just finished a game, and I had a text message from an unknown number. "Hey, Billie Jean King here. I heard what you girls are going through and want to lend any support that I can." I just flipped. You know you've made a splash when Billie Jean King reaches out. It makes me emotional to think about. Basically, what she said was, "I will do whatever [to help]. You girls are powerful and amazing. I stand behind you."
DECKER: What we were doing had a bigger purpose, not only for our team but for young girls around the country. So, I wasn't nervous at all. I knew that our team would get through it, and for some reason, I had a gut feeling that we would be playing at the world championships.
DUGGAN: This is a veteran core group, but we had two or three girls who were [world championship] rookies. I talked with them about the magnitude of this boycott. I did have a private conversation with one of them who said, "I support this, I'm passionate about it, but it makes me really uncomfortable because this is my chance and I want to play." I totally sympathized with that. "I understand. Please, just trust me." She did, and there was never a conversation after that. When we won the world championship in overtime, I went up to her and grabbed her around the neck and said, "Remember three weeks ago when I told you to trust me?"
LAMOUREUX-MORANDO: Every once in a while, we need to take a step back and have perspective on what we just accomplished and the ripple effects it'll hopefully have on other women's sports.
DUGGAN: It's an incredible time to be a female athlete. It's a powerful movement. I'm proud to be a part of it.
For more Body interviews: AJ Andrews | Javier Baez | Julian Edelman | Ezekiel Elliott | Kirstie Ennis | Julie and Zach Ertz | Malakai Fekitoa | Gus Kenworthy | Nneka Ogwumike | Isaiah Thomas | Joe Thornton and Brent Burns | US Women's National Hockey Team | Ashley Wagner | Michelle Waterson | Novlene Williams-Mills | Caroline Wozniacki
Ryan Lochte cleared by Rio court on charge of providing false report
An
appellate court in Brazil has cleared U.S. swimmer Ryan Lochte of a
charge stemming from an incident last summer at the Olympics in Rio de
Janeiro.
The Criminal Justice Court of the state of Rio de Janeiro dismissed the criminal case against Lochte, who was charged with falsely reporting a crime to police.
Lochte, a six-time Olympic gold medalist, was suspended from the sport last summer after he and three other swimmers -- Jimmy Feigen, Jack Conger and Gunnar Bentz -- vandalized a gas station during the Rio Games. In a television interview, Lochte said they had been robbed at gunpoint.
A three-judge panel voted 2-1 to close the case Thursday, according to court documents.
Brazilian network O Globo reported that the judges dropped the charge because Lochte's interview with NBC News the day after the incident did not constitute a false report.
"We are pleased that the court has finally dismissed the criminal prosecution against Mr. Lochte, while at the same time, appropriately recognizing that he committed no crime. It has been a long year, but in the end, justice prevailed," said Jeff Ostrow, Lochte's Florida-based attorney, in a statement to USA Today Sports on Friday.
Prosecutors have 15 days to decide whether they will challenge the ruling, according to USA Today.
Lochte, who apologized for his behavior,
returned to the United States two days after the incident. Feigen
followed the following day but only after reaching a deal with a judge
to make a $10,800 payment. When Bentz and Conger boarded a plane to
leave Rio, authorities removed the pair from the jet; police were not
satisfied with their account of the robbery-that-wasn't and wanted more
information. Bentz and Conger talked with authorities, were whisked
through airport security and returned to the U.S. the next day.
In a follow-up interview with NBC News a week after the incident, Lochte said he "overexaggerated" what happened that night and acknowledged that it was his "immature behavior" that got him and his teammates into a mess that consumed the final week of the Olympics.
Lochte was set to return to USA Swimming competition this week for the first time since his 10-month suspension ended, but he reportedly withdrew from this weekend's L.A. Invitational, citing insufficient training due to the June birth of his son.
The Criminal Justice Court of the state of Rio de Janeiro dismissed the criminal case against Lochte, who was charged with falsely reporting a crime to police.
Lochte, a six-time Olympic gold medalist, was suspended from the sport last summer after he and three other swimmers -- Jimmy Feigen, Jack Conger and Gunnar Bentz -- vandalized a gas station during the Rio Games. In a television interview, Lochte said they had been robbed at gunpoint.
A three-judge panel voted 2-1 to close the case Thursday, according to court documents.
Brazilian network O Globo reported that the judges dropped the charge because Lochte's interview with NBC News the day after the incident did not constitute a false report.
"We are pleased that the court has finally dismissed the criminal prosecution against Mr. Lochte, while at the same time, appropriately recognizing that he committed no crime. It has been a long year, but in the end, justice prevailed," said Jeff Ostrow, Lochte's Florida-based attorney, in a statement to USA Today Sports on Friday.
Prosecutors have 15 days to decide whether they will challenge the ruling, according to USA Today.
ADVERTISEMENT
The
scandal, which started Aug. 16 in Rio, overshadowed the final days of
the Games, and the ever-changing version of events that Lochte provided
cost him major sponsors.
In a follow-up interview with NBC News a week after the incident, Lochte said he "overexaggerated" what happened that night and acknowledged that it was his "immature behavior" that got him and his teammates into a mess that consumed the final week of the Olympics.
Lochte was set to return to USA Swimming competition this week for the first time since his 10-month suspension ended, but he reportedly withdrew from this weekend's L.A. Invitational, citing insufficient training due to the June birth of his son.
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