The Ukrainian Weekly (https://www.ukrweekly.com/uwwp/author/ihor-stelmach/page/5/)
In 1996, Konstantin, Irina and 5-year-old Masha Lodnia packed up their belongings and left their native Ukraine, heading to Los Angeles with the hope of a better life. Three years later, their second child, Ivan, was born.
The Calgary Flames’ organizational chart boasted five players of Ukrainian descent, ranking them first in the National Hockey League for the 2018-2019 campaign. Six clubs listed three Ukrainians each on their combined parent, prospect and minor league affiliate player rosters: Boston, Florida, Montreal, New York Islanders, Philadelphia and St. Louis. Seven teams had a pair of Ukes, another dozen claimed one, while five organizations had no Ukrainians in their player system.
A powerful right hand followed by a punishing left to the body moments later was Vasyl Lomachenko’s way of demonstrating his fight IQ was working just fine, ready to solve the challenge before him in typical “Loma” fashion. The two punches scored back-to-back knockdowns of Jose Pedraza in the 11th round on the way to a unanimous decision (119-107, 117-109 and 117-109) before a sold-out crowd of 5,312 fans on December 8. A crowd of boxing fans wearing Ukrainian shirts, proudly waving Ukrainian flags and banners, loudly chanting “Loma” and “Lo-ma-chen-ko” during the 12-round affair.
The long light heavyweight title reign of Adonis Stevenson came crashing down in Quebec City on December 1, when Oleksandr Gvozdyk announced his arrival as an elite champion light heavyweight.
An opening 18 holes score of 64 saw his fellow duffers acknowledge his superior round with respectful nods. Coming back the next day with another 64 got the attention of those interested in the sport’s betting odds. A third-round tally of 65 and a four-stroke lead made him the man who would be followed by the gallery gods. Follow him they did, along with the rest of the field, as Matt Kuchar sat atop the leaderboard from start to finish at the Mayakoba Golf Classic in Playa del Carmen, Mexico, on November 8-11. He shot a 22-under with 262, breaking the tournament record by one stroke to earn the eighth PGA tour title of his career.
In the recent past, women’s tennis has seen players like Serena Williams, Petra Kvitova and Maria Sharapova cap victorious breakthrough seasons by claiming the crown at the WTA Finals. Elina Svitolina’s run to the Singapore Championship this year was a little different, almost the opposite. Her goal was to salvage what she could of a breakthrough season that had strayed way off course. “For me, going into this tournament was very important mentally to bounce back,” Svitolina said in a post-tournament press gathering. “You know, I had a really, really tough second part of the season.”
Svitolina started strong winning three early tournaments in 2018, including a rout of world No.1 Simona Halep of Romania in the Rome final in May.
Bronko Nagurski: A timeline tribute
The first paragraph of Bronko Nagurski’s Pro Football Hall of Fame biography describes him as “the symbol of power football during the 1930s. Many eyewitness observers insisted that for sheer brutal line-smashing, no one came close to Nagurski.”
The legendary head coach of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, Knute Rockne, once said of Nagurski: “He is the only player I ever saw who could have played every position.”
Due to his punishing, take-no-prisoners running style, Cold, Hard Football Facts named Nagurski to its All-Time 11: The Greatest Football Team Ever Assembled. This unmatched line-up of football talent had Nagurski paired with Jim Brown to form a backfield that would leave defenders battered, bruised and broken from failed tackle attempts. Bronislav Nagurski was born in Rainy River, Ontario, just over the Canadian border, to Ukrainian immigrants in 1908 and grew up in International Falls, Minn. He was given the nickname Bronko by his first school teacher, who was unable to understand his mother’s pronunciation of his Ukrainian first name.
Two Ukrainians selected in second round of 2018 NBA draft
The Washington Wizards have had a recent history of trading away their second-round draft picks for veteran players or cash. In 2018 the Wizards deviated from the past, selecting Ukrainian Issuf Sanon as the 44th overall pick. The 6-4 combo guard plays for Olimpija in Slovenia. He was slated to play for Washington in the Summer League in July of this year, but will remain overseas for at least the upcoming 2018-2019 season.
Youngest Tkachuk goes fourth overall
Keith Tkachuk was taken 19th overall by the Winnipeg Jets in the 1990 NHL Draft. Older son, Matthew, went sixth overall in 2016. Youngest son, Brady, topped both when the Ottawa Senators used their No. 4 selection in the 2018 NHL Entry Draft to pick the gritty forward from Boston University. This was only one of the reasons why Brady Tkachuk was grinning from ear to ear after hearing his name called at the American Arena in Dallas on June 22.
Oleksandr Usyk made history on Saturday, July 21, when he became the undisputed cruiserweight world champion – retaining the WBC and WBO and picking up the WBA and IBF crusierweight titles – before a sellout crowd of 24,000 at Olympic Stadium in Moscow. His unanimous decision victory over Murat Gassiev in the World Boxing Super Series final earned Usyk the Muhammad Ali Trophy for the single-elimination tournament that began last September. Usyk, the No. 1 seed in the eight-man field became the first fighter in cruiserweight history to unify all four world title belts. Usyk was also awarded the honorary cruiserweight title by The Ring magazine.