Tag: Videos

A ‘rogue’ NFL employee helped black players make the ‘Black Lives Matter’ video

A “rogue” NFL employee reached out directly to the Saints’ Michael Thomas and helped produce the video for the players.

The NFL did a pretty wild about-face this week, with Roger Goodell appearing in a video on Friday that admitted the league was wrong for coming out against its players’ peaceful protests against police violence.

For people who follow the NFL closely, it was a stunning pivot from a league that is known for moving extremely cautiously, especially when it comes to what are viewed as progressive ideas or policies.

What brought about the rapid change? The league undoubtedly felt pressure to act in response to a video that came out last week which featured many black NFL players calling out the league for not issuing a strong enough statement on the protests this week.

And it turns out, someone from the NFL actually helped the players make the video calling out the league. A “rogue” content creator, who directly reached out to Saints receiver Michael Thomas and asked if they could make the video together.

Henry Bushnell at Yahoo has the story. In it, he recounts how NFL employee Bryndon Minter reached out to Thomas via Instagram DM, and asked him if he’d consider making a video with him.

From Yahoo:

Within 15 minutes, Thomas wrote back. Twenty-four hours later, he and other prominent black NFL players published a powerful video. Within another 24 hours, tens of millions of people watched it – and it had changed the league’s relationship with social injustice for good.

Minter admits he thought he’d be fired for the act. He told his bosses the plan before the video went up, and while they had a meeting to discuss it, they said he could proceed. Players published the video the next morning.

I’m giving a Sparks Notes version here. Get the full story over at Yahoo, it’s a great read.

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Watch Killer Mike give stirring speech on protests after killing of George Floyd

LeBron James shared the speech, calling it a “mandatory listen.”

Rapper and activist Killer Mike spoke during a press conference on Friday night while protestors took to the streets of Atlanta over the death of George Floyd, a black man who died after a Minneapolis police officer put his knee into his neck for over eight minutes.

In the speech, Killer Mike first started by trying to put the riots into historical perspective, and empathize with the people who had taken to the streets. Citing hundreds of years of American policy which defined black people as less than their white counterparts, he makes clear that it wasn’t one isolated incident that brought us to where we are today.

To finish, he then pleaded with Atlantans to return home, and get to work on enabling systemic change.

LeBron James also shared the speech, calling it a “mandatory listen.”

Watch the entire speech here:

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Golfweek Rewind: Tiger and Peyton get it done at Medalist; golfer breaks his age 1,464 times age

Tiger Woods and Peyton Manning win “The Match: Champions for Charity”, the LPGA has good news for players and more on Golfweek Rewind.

Tiger and Peyton get it done at Medalist, PGA Tour players express concern over the season restart and we remember a 101-year old golfer who broke his age quite a few times.

Take a look at the week’s top stories on the latest episode of Golfweek Rewind featured below.

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Tiger, Peyton come out on top

Tiger and Phil are even. Tiger Woods and Peyton Manning came out on top at Medalist Golf Club, defeating Phil Mickelson and Tom Brady 1 up in The Match: Champions for Charity. The event was Woods’ first competitive start since mid-February.

Tour restart concerns

Many Tour players are comfortable with a June 11 restart at Colonial, but several pros are still concerned. Tours stars like Adam Scott, Tommy Fleetwood and Lee Westwood who live outside the U.S. have all expressed concerns about returning to competition. Comments from the concerned Tour stars can be read on our website.

No more qualifying

The USGA has canceled qualifying for its remaining events. The U.S. Open in September will not have local or final qualifying, but instead an all-exempt field at Winged Foot. The U.S. Women’s Open in December and both Amateur Championships will forgo qualifying as well.

For more on good news LPGA and Symetra Tour players received this week and why 101-year-old golfer Sidney Beckwith is our Hero of the Week, watch the latest episode of Golfweek Rewind featured above.

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Goalie cat is the breakout star of quarantine soccer

The shot-stopping ability and reflexes are simply stunning.

Sure, soccer is back in the Bundesliga and Belarus right now, but sans crowds and with players clearly going at about 85% effort to finish out the season, it’s not a perfect product.

What is a perfect soccer product is Goalie Cat, AKA Meownuel Neuer, AKA Tony Meowla, AKA Tim Meoward.

