Tag: relief

Hawaii-born Saints center Max Unger encourages Maui wildfire relief

Hawaii-born Saints center Max Unger encouraged fans to support Maui wildfire relief efforts: ‘There’s a lot of people out there who are in dire, dire need of help’

Several former New Orleans Saints players are stepping up to support their home state — the Hawaiian island of Maui was recently ravaged by deadly wildfires, and guys like retired linebacker Manti Te’o and Pro Bowl center Max Unger doing their part to help relief efforts. Unger recently spoke about the situation and encouraged anyone with the means to help out to do so.

“It’s hard to read the articles and kind of follow it blow-by-blow, just because it’s so unthinkable,” Unger said on Seattle sports radio with hosts Brock Huard and Mike Salk. “I know that area pretty well. I haven’t spent a lot of time there but I know a handful of people who live there, people I played (football) with, it’s hard. You drive by there and realize it’s, for the most part, completely gone. It doesn’t compute with me.”

Unger acknowledged that something he’s cherished about life on the islands — he’s a fifth-generation Hawaiian, with long-running family ties on The Big Island — is the isolation and privacy from busy life on the American mainland, but that same partitioning becomes a challenge when emergency strikes. So he’s all the more grateful to see so many people reaching out to help.

He also spoke on the topic on another Seattle sports talk show with Dave Mahler and Dick Fain: “There’s just a lot of need right now, it’s just a call to anyone who’s got anything to spare. Donate to your favorite charity, I know there’s a lot there. There’s a lot of people out there who are in dire, dire need of help.”

The Saints got a good one in Unger, and odds are the Seahawks would love the chance at a do-over — they’re still searching for his replacement after cycling through nearly a dozen different centers since trading him to New Orleans back in 2015. Unger went on to win Pro Bowl recognition with the Saints before retiring on his own terms and going home to the islands.

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‘He’s about 200 club lengths from where he was’: Brooks Koepka took relief in Singapore and left announcers confused

“You take them when you can get them. You get plenty of bad breaks. That’s a good one.”

There’s no doubt that Brooks Koepka is back to playing strong golf.

Since moving to play in the LIV Golf League, Koepka has won twice, the only golfer to do so, and even held the 54-hole lead at the Masters earlier this month before a final-round 75 (insert 72-hole tournament jokes here).

Even this week at LIV Golf Singapore at Sentosa Golf Club, Koepka finds himself a shot out of the lead heading into Sunday’s final round.

However, it’s a drop he took during the first round in Singapore that’s making the rounds. It even had LIV announcers questioning what was going on.

Let’s set the scene. Koepka was playing the par-4 15th hole measuring 428 yards when his tee shot went right. When reaching his ball, Koepka and his caddie, Ricky Elliott, said their line to the green was blocked by the LIV Golf Fan Village setup, so they asked for temporary immovable obstruction relief.

LIV on-course analyst Dom Boulet said on the CW live stream, “I’m not sure what he’s asking for,”  who then asked Elliott what was going on. Elliott confirmed Koepka was getting line-of-sight relief and he could drop on either side.

This still left commentators confused.

“It doesn’t appear there is anything between him and the hole,” David Feherty said.

Boutlet responded: “Well, there are toilets over there. Ricky just told me it’s line of sight. I think it’s the port-a-loos perhaps. But I didn’t think that was an option, to be honest with you. I mean, he’s got to go through a couple of trees to take that option.”

Koepka proceeded to pick up his ball and walk toward the 16th past some tents. It was there he spoke with a rule official on where he could take the drop.

“And under the local rule, he can take relief on either side of the TIO,” rules analyst Tony Zirpoli said on the broadcast. “It probably gives him a better shot. So, he’s taking the smart way out by taking that other side relief. And it’s also a long walk.”

Feherty added: “It sure is. It’s an unusual situation that there would be such a gap. He’s going to walk to the point, Tony, where he has a clear look?”

Boulet: “He’s going to drop in the middle of the 16th fairway.”

Zirpoli: “He will have a clear view of the edge of the TIO. He will then get a one club-length corridor, and then from that one club-length corridor, he gets an additional one club length, which is his relief area.”

Feherty: “Well, he’s about 200 club lengths from where he was.”

Koepka proceeded to drop his ball just on the 16th fairway.

“I heard Ricky say 167; that’s what they’re measuring it because that’s where they wanted to take relief — the same distance,” Boulet said. “Now I didn’t think it was an option what he had to go over there — port-a-loo or tent or whatever it was he was going over. But David Blake, referee, gave him the ruling, and he’s got a big break here.”

Added Feherty: “You take them when you can get them. You get plenty of bad breaks. That’s a good one.”

Koepka then hit his second shot over trees in front of him to 8 feet, and he two-putted for par.

Also during the Masters earlier this month, there was a rules controversy involving Koepka and Elliott and Gary Woodland. He was later absolved of the rules violation.

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Saints owner Gayle Benson makes $1M donation towards Hurricane Ida relief

Saints owner Gayle Benson makes $1M donation towards Hurricane Ida relief

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It’s going to take a team effort to recover from the impact of Hurricane Ida, so it’s good to see New Orleans Saints owner Gayle Benson taking a first step towards helping her city rebuild. Benson opened the Gulf Coast Renewal Fund with a $1 million donation on Monday, Aug. 30, all earmarked for the upcoming recovery. Anyone interested in donating can do so at NewOrleansSaints.com/hurricaneida.

Before Ida made landfall in coastal Louisiana, Benson commissioned two commercial flights to transport Saints players, coaches, and many of their family members to safety in Dallas. She herself evacuated to her 600-acre racehorse farm in Kentucky, per the Times-Picayune | Advocate’s Jeff Duncan.

Hopefully this is the first donation of many more to come from Benson. The Saints received a $2.825 billion valuation from Forbes earlier this year and bring in revenue in excess of $400 million annually. It’s a great gesture, but there’s much more she and New Orleans’ wealthiest citizens can do to better the city that has enriched them during its time of greatest need.

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Marcus Davenport teams up with Randall Cobb for Hurricane Laura relief

New Orleans Saints defensive end Marcus Davenport teamed up with Houston Texans wide receiver Randall Cobb for Hurricane Laura relief.

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New Orleans Saints defensive end Marcus Davenport is stepping up to assist communities in Louisiana and Texas that were devastated by Hurricane Laura, the recent Category 4 storm that made landfall near Lake Charles, La. on Aug. 27. Davenport announced Wednesday that he and Houston Texans wide receiver Randall Cobb are joining forces to raise money for relief in those hurricane-ravaged areas.

Davenport, a San Antonio native and third-year pro in New Orleans, is well aware of how destructive hurricanes can be. So it’s great to see him step up when so many people are in such a tight spot. His marketing representatives released a statement announcing the launch of their relief fund:

Randall Cobb of the Houston Texans and Marcus Davenport of the New Orleans Saints are joining together to start a Hurricane Laura Relief Fund to help the communities in both Texas and Louisiana devastated from Hurricane Laura.

These are already difficult times. Although the people in Texas and Louisiana were already dealing with the ramifications of a global pandemic, struggles addressing social justice and the warm temperatures; yet, they recently faced another tragedy with Hurricane Laura. Cobb and Davenport are hoping to provide some relief.

Interested donors can help by visiting AthletesDoingGood.org or texting HurricaneLaura to 76278. While Davenport is hard at work preparing for the start of the Saints season, it’s worth remembering that there are issues bigger than football.

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