FOOTBALL

The major story of the day was out of the college football world — specifically out of Arizona State, where offensive lineman Chip Sarafin has come out as the first active Division 1 gay college football player.  Sarafin said he was inspired by other athletes and most recently St. Louis Rams’ linebacker Michael Sam bravely coming out as openly gay.  Sarafin is expected to help the Sun Devils climb the ranks in the Pac-12.  

The University of Texas has a new employee:  former Heisman Trophy winning quarterback Vince Young.  Young also won a BCS National Championship for Texas against USC in very memorable fashion, running in the game winning touchdown.  Young may have not worked out in the NFL, but he is a legend in Austin, TX.  Now the university will employ Young to help raise money to send low-income students to college.  This seems like a perfect fit.

Elsewhere in the NFL, all eyes are still on Johnny Manziel in Cleveland.  The Browns brass decided that Brian Hoyer would be the QB starter in the next exhibition game.  And this is partially because Johnny Football has been showing up late to practice.  Is this a sign that his wild and irresponsible ways are getting the best of him?  Can the Browns count on him?  Either way, the Browns said they would handle the matter of Manziel’s tardiness internally.

BASEBALL

Major League Baseball has named three finalists for the position of commissioner to replace Bud Selig . Everyone is speculating on who will get this important job. One of the major criteria is dealing with the union. The new commissioner will be named on Thursday.

Mo’Ne Davis, a 13 year old female phenom, is one of only 16 girls who have ever played in the Little League World Series. With her 70 mph fastball, she led her team, the Philadelphia Taney Dragons, to the big game Thursday evening. Davis prefers not to focus on the fact that she’s a girl. She just wants to get out there and win. “No matter who you are, you should be able to do what you like to do and what you’ve always dreamed of doing,” she told ESPN.

BASKETBALL

Steve Ballmer is now officially the Owner of the Los Angeles Clippers. The former Microsoft CEO bid a record $2 billion to take over the team from ousted owner Donald Sterling who was banned for life from the NBA after a video surfaced with his racist remarks.

FOOTBALL

Dallas cornerback, Orlando Scandrick will miss the first four games of the NFL season for testing positive to a banned substance in the off-season. According to Orlando, he blamed the failed test due to a drug he took while in Mexico on vacation with his  ex-girlfriend. He claims he didn’t know the drug had the banned substance amphetamine, in it. The suspension will also cost him $1 million dollars. The Cowboys will really suffer the beginning of the season without Orlando.

FOOTBALL

Peyton and Eli are back as the “Rapping Manning Brothers”. Last year they recorded their first rap song, “Football on your Phone”, and now they debuted Direct TV’s “Fantasy Football Fantasy”. Check out the 3 minute video. It’s hilarious!

OTHER

In other sports news, ESPN suspended another host over his inappropriate conversation surrounding the Ray Rice domestic abuse scandal. While talking on a program that leads into his show, Max Kellerman admitted that he hit his then girlfriend (now his wife)  years ago while drunk at a college party. ESPN won’t comment on the suspension but clearly this is a highly sensitive and upsetting topic for all.

A US District Court in California ruled on Friday that payments to college athletes was not a violation of antitrust laws.   This could lead to the establishment of trust funds that could be used after the athletes leave college.  Stay tuned for updates on this as it can drastically change college athletics.

NASCAR

In a horrific scene on Saturday evening, famed NASCAR driver Tony Stewart hit and killed Kevin Ward Jr as Ward was walking towards Stewart after a crash on the track. Ward got out of the car, crossed the track, pointed toward Stewart and got hit while doing so. It was dark that evening and Stewart apparently couldn’t see Ward.  There appears to be no criminal charges or criminal intent against Stewart and they are treating it like an on-track tragedy. Currently, the Sheriffs are asking for fans’ videos so they can get more information. Tony Stewart is cooperating in the investigation and even pulled out of Watkins Glen International on Sunday morning. He sent out a statement saying, “There aren’t words to describe the sadness I feel about the accident that took the life of Kevin Ward Jr.”.

GOLF

In the PGA Championship in Valhalla, Tiger flamed out as many expected and 25 year old Rory Mcllroy took home the big trophy. He’s the first player to win three straight PGA Tour starts since Tiger Woods back in 2007.   It was an exciting finish with a head to head against Phil Mickelson and Rickie Fowler for most of the afternoon.

BASKETBALL

Former NBA star, Ron Artest, also known as Metta World Peace, is apparently changing his name….again.  According to his twitter feed, now that he’ll be playing for the Chinese Basketball Association, he will be called, “The Pandas Friend”. Now, that should be interesting on the back of a jersey !

GOLF

Tiger is having a tough time after just one day at the PGA Championship. After three bogeys he was heard saying, “for f*** sakes”. Tiger finished the day three over par, clearly not the same Tiger.

SOCCER

After a 14 year career in Major League Soccer, Landon Donovan announced he’ll be retiring.  As the top scorer in MLS history, he’s considered one of the best players of all time. According to USA Today, he’s the face of MLS and will be sorely missed.

