Season 1, episode 9. The season finale with special guest Will Scott discusses a broad amount of latest sports news with a special finish of Jones, Smith, and Scott giving their top ten NBA players of all-time.
Top Headlines
· PGA Tour: US Open cancels qualifying, and will go with an all-exempt field
o Criteria for an all-exempt field is still yet to be determined
o In a statement on Monday May 18th, senior managing director of championships John Bodenhamer told ESPN, “As you can imagine, this was an incredibly difficult decision, as qualifying is a cornerstone of the USGA championships. We take great pride in the fact that many thousands typically enter to pursue their dream of qualifying for the U.S. Open, and we deeply regret that they won’t have that opportunity this year. But this structure provides the best path forward for us to conduct the U.S. Open in 2020.”
o The US Open tournament has already been delayed from June 18-21 to Sept. 17-20
o 2 mins
· 2020 season of Ice Cube’s Big 3 basketball league has been cancelled amid the coronavirus pandemic
o "We tried everything in our power to give our fans a nice 2020 season, but with a long list of obstacles, we decided to shift our focus to having a great 2021 season with our fans in the stands," Cube announced Monday in a news release. "Our goal from day one has always been to provide a remarkable experience full of top-level competition and entertainment."
o The league is shifting their focus to playing the 2021 season with fans
o 2 mins
· Soccer: South Korea’s FC Soul hit with record fine for placing sex dolls in the stands
o Fined the equivalent of $82K US dollars for “damaging the prestige and integrity of the league” after using sex dolls instead of mannequins to fill empty seats during a Korean league match
o 1.5 mins
NFL
· Saints All-Pro WR Michael Thomas started a war of words with Dolphins Pro-Bowl WR Devante Parker because he did not like Parker’s response to an Instagram poll on Monday Night
o The poll made by NFL on Fox offered the following two options: make a catch while guarded by Patriots CB and 2019 defensive player of the year Stephon Gilmore or break up a pass while guarding Mike Thomas (2019 offensive player of the year)
o Most people would consider the poll a reasonable one and expect people to respond around 50% to 50%, but Thomas took offense to it
o Thomas replied, "For you, yes. Go run some numbers up. Then you can talk. I lapped you and you been in the league longer than me, first-rounder."
o Parker responded: "Got some hard feeling there brotha??? Let me get targeted 300 times a game."
o Thomas and Parker continued to go back and forth until Parker eventually stopped replying
o Thomas has a history of having something to say about any sort of criticism of him or his team, including incidents where he called out the Minnesota Vikings after their loss to the 49ers in the divisional round of the playoffs after they had knocked the Saints out in the Wild Card game as well as a twitter war with former Washington Redskins CB Josh Norman
o 3 minutes
· NFL owners approved Rooney Rule changes while tabling minority hiring incentives
o NFL Network reported last week that the owners were considering a proposal that would have improved teams' third-round draft picks by six or 10 spots if they hired a minority candidate for vacant GM or head-coaching openings, as well as other compensation for hiring minority candidates for such positions as QB coach
o On Tuesday’s conference call this idea was tabled (meaning that it will be voted on at a later date), but the owners did acknowledge that the record of minority hiring in positions of team leadership has become unacceptable
o Rooney Rule Changes (via ESPN):
§ Teams will now be required to interview at least two candidates from outside their organization for any vacant head-coaching job and at least one minority candidate from outside their organization for any vacant offensive, defensive or special-teams coordinator job
§ The NFL changed its anti-tampering policy to relax the rules that have allowed teams to deny assistant coaches and executives the opportunity to interview for jobs with other organizations
§ The Rooney Rule is expanded to apply to a number of executive positions. Teams and the league office are now required to interview "minorities and/or female applicants" for positions such as team president and "senior executives in communications, finance, human resources, legal, football operations, sales, marketing, sponsorship, information technology and security positions."
§ Each of the 32 NFL teams will establish a minority coaching fellowship program. The coaching fellowships are to be full-time positions, one or two years in length, to "provide NFL Legends, minority and female participants with hands-on training in NFL coaching." The idea is to establish a larger pool of qualified candidates in the pipeline from which head-coaching candidates are ultimately drawn.
o 3.5 mins
· Cowboys DE Aldon Smith reinstated from indefinite suspension
o Smith had been suspended indefinitely for repeat violations of the NFL personal conduct and substance abuse policies
o Smith was 2nd in the NFL in sacks between the 2011 and 2013 seasons
o 2 mins
NCAA Football
· Former Oregon signee Luke Hill was arrested on Tuesday on attempted murder and assault charges
o Hill attempted a drive-by shooting, with the target being Rhode Island football signee Ishmael Leggett who was standing in front of his home but fortunately was uninjured during the incident
o According to ESPN, Leggett’s girlfriend had received threatening calls from Hill, her ex-boyfriend, before the shooting
o 2 mins
· Vanderbilt hires Candice Lee as athletic director, making her the first African-American woman in history to become athletic director at an SEC school and she is only one of five women athletic directors in all of Power Five schools
o 2 mins
NCAA Basketball
· NCAA is investigating Stephen F. Austin University for lack of institutional control
o School faces several penalties, including postseason bans and vacating games
o Investigation involves “erroneous certification” of 82 athletes in nine different sports including men’s basketball and football, according to ESPN
o 2 mins
NBA
· Jazz F Bojan Bogdonavic out for remainder of 2020 season after wrist surgery
o Bogdonavic was a huge part of the new-look Jazz, averaging 20 PPG with several clutch shots in crunch time during the regular season
o 6th man F Joe Ingles is expected to take his starting spot until he returns next season
o 2 mins
· The Last Dance Documentary finale
o The Last Dance documentary has drawn lots of attention due to no sports currently being played in the US due to the coronavirus pandemic and the 10-part documentary has stirred up lots of debate on who the top players in NBA history are
o Our top 10 players in NBA history
§ Brandon
1. LeBron James
2. Michael Jordan
3. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
4. Wilt Chamberlain
5. Kobe Bryant
6. Bill Russell
7. Magic Johnson
8. Larry Bird
9. Oscar Robertson
10. Shaquille O’Neal
11. Honorable Mention: Hakeem Olajuwon, Tim Duncan, Julius Erving, Jerry West
o 2 mins critique
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