Rory McIlroy Files for Divorce Days Before PGA Championship

Rory McIlroy has filed for divorce from his wife of seven years, Erica Stoll, as confirmed by court records in Palm Beach County, Florida. This unexpected news comes just days before McIlroy competes in the PGA Championship.

McIlroy and Stoll first met during the Ryder Cup in 2012 and started dating two years later. They tied the knot in 2017 and have a daughter, Poppy, born in September 2020. TMZ was the first to report on the filing, which was made on Monday. Details from the petition for dissolution of marriage were not immediately available.

McIlroy's attorney, Thomas Sasser, is the same lawyer who represented Tiger Woods in his 2010 divorce. A statement from McIlroy's manager, Sean O'Flaherty, confirmed the filing and emphasized McIlroy's wish for a respectful and amicable process. No further comments will be made at this time.

McIlroy, who has not won a major since his victory at Valhalla in 2014, arrived at the same venue on Tuesday. His pre-tournament press conference is set for Wednesday.

Rory McIlroy and Erica Stoll's story began in 2012 under rather unusual circumstances. During the Ryder Cup at Medinah in the Chicago suburbs, McIlroy nearly missed his Sunday singles match due to a time zone mix-up. Stoll, who worked for the PGA of America, quickly arranged for a police escort to get him to the course just in time. McIlroy arrived and won his match against Keegan Bradley, contributing to Europe’s dramatic victory.

At that time, McIlroy was engaged to tennis star Caroline Wozniacki, but their relationship ended abruptly over a phone call in 2014. Later that year

Stanford Alumni Shine as WNBA Kicks Off Its 28th Season

STANFORD, Calif. – As the WNBA launches its 28th season tonight, seven former Stanford players are making their mark across the league's 12 teams. This impressive representation places Stanford fourth among all colleges, following UConn (16), South Carolina (10), and Notre Dame (8).

Entering her 13th season, Nneka Ogwumike has made a significant move to the Seattle Storm after twelve years with the Los Angeles Sparks. The 2016 WNBA MVP and six-time All-WNBA selection finished last season ranked sixth in both scoring (19.1 ppg) and rebounding (8.8 rpg).

Joining Ogwumike on the Storm is Kiana Williams. Originally drafted by Seattle in 2021, Williams returns to the WNBA after a standout performance in the final preseason game, where she scored nine points on 3-of-6 shooting.

Cameron Brink is set to debut with the Los Angeles Sparks, making her the 34th Stanford alum to play in a WNBA game. The second overall pick in the 2024 draft, Brink had a stellar senior season, averaging 17.4 points, 11.9 rebounds, and 3.7 blocks per game, and achieving a PER of 45.75.

Lexie Hull is entering her third season with the Indiana Fever. Selected sixth overall in 2022, Hull has played in 56 games, starting 29, and recently had her fourth-year contract option exercised.

Haley Jones, a 2021 national champion, begins her sophomore season with the Atlanta Dream. Jones played all 40 games last year, starting six, and had a standout performance with a career-high 23 points against Las Vegas.

Alanna Smith has signed a two-year contract with the Minnesota Lynx after a season with the Chicago Sky, where she averaged career highs in points, rebounds, assists, steals, and blocks. She was a finalist for the Most Improved Player award and ranked in the top ten in several league categories.

Karlie Samuelson joined the Washington Mystics with a two-year deal after playing for multiple teams, including the Los Angeles Sparks, Phoenix Mercury, and Seattle Storm. Last season, she achieved career-best averages in points, rebounds, assists, and shooting percentages.

Since the WNBA's inception, 33 former Stanford players have competed in regular-season games, with seven winning a combined eight championships. The presence of these talented athletes continues to highlight Stanford's significant impact on the league.

 Markets are notoriously unpredictable, making it nearly impossible to perfectly time market peaks and troughs. Many traders not only miss potential profits but also the significant market movements of an asset by selling at inopportune times. A recent example reported by Benzinga highlights a Dogecoin (DOGE) investor who experienced this firsthand.

One of the largest DOGE wallets over the past decade sold its tokens in late 2023, just before a significant price surge. This wallet began acquiring DOGE in late 2013, 21 days after the token's launch, with an initial investment of $146.87 for over 274,000 DOGE. Throughout 2014, the wallet's owner continued to buy DOGE, investing a total of around $5,000.

The final investment was made in early 2015, after which the wallet remained inactive until 2023. During this period, DOGE's price soared, particularly in 2021 when social media buzz and endorsements from Tesla CEO Elon Musk propelled the token from less than a cent to nearly 75 cents. At its peak, the wallet's investment of $5,000 was worth over $4 million. However, the owner did not sell at that time.

In 2022 and 2023, DOGE's value plummeted by over 90% due to a broader crypto bear market. As DOGE started to recover, the wallet owner sold all their tokens on October 28, 2023, in three transactions, for around $370,000 (5.39 million DOGE). Shortly after, DOGE's value surged, rising more than 60% year-to-date and over 120% since the sale. By 2024, DOGE's price peaked at 23 cents, more than 235% higher than the 6.8 cents average at which the tokens were sold.

Had the wallet owner held onto the tokens, they would have seen an additional $450,000 in gains. Selling at the 2024 peak could have netted nearly $900,000 in total gains, with proceeds of $1.25 million. This case underscores the difficulty of market timing and the potential costs of selling too soon in an unpredictable market.