Sports ‘n Stuff July 22, 2020

Eddy Alvarez, member of USA Baseball has been selected to be a flag bearer in tomorrow’s Olympic Opening Ceremonies. Though Alvarez will be right alongside four-time Olympian Sue Bird—his selection makes him the first baseball player ever to be chosen for the distinction.

NBA reporter, Maria Taylor has announced she is officially leaving ESPN. Though her next landing spot has yet to be named, her recent NBA Finals coverage would be Taylor’s last assignment at the network. Last week it was reported that the rising star is being pursued by NBC Sports. It’s also being rumored Taylor could even become the new host of “Football Night in America”—Sunday Night Football’s highly-rated lead in. No telling if the Rachel Nichols controversial comments concerning the network and adversity had any bearing on the decision.

At media day for the SWAC a reporter referred to Jackson State head football Deion Sanders as Deion. Not Coach or even Coach Sanders. Seeing it as disrespectful,  Sanders got up and walked out of the appearance. Can’t call him Priiiiime Tiiiiiiime at a presser, anymore!

hot dogs have somehow become the most debated of foods. A new survey through hot-dog.org has sought to definitively put to rest the biggest question of all time. Is a hot dog a sandwich?

Just because it’s served in bread doesn’t necessarily mean it’s a sandwich. In their survey, 57% of those who responded said that it wasn’t one, and that should be the end of it. Other findings include…

• 62% say the best tasting hot dogs are found at a ballgame.
• 61% find hot dogs taste better in places other than their own homes.
• 87% say hot dogs are best served on paper plates and with paper napkins.
• One-third of Americans say New York City is the true hot dog capitol of America.
• The most popular “style” hot dog is the tried-and-true all-beef frank topped with steamed onions and deli-style yellow mustard.

Also, contrary to popular belief, there’s a way to incorporate a steamy weenie into a healthy diet. A “standard beef hot dog” weighs in at just 190 calories, has seven grams of protein, and serves up 20% of your daily Vitamin B12 requirement.

DraftKings has announced a foray into the world of NFTs and “digital collectibles.” By partnering with Autograph, an NFT company founded by Tom Brady, they’ll have the ability to offer fans and collectors “curated NFT drops.” Autograph has landed NFT exclusivity deals with heavy hitters like Wayne Gretzky, Tony Hawk, Derek Jeter, and Naomi Oksana, just to name a few. Customers can use cash already deposited into their DraftKings accounts to buy and sell NFTs without the need for cryptocurrency. Additionally, there’s also a partnership with Lionsgate, which will allow buyers to get a part of movie and entertainment magic, too.

Cassiano Rodrigues Laureano is a Brazilian man living in Singapore, and he’s now the world burpee record holder. In just one single hour, he managed to do 951 of them…that’s over 15 a minute. The record has been verified by Guinness, and after he completed the task, Cassiano was quoted as saying, “I’m tired.” How many can you do? A burpee is an exercise where you start standing, bend down until your hands are on the ground, back your legs up into a push-up, reverse it, and stand back up. 

Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and Vin Diesel have been beefing since they did “Fast & Furious 8.”

The Rock recently commented on Vin’s latest explanation of their feud. He called Vin’s take on it laughable.

He also made it clear that he would NOT be doing anymore “Fast & Furious” films.

The Rock said, “I wish them the best of luck on ‘Fast 10’ and ‘Fast 11’ and the rest of the ‘Fast & Furious’ movies they do that will be without me.” And there it is…”

The Tribe broke a 2 game losing streak by beating the Astro’s in Houston on the strength of Cesar Hernandez’ 16th bomb 5-4. It was manager Terry Francona’s 721 win, tying him with Mike Hargrove as the second winningest manager in Cleveland Indians history. Tito is only 7 victories away from tying Lou Boudreau at 728 for team lead in victories.

The Indians 48-45 host the Tampa Bay Rays tonight with Cal Quantrill on the hill for the good guys.

Today is Thursday, July 22, 2021

Today in Sports History

1926 – At Mitchell Field in New York, Babe Ruth caught a ball that had been dropped from an airplane flying at 250 feet. Let’s see Ohtani do that!

1962  – Jackie Robinson became the first African American to be inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame. 

On this day in entertainment history:

1977 – Tony Orlando announced his retirement from show business. Michael Anthony Orlando Cassavitis was born on April 3, 1944, the son of a Greek father and a Puerto Rican mother.