"This is such fantastic news. This little girl, Haley, is the luckiest girl on the planet," he said. "You are going to be one of the most fantastic moms I can ever imagine."
Carson Daly also chimed in.
"You are going to be an incredible mother," but joked, "You thought you drank a lot of wine before? You just wait."
Last week, Hoda hinted at the reason behind her time off by posting inspirational quotes on her social media account.
"And suddenly you just know it's time to start something new and trust the magic of beginnings," read one. "For all the things my hands have held, the best by far is you," read another.
She posted one more Tuesday after sharing the news about her daughter.
Hoda's love for children is no surprise. She often shares with the TODAY audience stories about time spent with her nieces, Hannah and Ella, frequently showing pictures of her extended family on the air.
Last year, Hoda announced on her Sirius XM show that she had moved in with her boyfriend, Joel Schiffman. The couple have been dating since June 2013. Hoda was previously married, but has no other children.
It’s certain Hoda will be turning to her best example for her new role: her own mother, whom she describes as “among the strongest, most optimistic people I’ve ever met, because she believes anything is possible."
Hoda told her co-workers that her mother just arrived at her home a few days ago, greeting her daughter with, "Hi little Haley. We've waited so long for you!"
Hoda called her mother strict, but always steadfast in her support for her children.
“If I looked up at every sporting event, my mom was sitting there,” Hoda recalled in a Mother’s Day tribute. “Every crummy basketball game, every JV whatever, every time I rode the bench — there she was. She was sitting there, saying, ‘That was an amazing shot! I know you were only in it the last minute, but boy, that it was amazing.”
Jennifer Lopez Posts Cryptic Message About Love Amid Drake Split
'She's a mom with an insanely busy career': Jennifer Lopez and Drake's hot and heavy romance 'fizzled out' due to hectic schedules
They've said to have called time on their exciting sudden romance.
And Jennifer Lopez and Drake's busy schedules are reportedly to blame for their hot and heavy relationship 'fizzling' out - but the pair are keen on giving it another go 'in the future.'
A source close to the On The Floor songstress, 47, told Entertainment Tonight: 'She likes Drake. They're just busy, so it has fizzled.'
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Love cost a thing? Jennifer Lopez, 47, and Drake's busy schedules are reportedly to blame for their sudden romance 'fizzling' out - but the pair are keen on giving it another go 'in the future'
'She’s a mom with an insanely busy career. He's touring in Europe. Who knows what will happen in the future when they’re more able to be in the same place,' the insider continued.
This comes after E! News reported that Jennifer and 30-year-old Hotline Bling rapper are going their separate ways, at least temporarily.A source told the website: '[They] have taken some time apart, not because they don't want to be with each other, just because their schedules started getting insane.'
But all is not lost for J Lo and her Fake Love beau: 'J Lo and Drake are still talking, so people should know they are not in any means angry or that some incident happened. It mainly had to do with timing,' the source added.
'She’s a mom': Jennifer's family and work schedule, along with the Hotline Bling rapper's hectic commitments made the pair unable to spend quality time together
No time: This comes after a source told E! News, '[They] have taken some time apart, not because they don't want to be with each other, just because their schedules started getting insane'
Not all over: The source said the pair 'have just cooled things off a bit' but are still in each others lives. J Lo is seen here backstage of her Las Vegas show this week.
Liverpool F.C. vs. Tottenham Hotspur: match preview, projected lineups, predictions, and how to watch
Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images
Tottenham Hotspur F.C. continued their winning ways on Saturday against Middlesbrough F.C. It was the second consecutive game where Spurs performance was less than ideal, but unlike the their draw at the Stadium of Light earlier in the week, Harry Kane’s penalty kick was enough to tack three points on the board.
And an important three points they were. With Liverpool and Arsenal losing to Hull City and Chelsea respectively, Spurs picked up three vital points against two of their chief competitors for the top four. Spurs now hold sole possession of second place in the Premier League, nine points behind first placed Chelsea, with a shade over sixty percent of the season complete. Its a fantastic spot to be in at this point in the campaign.
Liverpool have had a devastating run of form lately and have dipped to fifth place in the table, four points behind Spurs and thirteen off the top spot. Their results have just simply been awful. In their past five games they’ve lost to Swansea, were booted from the EFL Cup by Southhampton, ousted from the FA Cup by Wolverhampton, drew to Chelsea in a solid match from them, but then lost to feeble Hull City over the weekend. Its only spanned over a month, but what an ugly month it has been.
That said, Liverpool are not a side to take lightly no matter their form. Saidio Mane, Roberto Firmino, and Philippe Coutinho are about as formidable of a front three as you will see in the Premier League this season save Chelsea, while their midfield of Henderson, Lallana, and Wijnaldum / Can isn’t too shabby either. Mignolet isn’t having the best of terms this year, but with Lovren potentially fit and pairing with Matip in the center-back spots, flanked by Milner and Clyne, their backline is more than capable defensively and can also get forward quite well too.
