This article was originally published on October 19th, 2018.
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.
Basketball news that interests me -
The NBA G League this week announced a new professional path for elite prospects. Beginning in the 2019-20 season, prospects who are at least 18 years old and yet eligible for the NBA draft could be offered "select contracts." The move is set to challenge the NCAA's monopoly on elite talent. The G League will target recent or would-be high school graduates, with a $125,000 contract, who otherwise would have likely spent just one season playing college basketball.
Gymnastics story that has intrigued me -
After former USA Gymnastics President & CEO Steve Penny was arrested for evidence-tampering charges related to the Larry Nassar investigation. The new Interim President Mary Bono has now also resigned after five days in the job. Bono received criticism after tweeting a picture of herself coloring in the Nike logo on her golf shoe, as a response to the Nike and Kaepernick marketing campaign.
Talking point of the week I'm interested in -
Owners and executives of all NFL teams met in New York this week. Choosing not to move forward with an anthem conduct policy. The NFL fall owners also discussed the future of the Seattle Seahawks, following the death of owner Paul Allen, earlier this week.
However, the main focus of the meeting was the "Chargers’ viability in LA." The Chargers this week signed a deal to keep themselves in LA until 2040, but have struggled to make an impact on NFL fans in LA, since moving from San Diego, revising their revenue goals from $400M to around $150M.
Historic sports deal I'm learning about -
Mexican boxer Saul 'Canelo' Alvarez (@Canelo) has signed a five-year, 11-fight deal that could be the most lucrative in sports history. The current WBA and WBC world middleweight title holder's contract with streaming service DAZN is worth $365m. Alvarez's first fight will be on December 15th, at Madison Square Garden, against Rocky Fielding (@Rocky87Fielding).
College Football game I attended -
On Saturday, I attended the Fresno State vs Wyoming game, at Bulldog Stadium. The now 6-1 Bulldogs dominated from the start, limiting the Cowboys to a total of 221 yards. Nullifying the Mountain West Conference's leading rusher Nico Evans, even without defensive tackle Jasad Haynes. Bulldogs generated 156 yards in the third quarter alone, including a 3-yard touchdown pass from Marcus McMaryion (@MM2_Era) to tight end David Tangipa and then a 6-yard run by McMaryion. Fresno State has now held opponents to less than 30 points for 17 games in a row, this is tied with LSU for the longest streak in the country. Highlights can be found here:
Have a wonderful weekend, all!
Jonathan
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