Hoodie Melo doesn't play with a conscience. Regular Melo has a guard up, both (are) great, but I like hoodie Melo. | | | | A sign for the Yawkey Way hangs across Boston's Fenway Park.
(Adam Glanzman/Getty Images) | | | | |  | “Hoodie Melo doesn't play with a conscience. Regular Melo has a guard up, both (are) great, but I like hoodie Melo.”
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| | rantnrave:// My goal for this morning was to lead with something fun. Maybe that camera guy who got drilled in the family jewels. But then Thursday happened. First, there were the quotes from new SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS general manager JOHN LYNCH describing National Anthem protests as "divisive." Also in the morning papers: MEMPHIS GRIZZLIES head coach DAVID FIZDALE saying all confederate statues should be taken down immediately (he also had some funny lines about tiki torches). ESPN ran an interview with KEVIN DURANT, who said he'll skip out on the WHITE HOUSE visit if the champion GOLDEN STATE WARRIORS are invited. To top it all off, in the afternoon we learned that RED SOX owner JOHN HENRY wants to rename YAWKEY WAY, the famous street across from FENWAY PARK named after TOM YAWKEY, who owned the team from 1933-1976. The reason? Henry's "haunted" by Yawkey's legacy of racism. Example: Yawkey's Red Sox didn't sign an African-American player until 1959, last among all MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL teams and 12 years after JACKIE ROBINSON's first game. So, yeah, probably not the day to lead with the blooper. This, DAN WETZEL argues, may be one of DONALD TRUMP's unintended legacies. The call for "sticking to sports" was always silly; sports are connected to politics and economics and sociology and myriad other serious fields. In the past, athletes and teams and leagues could hide in the shadows. Today, with the world, and the UNITED STATES in particular, seemingly riding toward a cliff, nobody feels like hiding anymore, and players, teams, leagues and fans all seem headed for uncharted waters... “No matter what the NFL does, it devolves into a bunch of dudes arguing about whether or not a woman is a liar.” DEADSPIN’s DIANA MOSKOVITZ with a killer lede. Her piece on the mess the NFL has made of the EZEKIEL ELLIOTT domestic violence case perfectly sums up the issues at hand. Does ROGER GOODELL genuinely want to combat the problem, or does he only want to look tough? Does he care about doing the right thing, or only about optics?. The funny part: The more he tries to play sheriff and judge, the more his image suffers... Speaking of the NFL, be prepared for a lockout or strike in 2021. DEMAURICE SMITH, executive director of the NFL PLAYERS ASSOCIATION, just said as much... COLTS quarterback SCOTT TOLZIEN’s favorite app is—the weather app? I think we found the perfect adversary for the DOS EQUIS MAN... Doesn’t look like LAS VEGAS is exactly embracing its new NFL team. Strange... I’m guessing the numbers call for them, and I'm generally a fan of THE MMQB, and I understand this one has a different twist. That said, another TIM TEBOW story?... “I didn’t want people just to look up on SPARKNOTES for the answers.” High school me would have failed NEW YORK GIANTS linebacker DEVON KENNARD’s book club. (Also, do high school kids still use Sparknotes, or even know what they are?)... In 10 years, will every sports fan pay for a half-dozen different streaming services just to stay on top of games? | | | - Yaron Weitzman, guest curator |
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 | Deadspin |
| No matter what the NFL does, it devolves into a bunch of dudes arguing about whether or not a woman is a liar. It happened with Janay Rice. It happened with Nicole Holder. It happened with Molly Brown. And it's happening now. | | |
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 | Yahoo Sports |
| Here in the Age of Trump, however, particularly after the incidents and terrorism of Charlottesville, Virginia, the possibility that sports stars will begin to just shut up and play is all but gone. Instead, with Trump, they are engaged, enraged, empowered and encouraged. | | |
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 | GQ |
| We all know the dangers. So, do you let your kid risk his health-and his brain-to play? One dad explains the excruciating call he made. | | |
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 | ESPN |
| For two minutes and 32 seconds of pure chaos, a high school state championship game in Rhode Island entered a parallel universe -- and unleashed the longest hardball stalemate of all time. | | |
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 | The Walrus |
| Why Toronto researchers are questioning the link between the sport and long-term brain damage | | |
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| ESPN |
| One year ago, Hawks guard Malcolm Delaney was celebrating his first NBA contract. Days later, his brother could barely remember his own name. | | |
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 | Sports Illustrated |
| DeMaurice Smith, Executive Director of the NFLPA, chats with The MMQB's Albert Breer and shares why a work stoppage is likely in 2021. | | |
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 | The Undefeated |
| An orphan, a dropout, a felon -- and now a famous, married father running for mayor of Houston. | | |
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| ESPN |
| Finals MVP Kevin Durant has no intention of visiting the White House if the Warriors are invited by President Donald Trump, saying "my guys" will "all agree with me." | | |
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 | Boston Herald |
| The Red Sox have had enough.At a moment when racial tensions have escalated rapidly and the removal of Confederate statues acts as a flashpoint for violent and racially divisive protests, the Red Sox are ready to start taking down a symbol of their own racially tainted history. | | |
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 | Sports Business Daily |
| Turner Sports will launch an OTT sports service next fall with UEFA Champions League and Europa League games. Turner is expected to make an official announcement on its OTT plans this morning as part of a larger formal confirmation of its three-year, $60M English-language rights deal to carry games. | | |
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 | Los Angeles Times |
| A photographer was hit in the groin by a baseball during a ceremonial first pitch gone awry Wednesday at Fenway Park. | | |
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 | The New York Times |
| The Giants’ linebacker has created a vibrant book club on Instagram, drawing fans and fellow readers. | | |
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| ESPN |
| She holds her own in the weight room and on the football field. Sorry, doubters. Scholarship athlete Becca Longo is no longer regarded as The Female Kicker by her teammates at Adams State. | | |
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 | Joe Posnanski |
| Numerous people through the years have said some version of the following: "Every time you go to the ballpark, you will see something you've never seen before." It's a pretty trite thing to say, and it isn't EXACTLY true ... there are plenty of times you go to the ballpark and don't see anything especially new. | | |
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| Los Angeles Times |
| Former Lakers player, Dodgers executive and L.A. broadcaster Tommy Hawkins, 80, dies at home in Malibu on Wednesday (Aug 16). | | |
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 | Vice |
| In this episode of Speed Daemons, we explore how Miami's natural environment and complex history led to its love affair with speedboats. | | |
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 | NJ Advance Media |
| In an unheard of move, Michigan football lists 11 NFL Draft picks on its roster but not freshmen -- and the school won't provide a timely update. | | |
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 | Bloody Elbow |
| Karim Zidan delves into proliferation and politicization of mixed martial arts in Eastern Ukraine. | | |
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 | FiveThirtyEight |
| Is chess a young person's game? | | |
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 | YouTube |
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