Sports
‘We value what he represents’: MLB and baseball clubs will replace Jackie Robinson statue stolen and destroyed in Kansas
Major League Baseball and its 30 clubs will replace a statue of Jackie Robinson that was stolen, then burned and destroyed in Wichita, Kansas.
The statue was cut off on the ankles and stolen on January 25, then found in a garbage bin on January 30.
According to ABC News, officials are calling the theft of the statue a “heinous” act after it was stolen from McAdams Park and later found decapitated, burned and thrown right into a trash can. Surveillance video captured thieves entering the Jackie Robinson Pavilion around midnight and taking the statue right into a pickup truck after cutting it on the ankles.
Just a few days later, a statue of Robinson was found destroyed in Garvey Park, and Wichita Police Department spokesman Andrew Ford said the statue was on fire when it was found. According to ESPN, the damage is estimated at $75,000.
“Shortly after the fire was extinguished, the fire department saw what appeared to be pieces of the Jackie Robinson statue that cannot be salvaged at this time” – Ford he said CNN.
“It is truly disheartening to see the remains of the monument and the disgraceful way in which it has been disrespected,” he added. he said Wichita Police Chief Joe Sullivan. “This directly indicates the pressure that our investigators are putting on the perpetrators who committed this act.”
Robinson broke the colour barrier in baseball in 1947 when he became the primary black player to play in Major League Baseball for the Brooklyn Dodgers. Robinson played for the Kansas City Monarchs of the Negro Leagues before joining the Dodgers. He was named National League MVP in 1949 and helped the team win the 1955 World Series. Robinson was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1962, 10 years before his death. His number 42 was retired in 1997.
The Jackie Robinson statue was created by artist John Parsons.
Major League Baseball and Bob Lutz announced the substitute of the statue on January 31, the one hundred and fifth anniversary of Robinson’s birth. Lutz is the manager director of League 42, an area youth baseball league in Kansas, which funded the statue in 2021. Lutz began a GoFundMe after the statue was stolen. According to MLB, greater than $156,000 was raised. Lutz also announced that MLB will help support League 42 on the sphere in addition to its academic goals.
Lutz also said one among the most important donations, $10,000, got here from an anonymous former Major League Baseball player who won the World Series. Parsons has died, but Lutz says the mold used to make the bronze statue continues to be usable and he believes a substitute statue may be made.
“We value what it represents,” Lutz he said statue. “It is important that our 600 children understand what this means. We strive to educate our children about the role Jackie Robinson played in life and civil rights, in his life beyond sports. He is absolutely the best role model anyone could imagine.”
On January 29, Wichita police said that they had found the truck that stole the statue, but didn’t provide additional details concerning the thieves.
League 42 was founded in 2013 and accepts children ages 5 to 14 into the baseball league.
“We’re not just baseball” – Lutz he said Leagues 42. “We have after-school education, enrichment and tutoring.”
The league supports over 600 children on 46 different teams.
Sports
Netflix sued over streaming issues during Mike Tyson and Jake Paul fight
More than 60 million viewers reportedly tuned in to observe the Mike Tyson-Jake Paul boxing match, with many experiencing issues while streaming the event on Netflix. Given the issues one man needed to cope with because of streaming difficulties, he sued the streaming giant for $50 million.
According to , Florida resident Ronald “Blue” Denton filed a class-action lawsuit on November 18. The lawsuit related to a fight between the 2 men on Friday, November 15, which resulted in a unanimous decision victory for Paul over Tyson. The viewer is suing the corporate, amongst others. for breach of contract.
reports Denton wrote: “60 million Americans were thrilled to see “Iron” Mike Tyson, “The Baddest Man on the Planet,” versus award-winning YouTuber Jake Paul.” What they saw was “The Worst Streaming on the Planet.”
As the fight continued, many individuals on social media complained that they were having trouble watching the fight. Some complaints included buffering issues or inability to access the app.
Stating that “over 100,000 people have complained online,” the lawsuit said that “boxing fans, in addition to average Americans wanting to see the legend in what is probably going his final fight, have been faced with legendary issues including lack of access, streaming glitches and buffering issues.”
reported that Netflix admitted it was aware of its customers’ streaming issues during the boxing match.
