OLYMPICS

The International Olympic Committee made the decision to award the 2024 and 2028 Olympics simultaneously with Paris getting 2024 and LA 2028.  The decision will become final in September. LA hosted in 1934 and 1984 while Paris last hosted in 1924.

BASEBALL

The baseball non-waiver trade deadline passed Monday with resounding applause for the Los Angeles Dodgers and New York Yankees. The Dodgers traded to get Yu Darvish from the Texas Rangers, while the Yankees picked up Sonny Gray from the Oakland Athletics. For more trade winners and losers, click here.

In a classy move, the Cubs organization will present the infamous Steve Bartman with a 2016 World Series ring. Bartman became one of the most hated fans in history when he interfered with a foul ball in Game 6 of the 2003 National League Championship Series. Bartman became a symbol of the curse of the Cubs and suffered from ridicule and harassment for years. Cubs owner Steve Ricketts announced Bartman was now welcome back in the Cubs family and said he was “honored” to present him with the ring. Bartman reacted by saying,  “Words alone cannot express my heartfelt thanks to the Ricketts family, Crane Kenney, Theo Epstein, and the entire Cubs organization for this extraordinary gift, and for providing the City of Chicago and Cubs fans everywhere an unforgettable World Championship in 2016. I am happy to be reunited with the Cubs family and positively moving forward with my life.” The reaction from social media has been very positive with fans stating how classy Bartman and his family has been over the last decade in dealing with the critics.

FOOTBALL

Much has been written the last few days about the study performed on the donated brains of former football players. The study found 110 of 111 of the donated brains demonstrated signs of degenerative brain disease known as chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE). The League is concerned about the study and many are talking about how this affects current players attitudes. On Monday, New York Jets rookie Jamal Adams responded to questions about the study by saying, “Literally, if I had the perfect place to die, I’d die on the field.” His comments didn’t sit well with a number of people including the former wife of the late Justin Strzelczyk who played for the Pittsburgh Steelers and suffered from CTE. She responded by saying, “I don’t even know what to say. This guy [Adams] doesn’t know what’s coming down the pipeline. He has no idea what dealing with someone who has CTE is like.”