18-time All Star Kobe Bryant has just added another award to his record by winning an Oscar for Best Animated Short Film on Sunday. The film, entitled “Dear Basketball,” is based on Bryant’s retirement letter which was published in the Players Tribune in 2015. The film was directed with Glen Keane, an animator who worked on a number of big films including Disney’s Aladdin and Beauty and the Beast. Throughout his 2-decade career with the LA Lakers, Bryant won five NBA titles, two NBA Finals MVP awards and one MVP award.
Super Bowl LII Commercial Leaks
Super Bowl Sunday is here and while most viewers will be watching for the football, some (if not the majority) will also be watching for the commercials. A few of this year’s ads have been leaked and are already being shared across the internet. What do you think?
Sports Stars Bringing Joy to Children’s Hospitals
There’s very little worse than a kid being sick. As such, people from all walks of life are often found trying to bring cheer to these individuals in whatever way they can. Especially around the festive Christmas period – when those who are sick tend to feel even more isolated – stars try to bring joy by making hospital visits.
One example of this was the get-together that occurred at the Children’s Hospital in Wisconsin, by the Milwaukee Bucks. Seeing as they had to orchestrate a practice session, they decided it would be good if they did that at the hospital. Getting together was just part of what they did; they also came laden with prizes, presents and other goodies for the kids. As Malcolm Brogdon, Bucks guard explained:
“You handle your stuff on the court, but then when you’re off the court, when you’re back in the community, for me that’s what it’s really about. It’s a blessing to be able to play at this level, but I think the bigger blessing is what we mean for so many people, the impact we can make on so many lives. It’s important that we use that.”
Over at Iowa University’s Kinnick Stadium – conveniently set up right next door a children’s hospital with the upper floors overlooking it enabling kids to watch on game days – a new tradition has begun. After the first quarter of the team’s first game of the season against the University of Wyoming, all the fans in the stadium turned around to wave to the kids watching from the hospital in a moment that made the kids feel truly special.
NFL Week 13 Recap
The NFL is well underway, with teams vying for playoff spots. If you’re not up to speed, catch Week 13’s highlights here:
16 Year Old Wins Gymnastics World Title With Her Glasses On
16-year-old Morgan Hurd has just shattered a glass ceiling by winning the gymnastics world championship title– with her glasses on.
The Harry Potter-loving teen has been watching the competition on TV since she was a child, and didn’t think twice when she decided to wear her glasses while working to become a gymnast.
“I tried contacts,” she explained, “but they made my eyeballs dry, and when I got stuff in my eyes, I had to take them out and put them back in.”
So she wore her glasses, it was as simple as that. She had them fitted with a neoprene strap to prevent slippage, and thus became one of the very first gymnasts to compete internationally with her spectacles on her nose.
Keah Brown, an activist and writer who founded the #DisabledAndCute movement, said “By performing in her glasses, Morgan is simply saying, ‘This is what I look like, and I’m still an athlete regardless.’ To see somebody who looks more like you doing something so extraordinary will make the person watching feel like anything is possible.”
Many others share this sentiment. Josh Levin of Slate wrote in support of Hurd as well, saying: “Those of us in the legion of four-eyed Americans can sometimes feel as is athletic prowess is a blurry, far-away thing. I now see that if I squint hard enough, I too can be the world gymnastics champion. Thank you, Morgan Hurd.”
Lebron James and Politics in Sports
The NFL season has kicked off and with it the political climate both on and off the field has begun to heat up. Similar tensions can be seen across a wide range of sports, including basketball. Lebron James recently spoke out about the situation, calling for unity across the country.
Justin Thomas Wins 2017 PGA Championship
The 2017 PGA Championship yielded exciting results, with Justin Thomas completing the tournament at -8, just two shots ahead of his competitors. His first major win, this competition awarded Thomas with $1.89 million. In the past, Thomas was only ranked among the top 10 of major tournaments once: he tied for 9th place at the U.S. Open earlier this year.
After the win, Thomas discussed the event at a press conference:
Kevin Durant Takes $10 Million Pay Cut to Boost Warriors Roster
Talk about a team player.
After an incredible season, 2017 NBA Finals MVP Kevin Durant opted out of his contract prior to the opening of the NBA free agency period, but not for the reason you may have expected. In a surprising move, Durant renegotiated a 2-year contract at a much lower rate in order to help his team retain and gain other major players for the upcoming season. According to Chris Haynes of ESPN, Durant’s new agreement with the Golden State Warriors is a $53 million, two-year deal with a player option for year 2, which, as pointed out by Sam Amick of USA Today is basically a $10 million pay cut.
The Warriors are using his sacrifice wisely, having already signed Stephen Curry, Shaun Livingston, David West and Andre Iguodala. Iguodala was rumored as a flight risk, but the Warriors reeled him in with a $48 million, 3-year offer. According to Amick, Durant was willing to take an even larger cut to help the Warriors snag Rudy Gay, in the event that Iguodala did leave the Bay Area.
We’ll see what next year brings, but Durant’s sacrifice has set the Warriors up for yet another great season.
And the Stanley Cup Goes To…
The Pittsburgh Penguins!
In a great game held two days ago, the Pittsburgh Penguins defeated the Nashville Predators 2-0, winning the series in six games. This is the fifth time the team has won the Cup and the second consecutive time (something that has not happened in 19 years). Thusly, there are quite the celebrations being planned for downtown to mark the victory.
Tomorrow, for those Downtown, check out the parade that will begin at the Grant Street/Liberty Avenue intersection and then make its way down Grant Street to Boulevard of the Allies. It will then head out to Boulevard of the Allies toward Point State Park, where the procession will end. At that point a stage on Point State Park’s lawn will be set up and players and staff from the team will give celebratory remarks.
One way that fans celebrated the win at the actual game was by eating raw catfish as a mark of respect for their team becoming NHL champions for the second time.
Petrosie to Join the Academy of Art University
In exciting news for the Academy of Art University in San Francisco, former Dixie High School pitcher, Chris Petrosie, has committed to join the Academy of Art University in the fall. Petrosie has shown his skills at the Yakima Valley Community College in Washington for the last two years. He posted a 15-6 overall record and had a 1.94 ERA.
Petrosie has also won the Northwest Athletic Conference Tournament MVP. He did so after throwing 13 innings.
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