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Shauna Rush

5-POINT FRIDAY, JULY 12th, 2019

Updated: Jun 1, 2020

This article was originally published on July 12th, 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.


Women's soccer news that's interesting me -


Senator Joe Manchin (@Sen_JoeManchin) introduced a bill that would withhold federal funding for the United States' hosting of the 2026 men's World Cup until the men's and reigning champion women's national soccer teams receive equal pay. Manchin, was inspired to sponsor the legislation after receiving a letter from West Virginia University's women's soccer coach Nikki Izzo-Brown (@WVUIzzoBrown), asking for his support for the US Women's National Team's pursuit of equal pay, he said in a statement.


"The clear unequitable pay between the U.S. men's and women's soccer teams is unacceptable and I'm glad the U.S. Women's Soccer Team latest victory is causing public outcry," Manchin added. "They are the best in the world and deserve to be paid accordingly."


Baseball news I am excited about -


The independent Atlantic League made history this week, becoming the first American professional baseball league to let a computer call balls and strikes, during its All-Star Game. Plate umpire Brian deBrauwere wore an earpiece connected to an iPhone in his pocket and relayed the call upon receiving it from a TrackMan computer system that uses Doppler radar.


Basketball news I am confused about -


The NBA Board of Governors has voted to allow coaches to challenge plays next season. Coaches will be able to challenge an on-court decision once per game, provided they have a timeout remaining. The plays that can be challenged: called fouls, goaltending, basket interference, and disputed out of bounds calls. What confuses me is how unnecessary the new rule is. Giving coaches a single challenge for a whole game but then reviewing all close incidences of the reviewable behaviors (minus called fouls) during the most critical moments of the game shows just how insufficient the challenge will be to make the game infallible.

Historical event I am learning about -


I have been learning this week about 1946 'Atom Bowl'. A football game played by American soldiers in Nagasaki, Japan, after they had dropped a nuclear bomb on the city.


The story of the ‘Atom Bowl’ sees two makeshift teams being pitted against one another, the Nagasaki Bears against the Isahaya Tigers. The Bears’ quarterback was Angelo Bertelli, who won the Heisman trophy in 1943 while playing for Notre Dame. The Tigers had Bullet Bill Osmanski, an NFL star who played for the real-life Chicago Bears and led the league in rushing in 1939 with 699 yards. The Tigers would go on to win 13-12.


What I have been watching -


'Foul Play: Paid in Mississippi', by Steven Godfrey (@38Godfrey) for SBNation. The Youtube series of videos gives an in-depth look at some underhand tactics used by collegiate programs in Mississippi to recruit high school players. The first video focuses on Laremy Tunsil and his time at Ole Miss.

Have a wonderful weekend, all!


Jonathan

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