Patriots CB, Defensive Player of the Year Stephon Gilmore tests positive for COVID-19

On Tuesday, Patriots cornerback and reigning Defensive Player of the Year Stephon Gilmore tested positive for COVID-19.

On Tuesday, Patriots cornerback Stephon Gilmore, the reigning Defensive Player of the Year, tested positive for COVID-19, and was confirmed as having tested positive after re-tests and re-checks. He is the third Patriots player to test positive and be confirmed positive since last Friday. Then, starting quarterback Cam Newton tested positive, and on Sunday, reserve defensive lineman Bill Murray tested positive. Newton’s positive test pushed the Patriots’ Sunday night game with the Chiefs back to Monday night as the team had to have two days of negative tests before travelling, and then had to travel to Kansas City, where they lost, 26-10, with Brian Hoyer and Jarret Stidham as their reserve quarterbacks.

Per Tom Pelissero of the NFL Network, Gilmore is the only player to test positive from Tuesday’s round of tests. The Patriots have cancelled Wednesday practice and will hold virtual meetings. They now have to have two straight days of negative tests before they would be able to host the Broncos on Sunday. In addition, the Chiefs will want to make sure they haven’t got a problem on their hands. Gilmore was seen hugging Patrick Mahomes after the Monday night game, which could be a problem.

The Patriots are the second NFL team to have what could reasonably be called an outbreak — the Titans have had 22 players and staff members test positive, which led to the postponement until Week 7 of their scheduled Week 4 game against the Steelers. The Titans also had two more new positive tests. That puts their Sunday game against the Bills in jeopardy.

As to Newton and Gilmore returning to play, the NFL’s guidelines indicate that if a player is asymptomatic, he can return five days after his initial positive test if he returns two consecutive negative PCR tests at least 24 hours apart. If a player is asymptomatic, he can return 10 days after his initial positive test. And if a player is symptomatic, he can return 10 days after his initial positive test IF at least 72 hours have passed since he last showed symptoms.

It is not known whether Newton and Gilmore are symptomatic, but the odds are not great for Newton’s return for the Broncos game, and Gilmore is most likely out until the Patriots’ Week 7 game against the 49ers. The team has a Week 6 bye.

Patriots place practice-squad DT Bill Murray on the Reserve-COVID-19 list

The Patriots may have a second case of COVID-19 on their team.

The New England Patriots have placed practice-squad defensive tackle Bill Murray on the Reserve-COVID-19 list, according to the NFL’s transaction wire. Murray could have contracted the novel coronavirus, though his presence on the list doesn’t necessarily mean he has tested positive. The list is for players who have tested positive or for players who have been in “close contact with infected person or persons.”

If Murray did test positive, he would be the second COVID-19-positive player along with quarterback Cam Newton, who got a positive test on Friday and went onto the Reserve-COVID-19 list on Saturday. His positive test, combined with that of Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Jordan Ta’amu, led the NFL to postpone the Chiefs-Patriots game by a day. Newton was asymptomatic as of Tuesday, per reports.

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Bill Murray’s golf apparel lawyer responds to Doobie Brothers’ legal rebuff, ‘ugly’ shirts comment

Bill Murray’s lawyer addressed a claim by the Doobie Brothers’ lawyer that Murray’s company is using one of the band’s songs without paying.

Because it’s 2020Bill Murray and the Doobie Brothers are in a legal feud over golf apparel.

It’s so heated that “ugly” golfer shirt comments are being hurled. But ugly shirts could ultimately save the day.

The drama started when the Doobie Brothers’ lawyers stated that Murray’s company, William Murray Golf, has been using the band’s classic song “Listen to the Music” without compensation.

On Wednesday, Doobie Brothers’ lawyer Peter Paterno sent a humorous legal warning to William Murray Golf about the offending commercials. “It’s a fine song. I know you agree because you keep using it in ads for your Zero Hucks Given golf shirts,” Paterno wrote in the letter first obtained by The Hollywood Reporter.

“However, given that you haven’t paid to use it, maybe you should change the company name to ‘Zero Bucks Given.’ “

Bill Murray
Bill Murray during the third round of the 2003 AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am at Poppy Hills Golf Course in Pebble Beach, California. Photo: Jeff Gross/Getty Images.