The bottomline is that Liverpool are a hugely talented squad and their recent struggles are just noise. They are too good not to bounce back and challenge for the top four for the rest of the season. In addition, the game has massive ramifications for not only Champions League places, but also the title race. However unlikely it may be already, any points dropped to Tottenham on Saturday would end Liverpool’s hopes of title contention. While it wouldn’t be a complete death knell for Spurs if they lost, its safe to say that a win would keep them close enough to Chelsea. In short, any points for Spurs would be massive for their end of the season ambitions. Spurs haven’t defeated Liverpool since, wait for it, November 28th, 2012. That is so long ago that AVB might have just finished up his first Dakar Rally. Massive points will be at stake when Spurs travel to Anfield.
How to Watch
[Editor’s note: the big news in soccer broadcasting this week in the USA is that fubo.tv is now offering a new streaming package that includes access to the NBC family of cable networks, including NBC Sports Network. NBC is offered in some markets (but not all), and the service is currently in beta. A link is included below.]
Team news has ruled Danny Rose out for the remainder of February which is disappointing. Kieran Trippier is working back from an injury sustained against Wycombe, but looks ready to make the match-day eighteen roster on Saturday. In longer term knocks, Jan Vertonghen seems to be progressing nicely and is slated to start training as early as last week. Lastly, Erik Lamela is “taking it step by step”, whatever that means. Either way there is still no timetable on his return.
Spurs have trotted out the 4-2-3-1 the past two matches and have struggled. Sure their finishing hasn’t been the best, but the team has looked uncreative, narrow, and formulaic in this formation — a far cry from the free flowing football we were playing in the Festive period and early January. In general, Poche has played the 3-4-3 either when his best eleven are healthy or when facing a fearsome side. For me, Liverpool meets the latter of this criteria, and Spurs are away from home, so I think Poche falls back to the 3-4-3 lineup.
Hugo will start in net, while Toby Alderweireld, Eric Dier, and Kevin Wimmer will makeup the back three. Kyle Walker and Ben Davies will play on the right and left flank, with Victor and Moose raising havoc in the center of the park. Eriken, Dele, and Harry Kane will form the front three and look to put a few past the struggling Mignolet.
Prediction League
Like a sixteen year old driving stick for the first time, the HUGE storyline in the CFC Prediction League this week was the stall at the top of the table from established frontrunner Jake Meador. The morning hoddler and tactics-man extraordinaire has taken it on the chin over the past few weeks and the rest of the masthead has taken advantage. Four of the writers dropped perfect scorelines for the Middlesbrough game, while seven of the nine picked a Spurs win. This makes it Japanese subway style crowded at the top. Meador, GN Punk, Pardeep Cattry, and Brian Mechanick now share the spoils in first place, with Greenberg, Pachniuk, and Menno nipping at their tails close behind. Its on.
Cartilage Free Captain Prediction League Table
Name
Score
Jake Meador
17
GN Punk
17
Pardeep Cattry
17
Brian Mechanick
17
Alex Greenberg
16
Matthew Pachniuk
16
Dustin Menno
15
Luke Zimmermann
13
Earl of Shoop
12
Brian Meyers
10
Skipjack
10
Salmon Chase
9
Ben Daniels
7
Bryan A.
5
Ed F.
4
Dustin Menno: Spurs have drawn all three matches against Liverpool under Klopp. I see no reason that won’t happen again. 1-1 draw.
Matthew Pachniuk: Spurs have found so little success against Liverpool that its hard to be optimistic in this one. To further that idea, both Jan and Danny are out, Poche might roll with the strangling 4-2-3-1, and we are away. With all of this said, awful things happen to my place in the CFC PL Standings AND Tottenham Hotspurs when I pick them to lose so....Spurs 3-1.
Jake Meador: Everything is terrible. 2-0 Liverpool.
GN Punk: 2-2 Draw. Jurgen Klopp chokes out the fourth official at the end of the match.
Skipjack: Everything sucks, 3-0 Liverpool.
Salmon Chase:2-1 Liverpool based on casual pessimism and a minimum amount of critical thought.
Pardeep Cattry: Two productive attacks are up against a Spurs defense missing starters and a Liverpool defense that's a bit leaky; I'm expecting goals. Liverpool 2-2 Tottenham
Earl of Shoop: What a bunch of downers in these predictions. Liverpool may never walk alone or whatever, but they're also not walking into the top four at our expense this weekend. Spurs 2-1.
Alex Greenberg: Liverpool are quietly the new West Brom. We'll draw them 1-1.
Brian Mechanick: Feeling quietly optimistic this Spurs D is coming along strong again. Time for another tight win. Spurs 1-0.
Bryan Ashlock: I predict that there will never be another Wheeler Dealer Radio ever again. Is that not how this works? Spurs 4-1.
Courtesy of Hoda Kotb
New mom Hoda Kotb with her daughter, Haley Joy.
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