data-mm-id=”_yyv1njbm4″>Can you believe Mayweather-Pacquaio was five full years ago? Like most things in right now's not-so-distant past, that seems both too recent and ages ago. How much would you give to watch The Kentucky Derby today and then finish your night off with a prize fight? What if I told you Tom Brady and Rob Gronkowski did both in person? For normal people, you could watch those events on television. Throw in some second-round NBA playoff action and some random regular season baseball games and you just got lightheaded and passed out, didn't you?Considering our current situation, look at what Brady and Gronk did back in 2015. There was a huge sporting event where over 170,000 people gathered and ate and drank and gambled and they both went. Then they got on an airplane and traveled to Las Vegas and entered another building with more than 16,000 people in an enclosed space. Then two other men walked through the crowd with almost no one wearing a mask and had a fist fight for more than a half-hour. And all around the country and world, people gathered together in person to watch. At sports bars. In friends' homes. They paid money to watch sports on television. With 4.6 million pay-per-view buys , Mayweather-Pacquiao remains the biggest boxing match of all-time. Mayweather made $250 million and Pacquiao took home $150 million. And it was a huge disappointment. The fight was kind of boring. How much would you pay for them to have a rematch tonight? How good does a $99.99 PPV sound right now? And it's not just about the sports. It's about life. Imagine those environments. All those people traveling and spending money and not worrying about anything in the entire world for a few hours. Just look at all the people currently stuck at home right now who came out for Mayweather and Pacquiao. Like Beyonce for example. (Jay Z was also reportedly in attendance.)Jay Z and Beyonce attended Mayweather – Pacquiao. / Al Bello/Getty ImagesUnfortunately, not all the wealthy couples who attended the fight are still together. Tom Brady and Robert Kraft at Mayweather – Pacquiao. / Ethan Miller/Getty ImagesHopefully, Gronk and his hat are still together. Gronk at Mayweather – Pacquiao. / Ethan Miller/Getty ImagesTo go back to the Kentucky Derby real quick, Gronk and Brady were in attendance as American Pharoah won the first leg of his Triple Crown. They were part of a record crowd of 170,513. That was the first time since 1978 that a horse won the Triple Crown. That horse's name? Affirmed. And back again to the prize fight, Lil' Wayne was there with Christina Millian.Lil Wayne and Christina Milian. / Ethan Miller/Getty ImagesMark Wahlberg was in attendance and was interviewed by Josina Anderson.Mark Wahlberg talked to Josina Anderson. / Ethan Miller/Getty ImagesDenzel Washington was there in a tracksuit and became a meme. Denzel Washington Ringside At “Mayweather VS Pacquiao.” / Ethan Miller/Getty ImagesTecate was the main sponsor of the fight, beating out Corona in a bidding war. Someone please go back in time and tell those brands where they'll be five years in the future. Speaking of brands, Mayweather walked out with the Burger King (the only person wearing a mask) and Justin Bieber, who used to be weirdly involved with boxing.Justin Bieber at the Mayweather – Pacquiao press conference. / ROBYN BECK/Getty ImagesAnd finally, if you want to know how long ago 2015 was, Getty identifies Donald Trump as a "celebrity businessman and media personality." Donald Trump and Melania at Mayweather – Pacquiao. / Ethan Miller/Getty ImagesThat was five years ago. Trump was a celebrity, athletes could travel from city to city and cross paths with tens of thousands of people and everyone else could just watch beautiful stupid sports and not worry about anything because tomorrow is just Sunday. Nothing more, nothing less. This day in sports history? Sports took place.
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data-mm-id=”_atkz0tkic”>The fantasy football playoffs are creeping closer. Here are five players who could give you that extra boost you need to secure a crucial win as everyone battles for a playoff spot. (All stats via ESPN standard PPR leagues)1. Ryan Griffin, TE, New York Jets (Available in 98 percent of ESPN Leagues)Dallas Cowboys v New York Jets / Al Pereira/Getty ImagesThe Jets have seen a bit of a resurgence from their offense over the last few weeks, even if it was against weak competition. Griffin has been one of the main beneficiaries of this resurgence, especially this past week, in which he caught five passes for 109 yards and a touchdown to total 21.9 fantasy points. Sam Darnold likes targeting his tight ends, and will be going up against another average unit in Oakland …
data-mm-id=”_hqnkck6dy”>The XFL has made it two weeks. While many positives exist, the same can't be said for about half of the teams. Here are The Big Lead's XFL Power Rankings through Week 2:8. Tampa Bay Vipers (0-2)Tampa Bay Vipers / Abbie Parr/Getty ImagesThere are only eight teams, which makes it possible for a 0-2 team to rebound. Simultaneously, everything that occurred after the Viper's 9-0 lead this week was bad news. Tampa Bay has only scored nine points this season. And, based on their play, that is an overachievement. They continue to rotate quarterbacks and none of them have even been decent.7. New York Guardians (1-1)Matt McGloin / Scott Taetsch/Getty ImagesNew York isn't winless but was atrocious this weekend. The Guardians did nothing well in Week 2 …
