To help, here are seven little kernels of joy from the world of sports from the past week. Have a Super Sunday!
— Kal
⚾️ Quote
“I love the people from Oakland. I think they deserve to have their team.”
— Las Vegas Mayor Carolyn Goodman
Source: ESPN
Perhaps she’s positioning in the battle over the Athletics and where they will play, but even if that’s the case, I still love this. We’ve seen a lot of major sports franchise owners (John Fisher in this case) play their current city against another, and often leave for a sweeter deal. But have you ever seen this? A mayor on the verge of landing a new franchise suggesting publicly the team should stay put? Gotta love it.
🏈 Story
What a comeback! Three longtime friends have attended every Super Bowl — and don’t intend to stop
By Patrick Whittle, AP Sports
The AP’s fine reporter Whittled his story down to this: As long as they still have each other, they’re still going to go to every Super Bowl. That’s the sentiment shared by three friends who say they are the final fans who can claim membership in the exclusive “never missed a Super Bowl” club.
🏀 Highlight
The Lakers unveiled a statue of Kobe Bryant Thursday. The highlights above remind us of the passion, skill and courage Bryant brought to the court.
Laker legends, including Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Phil Jackson, reminded us what Kobe meant to them.
“This statue may look like Kobe, but really it’s what excellence looks like,” Abdul-Jabbar said. “What discipline looks like. What commitment looks like. … It captures a person frozen in time, while at the same time acknowledges that the reason there is a statue in the first place is because that person is timeless. We’re all here today to honor a man who represents not just extraordinary sports achievement, but also timeless values that inspire us all to try harder to be not just better, but our best.”
Jackson, who coached Bryant to five NBA titles, said he was proudest of Bryant when he stood up for teammate Adam Morrison after Jimmy Kimmel made fun of the former Gonzaga All-American for not playing during the NBA Finals.
🏀 Stat
1,200: career wins for Connecticut women’s basketball coach Geno Auriemma, just the third in the history of college basketball to reach the milestone
With a 67-34 win Wednesday over Seton Hall, Auriemma joined Mike Krzyzewski (1,202) and Tara VanDerveer Wednesday (1,207 and counting) as the only members of the 1,200-win college coaching club. A number of Geno’s 39 years worth of players came back to cheer him on.
“UConn do it!” they shouted.
🏈 Groaner
What was Christian McCaffrey (below with older brother Max) doing after Super Bowl XXXIII?
Running curl routes!
As a receiver, Ed McCaffrey won three Super Bowls (1995 with San Francisco, and ’98 and ’99 with Denver). Today do-it-all back Christian hopes to join his dad as a “Super Bowl champion”. Who can blame him? It has a nice ring to it.
🏈 Song
Let’s Go Crazy by Prince & The Revolution
Billboard ranked the best Super Bowl halftime shows and Prince’s performance from 2007 was crowned #1. No argument here.
After entertaining the masses that day in Miami, Prince made his way to a luxury box where someone asked him what he wanted to eat. “Let’s go crazy,” he said. “Let’s get nuts.”
🏈 Trivia
Which musicians provided halftime entertainment for the first two Super Bowls?
The Beach Boys
DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince
Diana Ross & the Supremes
Grambling State University marching band
Answer below.
Super Bowl I featured several bands at halftime, including Grambling State. And the Tigers returned for an encore the next year.
Aw shucks 🌽. That’s it for this week. Thanks for stomaching Corny Sports. Are we gonna let the elevator bring us down? Oh no, let’s go. Let’s go crazy, let’s get nuts!