This article was originally published on May 28th, 2019.
Here is this week's dose of “5-Point Friday”. A weekly round-up of the sports news and stories that I find most interesting and enjoyable.
Olympics news I'm interested in -
The International Olympic Committee voted unanimously in favor of a proposal that could bring breakdancing, skateboarding, surfing, and sport climbing to the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. "All four sports must still prove themselves to Olympic observers, and could yet be removed from the Paris program ahead of final approval by the IOC board. It is too late to add a replacement should any fall short," said Tony Estanguet (@TonyESTANGUET), the Paris 2024 president.
Basketball news I am excited by -
Two Toronto-based technology entrepreneurs, Daniel Escott (@WolfOfWaterSt) and Max Abrahams (@max_abrahams) have launched a bid to bring a WNBA franchise to the Canadian city. The WNBA bid is expected to be presented to the league for consideration before the end of this summer and at this stage has no involvement with Raptors ownership group Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment (MLSE).
Collegiate news I am following -
In a new letter to the California Senate, NCAA president Mark Emmert warned that if the Fair Pay to Play Act becomes law, it would become “impossible” for the NCAA to deem California colleges eligible to participate in national championships.
The Fair Pay to Play Act would see California colleges that receive an average of $10 million a year in media rights revenue would be statutorily prohibited from denying their student-athletes the chance to earn compensation derived from the use of their names, images and likenesses. Consequently, UCLA men’s basketball players, Stanford women’s volleyball players, USC football players, Cal women’s swimmers and other athletes at California schools would be authorized by law to join advertising campaigns, sign endorsement deals, negotiate for inclusion in video games and sign countless other types of licensing contracts. They would also be able to hire agents to represent them in these dealings. However, the act would not convert college athletes into full-time employees, part-time employees, independent contractors, vendors, or any other conceivable classification of university “worker.” They would continue to be students. Therefore, the act would not require that colleges pay their athletes a salary, stipend, or other dollar figures.
Soccer news I am following -
Members of the Cameroon men's national soccer team refused to board their flight to compete in the African Cup of Nations (AFCON), in Egypt. Choosing to go on strike, after failing to agree on how much to be paid as bonuses. The players received bonuses of $34k, half of what they initially demanded. After Cameroon’s ministry of sport agreed to give the players additional bonuses of $8.7k, they agreed to fly to Egypt.
Sporting figure I have been learning about -
After listening to John Green's (@johngreen) podcast The Anthropocene Reviewed, episode Pennies and Piggly Wiggly, I learned about Clarence Saunders. Although Saunders is not considered a traditional sports figure, I took an interest after learning about the football team he built, in the late 1920s. The team which was based in Memphis, Tennessee, played with the name the 'Clarence Saunders Sole Owner of My Name Tigers'.
In the 1920s, independent professional football had spread to the South and West, but the teams there did not belong to the 12 team NFL. However the Tigers were allowed to play teams from the NFL as part of their season. In 1929, the Tigers would compete against other independent professional teams such as the Nashville O. Geny Greenies, the St. Louis Trojans, and the Hominy Indians (who were all Native Americans from Oklahoma). As well as playing two games against NFL opponents. The Tigers would defeat the Packers 20-6, the same season the Packers had won the NFL championship, but lost to the Chicago Bears 39-19. The Tigers would go on to defeat the Bears 20-6, in a rematch later that year.
The following year Saunders' Tigers were invited to join the NFL, however, Saunders refused the offer, as he did not want to pay for the team to travel to play games out with Memphis. Within three years the great depression hit and Saunders would disband the football team.
Have a wonderful weekend, all!
Jonathan
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