Paterno claimed, without specifying, that Murray’s company was using other songs by his clients without paying. “It seems like the only person who uses our clients’ music without permission more than you do is Donald Trump,” he wrote.

He was just getting warmed up with the zingers, bringing up Murray’s “Garfield” animated cat movies, a source of profound professional regret with the movie icon.

“This is the part where I’m supposed to cite the United States Copyright Act, excoriate you for not complying with some subparagraph that I’m too lazy to look up and threaten you with eternal damnation for doing so. But you already learned that with those Garfield movies. And you already know you can’t use music in ads without paying for it,” Paterno wrote, setting up his killer punch.

“We’d almost be OK with it if the shirts weren’t so damn ugly. But it is what it is,” he wrote.

Then he adapted Murray’s line from Carl in “Caddyshack” against Murray: “So in the immortal words of Jean Paul Sartre, ‘Au revoir Golfer. Et payez!’ “

Murray’s legal team didn’t let the “ugly” shirt comments go unchallenged.

Lawyer Alexander Yoffe posted his retort, written on a Friday no less, on the official Twitter page of William Murray Golf. It was game on.

“First, I would like to compliment you on finding levity in the law at a time when the world and this country certainly could use a laugh,” he wrote, before riffing on Doobie Brothers tunes. “We would also like to confirm that both our firm, and the good folks at William Murray Golf, are indeed fans of the Doobie Brothers’ music, which is why we appreciate your firm’s choice of ‘Takin’ It to the Streets,’ rather than to the courts, which are already overburdened ‘Minute by Minute’ with real problems.”

Then Yoffe delved into the real pain point, Paterno’s “disconcerting” disparaging comments about the “fashionableness” of the clothing line.

“Especially considering 75% of my wardrobe consists of William Murray polos, shorts and pants,” Yoffe wrote.

Then it was like, chill out Doobie Brothers.

“In the immortal words of Mr. Murray – the more relaxed you are, the better you are at everything … so let’s pour one up and unwind with a listen of the recently-released ‘Quadio’ box set and plan to cross paths at a Doobie Brothers’ 50th anniversary show in 2021 when some level of normalcy resumes,” Yoffe wrote.

“As your client so aptly stated in this classic song in question, ‘What the people need is a way to make them smile’ — which both Bill and the Doobies have been doing for decades, as world-class entertainers.”

In a move that will surely get the Nobel Committee murmuring, the attorney ended with a peace offering. Paterno and the Doobie Brothers could pick the “least offensive” shirts in the William Murray collection. “We will happily upgrade your wardrobes and hopefully win each of you over as new fans of the brand. At least that’s ‘what this fool believes,'” he wrote.

That final line might be a misdemeanor over-pun, but well done.

We wait for the next step.

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The picks are in, analysts select their winners from todays games

Find out who the experts picked to win this weeks slate of games.

It has become a right of passage at the end of collegiate pregame shows, the picking of the day’s slate of games. Take a look at who the experts selected, along with celebrity picker comedian Bill Murray.

Troy at MTSU

Kirk Herbstreit – Troy

Lee Corso – MSTU

Desmond Howard – MTSU

David Pollack – Troy

Bill Murray – MTSU

 

App. St. at Marshall

Herbstreit  – App. St.

Corso – App. St.

Howard – App. St.

Pollack – Marshall

Murray – App. St.

 

Tulsa vs Oklahoma St.

Herbstreit – OSU

Corso – OSU

Howard – OSU

Pollack – OSU

Murray – OSU

 

UCF at Georgia Tech

Herbstreit – UCF

Corso – UCF

Howard – UCF

Pollack – UCF

Murray – UCF

 

Miami at Louisville

Herbstreit – NO PICK

Corso – Miami

Howard – Miami

Pollack – Louisville

Murray – Louisville

Kerr shared his experience on a recent …

Kerr shared his experience on a recent appearance on the “Hoops, Adjacent” podcast: “‘Cause I’m such a big fan,” Kerr said, via David Aldridge of The Athletic. “I used to see him in Chicago, ’cause he was such a big Bulls fan back in the day. I remember, especially when we would go to New York, I remember seeing him outside of our locker room – he’d kind of be in the hallways outside the locker room at MSG. And I always wanted to really talk to him, but I was always nervous. I just loved his stuff.

