This article was originally published on October 11th, 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.
What I have been listening to -
Greatest Games: Benfica 5-3 Real Madrid, 1962 from Football Ramble Daily. They share the story of Béla Guttmann, a Hungarian born Jew, who survived the Holocaust and would go on to lead Benfica to two European Championships. Including the amazing the chaotic 1962 victory over Real Madrid, in Amsterdam.
Basketball news I have been following -
All of the NBA's official Chinese partners suspended their ties with the league. This comes after Houston Rockets General Manager Daryl Morey (@dmorey) tweeted his support for the pro-democracy demonstrations in Hong Kong.
Furthermore, China's state broadcaster also scrapped plans to show two US NBA basketball pre-season exhibition games. The Chinese market makes up at least 10% of the league's current revenue and could reach 20% by 2030.
ESports story I am also following -
Activision Blizzard suspended Ng Wai Chung (@blitzchungHS), a Hong Kong-based professional player of Hearthstone, its digital card game, over a statement supporting the Hong Kong pro-democracy protests.
Chung said, “Liberate Hong Kong, revolution of our time,” while wearing goggles and a face mask.
Blizzard's reaction has sparked outrage from fans, who are calling for a boycott. With groups stating that Chung's comments should be protected as free speech, especially given that Blizzard is an American company. Supporters of the protests in Hong Kong accused Blizzard of compromising its principles to protect its business interests in China.
Baseball news that caught my attention -
Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf (@LibbySchaaf) confirmed in a television interview on Tuesday that MLB commissioner Rob Manfred warned city officials that the Athletics could relocate to Las Vegas if the city didn't drop its lawsuit to stop Alameda County from selling its share of the Coliseum to the team.
"In a recent meeting with the mayor of Oakland, I did mention Las Vegas in the context of pointing out that the A's might have to relocate if a new stadium can't be built in Oakland," Manfred told the Las Vegas Review-Journal. "There is, however, no plan to move to Las Vegas."
Soccer news that I found interesting -
Iranian women attended their first men's international game, after being freely allowed to enter a stadium for a men's match for the first time since the 1979 Islamic revolution.
More than 3,500 women bought tickets to see Iran thrash Cambodia 14-0, in a World Cup qualifier. The female fans were granted access to a special women's-only section of the Azadi Stadium. Which they filled up an hour before that match, as the rest of the stadium remained virtually empty.
Although a handful of women had watched a men's game before, they had been pre-selected by authorities. This game became the first time women had been allowed to buy tickets on general sale.
Have a wonderful weekend, all!
Jonathan