U.S. forward Jessica McDonald busy balancing World Cup and motherhood

Jessica McDonald

The forward on the U.S. women’s World Cup team is one of only a few mothers among the 552-player field. A big part of the joy for the 31-year-old McDonald is that her son Jeremiah, 7, is headed to France to watch the latter stages. The defending champion Americans play Spain on Monday with a chance to advance to the quarterfinals. “He doesn’t fully understand, but at least he’s at an age right now where he’s actually going to remember this,” she said. “He’s going to look back and be like, ‘Wow, I was there. Wow, my mom actually is cool — like she said.’”

P.K. Subban

The three-time NHL All-Star defenseman wasn’t shocked when he was traded Saturday from the Nashville Predators to the New Jersey Devils. “We kind of knew that there would be changes, especially after losing in the first round” of the playoffs to Dallas, he said on a conference call. Subban is coming off the least productive season of his 10-year NHL career, with nine goals and 22 assists in a career-low 63 games, but he is confident that he can rebound. “I’m not playing for a contract,” he said. “The most important thing is a championship and I haven’t won one yet.”

Associated Press