Bill Murray jokes he’s tired of Michael Jordan getting all the credit for ‘Space Jam’ win

Bill Murray said his key Space Jam play was “so easily forgotten.”

Bill Murray doesn’t want sports fans to forget the hero he was in the movie Space Jam.

Throughout the last several weeks, the sports world has been glued to the TV on Sunday nights for episodes of The Last Dance, ESPN’s 10-part documentary about Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls’ dynasty during the 1990s. And the docuseries has included some behind-the-scenes moments with Jordan during the filming of Space Jam.

While a guest on Jimmy Kimmel Live! on Wednesday, Murray said, from the comfort of his bathtub, “of course” he’s been watching The Last Dance.

“I’ve actually seen myself,” he said. “‘There! I’m in the background! Right there! … Stop, play that back!'”

But he jokingly explained he also felt slighted and didn’t get the recognition he thought he deserved for his role in the fictional victory in the half-live-action, half-animated movie. Murray continued telling Kimmel:

“People forget that I got the assist on the game-winning basket. So easily forgotten. I stole the ball. I made the pass. I got nothing. I wasn’t even interviewed after. But that was a lot of fun making that.”

Murray also spoke about how the cast would keep themselves occupied in their down time while shooting. He said sometimes they’d have 45 minutes to an hour to kill, so naturally, they’d go golfing.

He continued:

“We would just go play golf for an hour, play three or four holes of golf with Larry Bird and Michael and myself. That was a lot of fun.”

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Adam Silver hosted a tech summit event …

Adam Silver hosted a tech summit event for All-Star Weekend on Friday, and the NBA commissioner decided to add some flair to the proceedings. Showcasing how he could turn the room into the United Center—making it feel as though they’re actually courtside—Silver brought out dancers, as well as Bill Murray. Never one to miss a comedic opportunity, Murray made sure to join Silver onstage.

Bill Murray badly missed a putt at Pebble Beach, and his frustrated reaction was hilarious

Bill Murray … always funny.

Bill Murray makes everything better.

His appearance makes a movie better, a golfing tournament better and (hopefully) a sports blog better. The movie star was working on his round at Pebble Beach for the Pro-Am on Sunday, and he seemed to grow frustrated after a badly missed putt. Murray walked over to the still-moving ball and tapped it toward the hole, which resulted in a violation. Clearly unfazed by his own rule-breaking, Murray walked off the green and flipped his club at his bag. Finally, after hooting and hollering from onlookers, Murray flashed a smile at the silly scene.

If only he had been wearing the pink outfit from Saturday — rather then his green one from Sunday. The swag on Saturday (in the picture above) seemed to match the attitude on Sunday.

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What was the best 2020 Super Bowl commercial?

Here are the best commercials from Super Bowl LIV.

Each year, USA TODAY’s Ad Meter enables NFL fans to rank Super Bowl commercials by giving each ad a rating score on a 1-to-10 scale. The Ad Meter has been around since 1989, helping crown some of the all-time best Super Bowl commercials.

Following Super Bowl LIV on Sunday, Jeep’s ‘Groundhog Day’ commercial featuring Bill Murray was named this year’s winner after earning a 7.01 rating and more than 43 million views on YouTube. In case you missed it — or just want to watch it again — here it is:

Hyundai’s “Smaht Pahk” commercial was a close second, earning a 6.98 rating and more than 41 million views on YouTube. Check it out:

The NFL’s “Next 100” ad was also popular, earning a 6.60 rating and more than 13 million views on YouTube. Here it is:

Two of the least-popular commercials were political ads for President Donald Trump (3.33) and Michael Bloomberg (4.23). To view the complete 2020 Ad Meter results, visit USA TODAY’s website.

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Bill Murray already won Super Bowl 54 with this great ‘Groundhog Day’ Jeep ad

Bill Murray is the best.

Super Bowl 54 doesn’t kick off for another few hours but we already have a the day’s first winner – Bill Murray.

Yup, the brilliant actor who knows how to have some fun when he’s not shooting movies is the star of a Super Bowl ad that should be the best ad of the night when all is said and done.

This ad brings us back to his classic movie “Groundhog Day” in which he relived a single day over and over again until he started living a good life. It’s a great movie that you should check out if you haven’t seen it before.

Here’s the brilliant ad:

Twitter loved it:

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