Links: Some fans not happy with Joey Votto and Reds for kneeling during anthem
Wednesday links:
Joey Votto among four Reds who kneeled for national anthem. The Cincinnati Enquirer reports, “Four Cincinnati Reds players, Joey Votto, Amir Garrett, Phillip Ervin and Alex Blandino, took a knee during the national anthem prior to Tuesday’s exhibition game at Great American Ball Park. The players lined up together alongside the first-base line, from left, Ervin, Votto, Garrett and Blandino.”
Not all Reds fans were happy about those who kneeled — especially Joey Votto — judging by the comments under this tweet.
Art Collector will run in the Ellis Park Derby. Thoroughbred Daily News reports, “Bruce Lunsford’s GII Toyota Blue Grass S. winner Art Collector (Bernardini) will run in the $200,000 Runhappy Ellis Park Derby Aug. 9, trainer Tom Drury told the Ellis Park notes team. The Runhappy Ellis Park Derby, with its purse doubled and distance extended from a mile to 1 1/8 miles, this year carries GI Kentucky Derby qualifying points.”
My column on the Wenyen Gabriel-John Calipari tiff. “The Gabriel-Calipari mini-rift actually began last year when Kentucky was recruiting Jaden McDaniels, 6-foot-9 forward out of Federal Way, Washington, who ended up staying home to play for the University of Washington. A reason why may have had something to do with Gabriel.”
Contract tracing a major challenge for college football. Ross Dellenger of SI reports, “Steven Goodman, an associate dean and professor of epidemiology at Stanford, knows medicine. He’s studied at some of the most renowned universities in America — Johns Hopkins, Washington University, Harvard and NYU. He’s won a multitude of awards for his research and teaching contributions to the field of epidemiology. In fact, he’s a lifetime fellow of the American College of Epidemiology.”
Fall without football would have long-term financial effects. USA Today reports, “In the world of sports, there is simply no cash cow like football. At the professional and major college level, it is the fulcrum upon which tens of billions of dollars shift, churning out revenue for NFL owners, athletic departments, television partners, sports books and more. In some instances, the sport can serve as a seasonal engine for an entire local economy.”
Will SEC be playing a lot of night games? Pat Dooley of the Gainesville Sun reports, “Obviously, this is not ideal for TV, which wants to give you games on a Saturday from noon to midnight. ESPN and the SEC Network especially like to feed into the start of the day from their preview shows. But 2020 is going to be different from what we are used to and TV may not be in a position to dictate times the way it usually does (such as a noon game in early September in any Southern stadium). So you could easily see the SEC’s first window start at five so the players would not have to spend the night in a hotel.”
SEC teams are loading up at quarterback. John Adams of the Knoxville News-Sentinel writes, “Jeremy Pruitt has improved his recruiting in each of his three years as Tennessee’s football coach. But you can’t judge his recruiting solely by the rankings. The Vols ranked 10th in the 2020 247Sports Composite. They’re now ranked third based on their 23 commitments for the 2021 class.”
Auburn is getting an Australian punter. Tom Green of AL.com reports, “Auburn is heading back Down Under to fill its void at punter. The Tigers on Tuesday picked up a commitment from Oscar Chapman, a former Aussie Rules football player who has been training with Prokick Australia, giving the team a welcome addition at a clear position of need heading into the 2020 season.”
Eric Musselman a model for NBA friends. Bob Holt of the Arkansas Democrat Gazette reports, “With the NBA teams all playing in their bubble at the Walt Disney Resort, the dress code of wearing suits is being relaxed for the coaches, and they are allowed to wear polo shirts. Musselman — a former NBA head coach with Golden State and Sacramento, and an assistant coach with Minnesota, Orlando, Atlanta and Memphis — praised NBA Commissioner Adam Silver for letting the coaches dress more casually.”
NBA unveils Black Lives Matter courts in Orlando. ESPN reports, “The NBA has delivered on its promise to print ‘Black Lives Matter’ on the game court for the league’s restart in Orlando. On Tuesday, the league unveiled the new court, giving reporters in the ‘bubble’ a tour. Black Lives Matter is written on the floor in large, glossy black print.”
This story was originally published July 22, 2020 at 8:49 AM.