data-mm-id=”_si26bakr4″>The country is in turmoil and sports seem like the least important thing right now. However, there is some relevance to what's been happening around the United States recently and something that happened in sports a few years ago. The Houston Chronicle highlighted that reality with a powerful cover photo on their Sunday sports section. Sunday's @HoustonChron Sports cover pic.twitter.com/A4P4VTx70e— Tom Fox (@foxt78) May 31, 2020Imagining a world where we focused on what Kaepernick was advocating for and not what he did, the Houston Chronicle skillfully weaves sports into the current state of society. It isn't easy to do. Outside of players commenting on the protests or Jaylen Brown joining them, sports don't feel connected to the more impor…
data-mm-id=”_sytjadgd5″>Attention was taken off the NBA playoffs when a video of police officers in Kenosha, Wisconsin shooting unarmed black man Jacob Blake in the back seven times went viral. All the players participating in the league's restart have been strong and constant in their unified messages to end police brutality and institutionalized racism in America. Thus, when asked about the video today, their frustration and anguish that this keeps happening was clear. It's also become clear to these men that simply speaking out isn't causing the widespread change they're calling for. Norman Powell and Fred VanVleet of the Toronto Raptors told reporters that boycotting a game or games is something the players have been talking about. Norm Powell and Fred VanVleet …
data-mm-id=”_v92l7lday”>The Los Angeles Clippers blew a 3-1 lead to the Denver Nuggets in the second round of the NBA bubble playoffs. Less than two weeks later, Doc Rivers found himself unemployed. Such a disappointing postseason loss from this talented of a team is definitely a group effort, but Rivers didn't help matters by making some extremely questionable rotation decisions throughout the playoffs. Ultimately, his and his team's inability to get it done when it mattered most led to his pink slip. Rivers, at 58-years-old, is still looking to coach. And while this season was indeed a letdown of the highest measure, Rivers' resume and reputation still makes him an attractive coaching option for the five teams currently without a head coach. Bill Simmons, while discuss…
data-mm-id=”_dn0uocuqi”>The NBA and everyone involved knew the 2020-21 season was going to be complicated. Without the benefit of the bubble, each team is subject to the chance that a COVID diagnosis could sideline important players for weeks at a time. Less than a month through the season, that has proved more true than anticipated. The Philadelphia 76ers suffered a coronavirus outbreak a few days ago. It all came to a head today when the Sixers were at risk of not having enough players eligible to play against the Nuggets this afternoon. Under the new rules for this season, that would result in a forfeit. Philly got tests results back for three players this morning, and they now have nine. Philadelphia has nine eligible players today for 3 PM tip vs. Denver, including Ben Simmons, Ty…
data-mm-id=”_ucdt2nl0j”>The week before the Fourth of July, a group of men and women with very different career journeys all gathered at Liberty National Golf Club in Jersey City, New Jersey. The resumes in attendance were impressive, to say the least. There were Olympic gold medalists and Super Bowl champions, baseball Hall of Famers and Wimbledon winners. This eclectic group of accomplished athletes was gathered for the ICON series tournament, described as, "a truly unique sporting event, bringing together the world's biggest sporting icons to compete in a series of competitive team matchplay format events." Set up like an amateur Ryder Cup of sorts, there were two teams comprised of 13 athletes each. The American team, led by Fred Couples, faced off against the Rest o…
data-mm-id=”_s3oloc8ug”>On a team full of high-priced stars, a diminutive middle infielder with largely pedestrian offensive numbers might be the most indispensable player. It's time we talked about Ha-Seong Kim. When the San Diego Padres signed Kim out of the KBO in December of 2020, the deal barely caused a blip on the offseason radar. The Friars were in the middle of a stunning stretch in which they acquired Yu Darvish, Blake Snell and Joe Musgrove and locked Fernando Tatis Jr. up with a 14-year extension. The addition of a presumed utility guy to a low-cost, four-year contract didn't seem like a big deal. Two-and-a-half seasons later it wouldn't be crazy to call Kim the most underrated player in Major League Baseball. Kim played for the Kiwoom Heroes in Korea from 20…
data-mm-id=”_9ly332zf1″>Donald Trump spoke to a crowd of supporters in West Palm Beach, Florida on Wednesday night. The speech was broadcast on Right Side Broadcasting Network which used the chyron "TRUMP STOPS IN 'THE SUNSHINE STATE,'" which is a funny way to describe Trump going somewhere less than five miles from his Mar-a-Lago home.As for the speech, the topics changed at the usual breakneck pace. This time Trump even worked in an impression of Rush Limbaugh while repeating Barack Obama's name. Trump claims Biden is letting terrorists into the country because “Barack Hussein Obama” and just repeats the name over and over again before saying the capital of the United States looks like “shit” pic.twitter.com/9xkxqcEOCs— Acyn (@Acyn) October 12, 2023…
data-mm-id=”_1hz87cuno”>On Sunday night the Dallas Cowboys buried the Philadelphia Eagles in a statement game, beating their divisional rivals 33-13. There was also, as we've come to expect, some extracirriculars happening in the stands. After the Cowboys put the finishing touches on their huge divisional victory, a video went viral of two fans engaging in a violent fight in the AT&T Stadium concourse. There are two things that make this fan fight video stand out compared to the others. The first thing is that one of the combatants is wearing a Michael Crabtree Raiders shirsey, which is an objectively hilarious decision. Two, this fight spilled into one of those silent auction areas that litter professional sports stadiums. So these dudes were swinging each other around into e…