With the coronavirus pandemic many new guidelines have been put in place. The Longhorns revealed their helmets with new splash guards.
The upcoming season for the Texas Longhorns will be one like we’ve never seen before. The coronavirus pandemic has led to many changes. Some schools are offering online courses for students who don’t want to risk contracting COVID-19. Social distancing measures have been put in place where students and faculty alike are not to be within six feet of each other where possible. Everywhere you go there are people wearing masks. One of the big questions was how do they protect the players?
In Major League Baseball they have tried masks, playing in empty stadiums and limited physical touch in celebrations. As for the NBA and NHL, they are playing in a bubble environment. So measures could they take in football? Well masks seemed to be one way. For this upcoming season the Longhorns will be wearing Schutt helmets with custom visors. Texas football shared photos of the new helmets on Twitter.
The helmets have been fitted with a custom Nike visor that goes to the bottom of the face mask. It does have holes at the bottom to allow for breathing and hopefully won’t fog up the mask so players can see. It remains unclear at this point as to how the players will adjust to the new visors. With fall camp just around the corner as teams prepare for the season, we should get some idea as to how well these visors will work.
The new splash guards look good but it remains to be seen how well they will protect these athletes once they get on the field.
According to Cody Benjamin of CBSSports.com, the Jacksonville Jaguars rank at the No. 23 position of most valuable NFL teams currently. The Jaguars have a current valuation of approximately $2.33 billion, which is also good for No. 44 in all of the major sports leagues including soccer franchises. The Jags also ranked in the same position last year when Forbes released their 2019 rankings.
Jaguars owner Shad Khan has been in charge of the team since 2012 when he bought the franchise for $770 million from longtime owner and the driving force behind Jacksonville’s inception into the NFL in Wayne Weaver. The team at the time was worth about $725 million.
The Jags position ranks above a few prominent and more successful franchises in the New Orleans Saints (No. 25, $2.28 billion), the Kansas City Chiefs (No. 24, $2.30 billion), and also the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (No. 27, $2.2 billion), all of whom have won a Super Bowl in their franchise’s history. As far as worldwide franchises, the Jaguars ranked higher than Arsenal of the English Premier League (No. 47, $2.27 billion) and the St. Louis Cardinals of Major League Baseball (No. 49, $2.2 billion).
Khan and the Jaguars would hope to see that number increase throughout the next few years as the stadium continues to see many additions to enhance the fan experience. The team also continues to have a strong influence on the England fanbase as well thus increasing the revenue and branding potential of the team.
Listen to the latest from Jags Wireâs own James Johnson and Phil Smith on their podcast âBleav in the Jags.â Subscribe via Apple Podcasts and check out our archived episodes via Bleav Podcasts.
The oddsmakers have the Indiana Pacers as the underdog when they resume play Saturday against the Philadelphia 76ers.
The early Indiana Pacers vs. Philadelphia 76ersNBA betting spread and odds has been released. They take the court Saturday at 7 p.m. ET as both teams return to play in the NBA restart from Orlando, Florida.
The two played three times during the regular season and despite the Pacers winning the last two matchups, they enter their first game back as underdogs. Per the oddsmakers at BetMGM, the Pacers have odds of +185 (bet $100 to win $180). Meanwhile, the 76ers (-228 – bet $228 to win $100), who lost each of their last two against Indiana by at least 20 points, are considered the odds-on favorite in this matchup.
New to the world of legal NBA/sports betting? The 76ers at -228 represents a 69.51% implied odds of winning the game vs. the Pacers, or 25/57 fractional odds. If they win, the 76ers would return a profit of $4.39 for every $10 wagered. The Pacers, meanwhile, at +185, have a 35.09% implied chance to win and return a solid $18.50 profit on every $10 wagered.
Special Pacers Line: Bet $1, WIN $100 in free bets if either the Pacers or 76ers hit a 3-pointer Aug. 1, 2020! Place your legal NBA bets in IN, CO, NJ and WV at BetMGM. Bet Now!
Pacers vs. 76ers spread, odds and lines
Odds via BetMGM; last updated Friday at 7:20 p.m. ET.
Moneyline: Philadelphia 76ers -228, Indiana Pacers +185
Spread: 76ers -5.5 (-110), Pacers +5.5 (-110)
Over/Under Total: 212.5 points: Over -110, Under -110
Special line:Bet $1, Win $100 if either the Pacers or 76ers hit a 3-pointer. Available in CO, IN, NJ and WV. Bet now at BetMGM or view terms and conditions.