This cat is the breakout star of the quarantine soccer. The reflexes are simply staggering. The aerial leaping ability sublime. The distribution, well, it’s terrible, but honestly with shot-stopping ability like that you have to take the bad with the good.

Watch him in action here. He’s got the total package when it comes to shot stopping.

Goalie Cat. GOALIE CAT. GOALIE CAT.

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Quick Hits with Lanto Griffin: PGA Tour pro is superstitious about golf balls and shoes

PGA Tour pro Lanto Griffin is superstitious on the course when it comes to golf balls and shoes. He explains in Quick Hits.

Lanto Griffin is superstitious when it comes to golf balls.

The 31-year-old pro recently took No. 5 golf balls out of his rotation and it’s paid off. Here’s why.

“I’m superstitious in the fact that if a golf ball number, if it’s working for me, I run with it,” Griffin said in the latest edition of Quick Hits. “So fives and sevens lasted for a while this year and then I ran out of sevens so I had to use a six. I think I wasn’t playing that great so I threw some sixes in and I think I shot 5 or 6 under so then now the last two weeks I’ve been using No. 6 ball instead of No. 5. So five came out of the rotation.”

But it’s not just golf balls.

Griffin, who won his first PGA Tour event at the Houston Open in October, is also superstitious about shoes.

“If I play well with a certain type of shoe, I’ll run with it for a while and if I have a couple bad rounds, they come out immediately and I’ll have a new style.”

In the latest edition of Quick Hits, Griffin also reveals what he’d be doing if he wasn’t a professional golfer and his favorite club in his bag.

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How NASCAR is handling its comeback during the coronavirus pandemic

NASCAR first race since the COVID-19 crisis shut the sports world down is Sunday, May 17.

After missing eight races on the 2020 schedule because of the global COVID-19 crisis, NASCAR is returning to the race track for the first time since early March.

The NASCAR Cup Series’ first race back after its hiatus because of the coronavirus pandemic is Sunday, May 17 at Darlington Raceway. There will then be a race the next Wednesday night, also at Darlington, followed by two at Charlotte Motor Speedway, including the iconic Coca-Cola 600.

Although NASCAR has not yet confirmed any races beyond those four — the last one is scheduled for May 27 — the details of those four races and how they impact the rest of the schedule are complicated. And the lineup looks a bit different than a traditional race weekend.

Here’s a look at the schedule for the first four races of NASCAR’s return in 2020:

Sunday, May 17: Darlington Raceway, 3:30 p.m. ET (FOX)
Wednesday, May 20: Darlington Raceway, 7 p.m. ET (FS1)
Sunday, May 24: Coca-Cola 600, Charlotte Motor Speedway, 6 p.m. ET (FOX)
Wednesday, May 27: Charlotte Motor Speedway, 8 p.m. ET (FS1)

Still have some questions? Here are the top-5 things you need to know before NASCAR starts racing again.

1. NASCAR’s return to the track opens with 4 races

The governing body recently announced it’s racing again, starting with two races at Darlington Raceway, followed by two races at Charlotte Motor Speedway. The first one is Sunday, May 17, and the race the following Sunday is one of NASCAR’s “crown jewel” races, the Coca Cola 600.

2. Two of NASCAR’s first 4 races back are on Wednesdays

How did this happen? For years, drivers and fans have been begging for mid-week races, and they’re finally getting their wish. Because NASCAR has been adamant about running a full, 36-race season, mid-week races became a necessity as the schedule was redesigned.

3. Why Darlington and Charlotte?

Well, North Carolina and South Carolina among the states that have given NASCAR the green light to return to competition. And with the sport being based in the Charlotte area, these two tracks are within driving distance, allowing each race day to be a one-day show.

4. Fans will not be allowed

Obviously.

5. NASCAR is taking precautions to protect those who will attend

The safety measures put in place because of the COVID-19 outbreak include personal protective equipment, like masks, being mandatory, and people will have their temperatures taken when coming and going from the track. NASCAR is taking this seriously and will fine team members up to $50,000 for breaking these rules.

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Golfweek Top 5: Counting down the best trick shots of the week

Check out the best trick shots of the week on Golfweek Top 5– Golfweek’s new video series.