“We don’t want to downplay the bad experience some members had and know we have a lot of room for improvement, but we still consider this event a huge success.”
Netflix announced that the fight was watched by 60 million people worldwide and peaked at 65 million concurrent streams.
Tyson (58), who has not boxed for several years, is over 30 years older than Paul (27).
Sports
In 2025, the Basketball Africa League play-offs will move to South Africa
The 2025 Basketball Africa League season will feature a brand new venue for the finals and playoffs and will also start at a brand new location.
The BAL 2025 Playoffs and Finals, scheduled for June 14, 2025, will happen at the recent home in Pretoria, South Africa. This will be the first time the BAL playoffs and finals haven’t been held in Kigali, Rwanda. The BAL 2025 season will also debut in a brand new location in Rabat, Morocco on April 5, 2025. During the BAL 2025 season, 12 of the best club teams from 12 African countries will play 48 matches in Rabat, Kigali and Dakar, Senegal, before traveling to Pretoria for play- offs.
“Over the first four seasons of BAL, we have seen tremendous growth in on-court competition, attendance and engagement from fans and partners in Africa and around the world,” BAL president Amadou Gallo Fall said in a press release. “Our groundbreaking fifth season will build on this momentum and continue to showcase the level of talent and passion for basketball in Africa, including through the first BAL games in Morocco and the first BAL Finals in South Africa.”
The 12 teams will be divided again into three conferences of 4 teams each. The group stage of the Kalahari Conference will happen from April 5 to 13, 2025 in Rabat. The group stage of the Sahara Conference will be held in Dakar from April 26 to May 4, 2025. The group stage of the Nile Conference will be held in Kigali from May 17 to 25, 2025. Eight teams from the three conferences will qualify for the play-offs in Pretoria, which will start on June 6 and end with the BAL 2025 finals.
“The Kalahari conference marks another expansion of BAL into a new country on our continent and we are more than satisfied,” FIBA Africa president Anibal Manave said in a press release. “The competition continues to grow each year, providing greater exposure for our sport and helping to raise the level of basketball in Africa, making the league increasingly competitive.”
National champions from Angola, Egypt, Morocco, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal and Tunisia routinely qualify for the BAL. The remaining five teams are from FIBA Africa’s Road to the BAL qualifying tournaments.
In the 2024 BAL season, Petro de Luanda of Angola became the first team from Sub-Saharan Africa to win the championship. According to BAL, the 2024 BAL season reached fans in 214 countries and territories in 17 languages, set an attendance record of greater than 120,000 fans in the 4 host countries and generated greater than 1.2 billion views across the NBA and BAL social media channels.
Sports
NFL star Terrell Owens signs a contract with Michael Strahan’s talent agency
NFL Hall of Fame receiver and podcast host Terrell Owens has signed with a talent agency to further strengthen his claims within the entertainment game.
According to , Owens was signed by SMAC Entertainment, headed by host and NFL Hall of Famer Michael Strahan and his business partner Constance Schwartz-Morini.
NFL insider Jordan Schultz has also joined SMAC Entertainment.
“We are excited to add TO and Jordan to the SMAC family. They are both at the top of their game and set the standard in their industry,” Schwartz-Morini said in a written statement. “TO and Jordan have already brought an infectious energy to our team, and we are excited to help them realize their vision for careers in media, business and branding.”
A five-time first-team All-Pro and six-time Pro Bowler, Owens played for the San Francisco 49ers, Philadelphia Eagles, Dallas Cowboys, Buffalo Bills and Cincinnati Bengals. In 2018, he was finally inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
A member of the 2000 NFL All-Decade Team, Owens finished his profession with 1,078 catches for 15,934 yards, 14.8 yards per catch and 153 touchdowns, rating third all-time in receiving yards and touchdowns.
Since retiring from skilled soccer in 2012, Owens has already made several moves. He has appeared in several movies and tv shows, including “,” and in addition had his own reality show, “, on VH1.
He currently co-hosts the podcast with former NFL player and sports analyst Shannon Sharpe.
SMAC Entertainment is home to stars similar to rapper and actor Common, Wiz Khalifa, Strahan, Deion “Coach Prime” Sanders and current NFL players similar to Stefon Diggs and DK Metcalf.
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