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The Atlanta Falcons added two more players to the NFL’s reserve/COVID-19 list on Friday, bringing the team’s total up to five players in less than a week.
The Atlanta Falcons added two more players to the NFL’s reserve/COVID-19 list on Friday, bringing the team’s total up to five players in less than a week.
The Atlanta Falcons announced they have placed defensive tackle Tyeler Davison and quarterback Danny Etling on the team's reserve/COVID-19 list. Now have five players on the list.
Davison figures to play significant reps next to Grady Jarrett this season, while rotating with Falcons rookie DT Marlon Davidson. Etling was unlikely to make the roster, but has shown some promise competing for the No. 3 QB spot with Kurt Benkert.
It seems Atlanta is doing everything it can to prevent spreading the virus throughout the team, but this is uncharted territory for the NFL. Let’s hope this isn’t a sign of things to come.
Like many people, Lee-Anne Pace is in a place she never expected to be in 2020.
TOLEDO, Ohio â Lee-Anne Pace wasnât supposed to be back on the LPGA. Last year she was set to retire from the LPGA before the lure of a $1 million payout kept her out through October. Pace didnât win the Aon Risk Reward Challenge, that prize went to Carlota Ciganda, so she returned home to South Africa and made plans to have a baby this spring with her partner.
Like so many dreams in the COVID-19 era, however, starting a family was ultimately delayed when the IVF clinic she planned to use in Cape Town shut down. Pace, 39, moved back to France, where she has a second residence, to ride out the pandemic. She certainly didnât expect to get into the LPGA Drive On Championship and Marathon Classic. Sheâs No. 214 on the LPGA priority list. But with so many international players delaying their return to the tour, Pace suddenly had an opportunity to come back.
âWhy not? Let’s have a go,â she decided.
And so Pace flew to California to quarantine in sizzling Palm Springs, played a couple fun rounds with friends. Now sheâs two off the lead at the Drive On after a first round in which she carded a 4-under 68 on a challenging Inverness track that tests every part of a playerâs game.
âI practiced last week and this week,â she said. âI’m just as surprised as you.â
Lee-Anne Pace talks with the media at the LPGA Drive On Championship. (Photo: Beth Ann Nichols/Golfweek)
While Pace didnât win last yearâs Aon challenge, sheâs still benefiting from the canceled race this week, as is the rest of the field. When Aon asked LPGA commissioner Mike Whan what they could do to help, Whan asked if the $1 million payout could be spread amongst all the players. Aon agreed, and the money was a driving force behind this weekâs Drive On.
The Inverness Club was first approached by the LPGA about hosting the event seven weeks ago. The idea was to create a two-week bubble for the players to compete in before heading overseas. And if the Marathon Classic had fans (it has since been decided that it won’t), the LPGA would have a chance to test all their new COVID-19 protocols and get everything set on a site with an extremely limited number of people.
Inverness agreed to host five weeks ago, and itâs proving to be the ultimate welcome-back challenge. Players have raved about the historic Donald Ross design since they stepped foot on the immaculate grounds.
The word âlimitedâ can be applied to virtually everything this week. Kang had no idea she was leading the event until she walked out of scoring as there are no leaderboards here this week. With no spectators, even the ropes are limited. Players are able to check scores on their phones this week, but Kang doesnât think sheâll do it. While she usually is a leaderboard-watcher, the idea of taking out her phone mid-round and getting distracted doesnât appeal to her.
âYeah, it is what it is,â said Kang. âJust go with the flow.â
She will probably check the PGA Tourâs Barracuda Championship board when she gets off the course tomorrow as boyfriend Maverick McNealy currently sits in second place.
Nelly Korda, the highest-ranked player in the field at No. 2, stumbled in with four bogeys on the last five holes and shot 76.
Jodi Ewart Shadoff sits alone in second after posting a 5-under 67 in the afternoon wave. Franceâs Celine Boutier, who won the Texas Womenâs Open as well as the Kathy Whitworth Paris Championship, a Womenâs All-Pro Tour event, over the break, joined Pace at 4 under.
A couple of rookies with limited rounds on the LPGA â Yui Kawamoto and Maia Schechter â find themselves in the top 10 after an opening 70.
