A Link of Her Own: September 2, 2016
The must-click-and-watch sports news of the day
Today’s links hit it out of, and then back into, the park. (You’ll see what we mean.)
PITCHing a Fast Ball
We cannot wait for the premiere of Fox’s Pitch later this month. The (hopefully-soon-to-be-true) story of MLB’s first female player has the first official reviews for its pilot episode coming in, and they’re just making us that much more excited. Look out for our episode recaps!
CFB Highlights
- Thursday’s opener against Appalachian State should have been an easy victory for the Tennessee Volunteers, but the underdog Mountaineers took the Vols to overtime; the SEC school just barely scraped by with the win after Volunteer quarterback Joshua Dobbs fumbled the football into the end zone, where running back Jalen Hurd recovered it for the touchdown.
- Louisville quarterback Lamar Jackson was responsible for eight touchdowns in the first half of Thursday night’s game against Charlotte — he threw six passes and ran two in himself. Jackson set a school record by doing so and has definitely established himself as one to watch.
Social Justice Stories
- Colin Kaepernick is putting his money where his mouth is: he’s donating the first $1 million he makes this year to underserved communities.
- Convicted rapist and former Stanford swimmer Brock Turner got out on good behavior after serving only three months of his six-month sentence. Just as we’ve seen in professional leagues, “athlete privilege” is not uncommon.
- Penn State plans to honor late head football coach Joe Paterno in a couple weeks, despite everything pointing to Paterno learning at some point about the inappropriate sexual contact assistant coach Jerry Sandusky was accused of and doing nothing. No surprise, no one is happy about this.
You’re Outta Here
- As one PED suspension case closes, another opens: Patriots defensive end Rob Ninkovich has been hit with a four-game suspension to begin the season. (He likely would have missed the games due to injury anyway, but it’s the principle of the thing.)
- L.A. Kings forward Jeff Carter is off Team Canada’s World Cup of Hockey roster due to injury, so he’ll be replaced by Corey Perry of the Anaheim Ducks (who many think should have been on the team to begin with).
- Dale Earnhardt Jr. has already missed the last six NASCAR Sprint Cup races with a concussion and is now set to sit out the rest of the season.
Longread of the Day
Canadian IndyCar driver James Hinchcliffe almost lost his life last year after crash remnants pierced him in the leg; now he’s set to compete on Dancing with the Stars. Here’s Hinchcliffe in his own words on his turn in the spotlight (plus his thoughts on losing a recent race by .008 seconds).
Must-Watch Video of the Day
The spin on this baseball took it from foul to fair again. Sounds impossible, right? Watch it here:
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