GOLF

Don’t expect miracles but Tiger Woods said he’s healthy enough to play in the PGA Championship at Valhalla this week (tee time 8:35 am ET Thursday). Tiger withdrew from a tournament on Sunday complaining of severe from a back spasm when he fell awkwardly into a bunker. According to Tiger, he’s healthy now and has full range of motion. I don’t think anyone is expecting Tiger to win the Championship, but hopefully he’ll make it through pain free.

FOOTBALL

In football news, former NFL quarterback Scott Mitchell and former NY Jets offensive lineman Damien Woody will appear in the new season of The Biggest Loser, NBC’s reality show on losing weight. These men are just two of 20 former athletes competing this season. If you’re looking forward to lose weight, you could try here from all the expert choices available.

BASKETBALL

In more weight-loss news, LeBron James has lost a considerable amount in the off-season. According to an ESPN reporter’s recent tweet, LeBron has decided to cut carbs and as you can see has lost a considerable amount of weight. He’s clearly focused on putting his best foot forward for his new Team, the Cleveland Cavaliers.

BASKETBALL

In an historic moment, Becky Hammon was hired as the first female assistant coach in the NBA. The San Antonio Spurs. Becky was a star player for the San Antonio Stars and when she became injured last season,  the Spurs’ coach,  Gregg Popovich, invited her to attend  team practices and film sessions.

FOOTBALL

The Washington Redskins’ owner, Daniel Snyder went on air trying to defend the name  “Redskin”.  He said, “A Redskin is a football player. A Redskin is our fans. The Washington Redskins fan base represents honor, represents respect, represents pride. Hopefully winning,”  He refuted the fact that the dictionary refers to “redskins” as “offensive”. Snyder went on to highlight the plight of the Native Americans and the condition of the reservations.  People are still up in arms, though. The fight over changing the name of the team doesn’t appear to be going away anytime soon.

In other football news, the Chicago Bears suspend and fine TE Martellus Bennett during practice for an altercation with rookie Kyle Fuller. The fine is undisclosed but it’s odd that the suspension is indefinite.  The coach is clearly trying to set an example to the rest of the team to show that this type of nonsense will not be tolerated. At this point, it’s not clear when Bennett will be back to practice.

FOOTBALL

In the NFL, even though he is 0-3 in playoff games, including a huge upset AT HOME last season, the Cincinnati Bengals have given quarterback Andy Dalton a massive new 6-year contract extension worth $115 million.  Now, keep in mind that this money is not guaranteed, and there are many milestones that Dalton must reach to get the bulk of those payments, but this still comes as a surprise given that the Bengals are not necessarily sold on Dalton just yet.  This will be a pivotal year for Dalton’s career.  

Elsewhere in the NFL, despite all the drama from former QB Brett Favre during the last few years of his career, in which he played for the Jets and the Vikings, it looks like Brett Favre will have his number #4 retired by the Green Bay Packers.  The Packers organization has said that Favre will always be a Packer, and played a key role in keeping that franchise prosperous for the bulk of the 90s and a large portion of the next decade.  Green Bay fans know how to forgive and will always welcome Favre at the stadium.

Finally, in some very sad news.  The New York Giants were excited about their first round running-back selection in 2012:  Virginia Tech’s David Wilson.  Wilson was a late bloomer in his rookie season, but his last few games, Wilson tore up the field.  Fans were excited about his sophomore season, but Wilson struggled with injuries, and failed to do much with his opportunities. Then, Wilson also had to have a very serious neck surgery, and on Monday team doctors informed him that his football career is over.  Wilson said he was upset by the news, but was still happy that he got to live his dream of playing running back in the NFL. 

GOLF

In other injury news, like the ones injured in a car accident,  Tiger Woods had to withdraw from the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational due to a nagging back injury.  Woods has been struggling with a bad back for a few years now, and it is seriously starting to affect his game.  The Tiger Woods of old would never pull out of a tournament, and one has to wonder if we are starting to see the beginning of the end of the Tiger Woods era.  Hopefully he will have one more flash of dominance, but this is not a good sign.  The young Rory Mcllroy took home the Bridgestone event trophy. If you too had an injury, personal injury law firm located in Tampa can help you in many ways.

FOOTBALL

In the NFL, the Buffalo Bills are up for sale.  And for a long time, rock star Jon Bon Jovi has been interested in purchasing the team, along with an investment group.  Even though he’s interested in buying the Team it doesn’t necessarily mean he’s interested in keeping them in Buffalo. Bon Jovi was seen scouting out stadiums in Toronto.  Giving the Bills to Toronto, and thus giving Canada their first official NFL team, could be a financially wise move.  There has been huge outcry from Buffalo residents, however.  They are even boycotting all Bon Jovi music in restaurants and bars.  On Sunday, Bon Jovi released a statement saying that he understands how Bills fans feel.  He said that he’s not going to risk it all just to let everyone down.  This story is still developing. 

BASKETBALL

Many NBA stars are currently practicing for the World Cup of basketball.  One of the stars, emerging superstar Paul George of the Indiana Pacers, landed awkwardly and broke his leg in an awfully severe injury during a routine scrimmage.  It was so gruesome that pictures of it on the internet came with a warning “not to look if sensitive”.  It was reminiscent of the nasty injury Kevin Ware of Louisville suffered roughly a year ago.  George is recovering well, and said he will be back.  But it’s hard to know if he will be the same after such a horrendous injury.