Desperate for impressive shots while most of professional golf is on hold?

Welcome to Golfweek Top 5, where we rank the best trick shots of the week.

With the masses self-isolating due to the coronavirus pandemic, here’s a new series created to showcase the talents of golfers and fans who are stuck inside.

This week, our finalists range from a former NBA player to a dad stuck with three kids in quarantine in South Ireland.

If you have a trick shot that deserves to be included in the next edition of the Golfweek Top 5, tweet the video of your trick shot to Golfweek with the hashtag #GolfweekTop5. We’ll show the top five videos on the next countdown.

Watch the latest edition of Golfweek Top 5 below.

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Golfweek Rewind: Details set for Tiger-Phil II, nation’s top college golfers honored

The NCAA takes a big step toward allowing athletes to earn income, the LPGA pushes back its restart date and we celebrates All-Americans.

Tiger-Phil II has an official date, the last state in the United States announced golf may resume and a pro golfer steps away from her job on the course to help on the frontlines of the pandemic.

Take a look at the week’s top stories on the latest episode of Golfweek Rewind featured below.

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The Match, Part II

Champions for Charity, better known as Tiger-Phil II, is set for May 24 at Medalist Golf Club in Hobe Sound, Florida. It was already announced Peyton Manning and Tom Brady will be included in the event which will benefit COVID-19 relief efforts. Turner Sports will exclusively broadcast the event.

Golf returns

Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker reopened the state for golf Thursday, making Massachusetts the last state to resume golf following stay-at-home orders. Baker laid out several rules golfers and courses must follow along with its reopening such as groups will be limited to four players maximum and no carts will be used.

Haskins, ANNIKA

Congratulations to the best players in college golf. It was announced Friday that Furman’s Natalie Srinivasan won the 2020 ANNIKA Award and Pepperdine’s Sahith Theegala won the 2020 Haskins Award. Both golfers plan to pursue pro careers.

All-In

For more on what Tiger Woods is auctioning for the All-In Challenge and why Symetra Tour player Sarah Hoffman is our Hero of the Week, watch the latest episode of Golfweek Rewind featured above.

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‘The Last Dance’ exclusive clip: Michael Jordan walks away from NBA for pro baseball career

In this exclusive clip from an upcoming episode of ‘The Last Dance,’ we see Michael Jordan leave the NBA for pro baseball.

The Last Dance, an ESPN/Netflix ten-part documentary on the 1997-98 Bulls and the career of Michael Jordan, has become a must-see sensation for everyone in the sporting world.

With most pro sports on hiatus due to the coronavirus pandemic, we need something sports to watch, and this documentary is filling that gap for many of us. (It is averaging 5.8 million viewers, per ESPN, which is an awful lot for a documentary!)

We now have an exclusive clip from the upcoming episode of The Last Dance, which shows Bulls owner Jerry Reinsdorf and Jordan’s trainer Tim Grover discussing Jordan’s decision to walk away from his NBA career and try to make it in pro baseball.

The clip comes courtesy of ESPN/Netflix.

Episodes seven and eight of The Last Dance will air this Sunday night at 9 p.m. ET on ESPN.

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Will Ferrell poses as Seahawks player, crashes virtual team meeting

Ferrell showed off a new play he designed “90 go flywheel Kanye starburst” and also talked some smack to fellow Seahawk Luke Willson.

The Seattle Seahawks acquired tight end Greg Olsen this offseason, and during a virtual team meeting this week, head coach Pete Carroll said he wanted to give Olsen a chance to say hello and introduce himself to the squad.

They then cut to … Will Ferrell, who was posing as Olsen. Sort of. He was wearing the skullcap that Olsen sometimes wears, and had on a Seahawks jersey. Listen we’re all in quarantine, we can’t commit to the costumes like we might all like.

Ferrell chopped it up with the team, proclaiming his love for Russell Wilson, describing the new play he himself had designed — “90 go flywheel Kanye starburst”  — and giving Seahawks tight end Luke Willson a bit of grief over his long hair.

“I don’t know what you do in the offseason up there in Canada,” Ferrell said to Willson, “but cut your goddamn hair and let’s play some football.”

Watch the video here:

Well done, Mr. Ferrell.

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