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A professional sports gambler used analytics to turn a $700,000 loan into more than $300 million.
This is the wild story 👇👇👇
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This is how the Japanese national team left its locker room after beating Germany this morning 👏
(📷: FIFA)
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Nike’s new CEO may have the best LinkedIn profile ever — 32 years with the same company, from intern to CEO!
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This is wild — BMW is now selling a monthly subscription service for heated seats in your car.
• Monthly fee: $18
• Annual fee: $180
The car will come with all the necessary components, but payment is needed to remove a software block.
Welcome to microtransaction hell.
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The Wrexham story is INSANE:
• Bought for $2.5M
• Produced docu-series on FX
• Added 1M+ social media followers
• Tripled season ticket purchases
• Signed sponsorships with TikTok, Expedia, etc.
And now they've been promoted back to the EFL for the first time in 15 years.
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Phoenix Suns owner Mat Ishbia has announced new concession prices:
• $2 hot dogs
• $2 waters
• $2 sodas
• $2 chips
• $2 popcorn
A family of four used to spend $98 on hot dogs, water, and popcorn but will now pay $24 instead.
That's awesome 👏
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The world's 50 most beautiful sports venues — a thread:
1. Henningsvaer Stadium in Henningsvaer, Norway
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Formula 1 driver Valtteri Bottas decided to do an Ironman (at home) during his off week.
• 11 hours
• 7,000 calories burned
He did the swim portion in his pool and then used a peloton and indoor treadmill for the bike and run.
What a madman.
Estagiário da F1
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The Chicago Cubs put together a drone tour of Wrigley Field, and it’s guaranteed to be the most incredible thing you watch today 🤯
Chicago Cubs
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It's currently 6 degrees in Kansas City with a real feel of -9 degrees. That’s by far the coldest game of Messi’s career.
FOX Soccer
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Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney paid $2.5 million for the world's third-oldest football club.
But the team is in the 5th division of the English football pyramid and has almost no chance of making it to the Premier League.
Still, it was a genius move.
Here's why 👇
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When Allyson Felix decided to start a family in 2018, Nike offered a contract that was 70% less & had no guarantees if her performance declined due to pregnancy.
So she left Nike, signed a deal with Athleta, has a 2-year-old daughter & just won her 10th Olympic medal.
Legend 🙏
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It's legal to recreationally smoke weed in 19+ states, including the one where Richardson tested positive, while the NFL, NBA, and MLB have softened their stance.
But we're still going to stop an Olympian from competing due to a non-performance-enhancing drug?
Makes no sense.
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Jeremy Reaves played at South Alabama.
He went undrafted in 2018, and eventually signed with the Eagles.
He has been a final roster cut each of the last four season, but finally made Washington’s 53-man roster this year.
And now he’s in the Pro Bowl 🙏
Washington Commanders
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A former NBA employee woke up and chose violence on the league's Facebook page this morning 😳
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The NFL has spent two years preparing the grass for tonight's field at the Super Bowl.
The grass was grown at a local sod farm in Phoenix.
It was installed two weeks ago, and the field has been rolled out each morning for daily sunshine.
Total cost = $800,000
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Spotify didn't choose Joe Rogan over Neil Young.
Neil Young chose to deplatform himself because a $30 billion company wouldn't cede to censorship.
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Notre Dame paid Northern Illinois $1.4 million to play them in South Bend today.
Northern Illinois just won 16-14.
MACtion
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Matt Turner didn't start playing soccer until high school.
He walked on at Fairfield University, was on ESPN as the #1 Not Top 10 Play in 2013 & went undrafted in Major League Soccer.
But now he's at the World Cup & hasn't conceded a non-penalty goal in 3 matches.
Incredible🙏
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The Washington Mystics moved tonight’s game against Caitlin Clark and the Indiana Fever from their normal 4,200-seat arena to the 20,356-seat Capital One arena.
However, the 16,000 extra seats weren’t a problem, as tickets sold out in 30 minutes.
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Kelvin Kiptum set a new world record marathon time today at 2:00:35.
That’s a 4:36/mile pace…for 26.2 miles — and he beat Eliud Kipchoge’s previous record by 34 seconds.
He is only 23 years old!
That’s one of the greatest athletic achievements ever.
Chicago Marathon
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The pitch removal system at Real Madrid's new stadium is an engineering masterpiece 🤯
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Caitlin Clark including her teammates after the first picture is pure class 👏
WNBA Got Game
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Ten years ago, LeBron James created the "I Promise" program to help Akron students graduate high school.
This year, the inaugural class graduated, with all 193 students awarded free tuition to either the University of Akron or Kent State University.
That's life-changing 🙏
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Kyrie Irving is extremely generous:
· Bought George Floyd's mom a house
· Paid tuition for 9 HBCU students
· Bought 200+ kids Christmas presents
· Provided 250k Thanksgiving meals in NYC
· Donated $1.5M to WNBA players
It's sad to see him called selfish for a personal decision.
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Michael Strahan's dad served in the Army for 23 years. He grew up on a US Army base in Germany and has given a ton of money to veteran charities. He's standing quietly at attention. We need to stop getting so upset at every little thing.
Michael Strahan disrespected the military during a Veterans Day pre-game show on @NFLonFOX. The great irony is Strahan on a ship surrounded by men and women who would willingly sacrifice their lives to protect his freedom. So, his behavior is not just repugnant, it's downright cowardly.
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Damn, even Tom Brady saw 7.9% inflation and record-high gas prices and decided he needed to go back to work.
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David Beckham shocked the world when he left Real Madrid in 2007 to sign with the LA Galaxy of MLS.
He was just 31 years old and accepted a 70% pay cut.
But his contract included two unique clauses that eventually helped him earn more than $500 million.
Here's the story 👇
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The Pittsburgh Penguins have been using players to hand deliver season tickets since 2007, which has to be one of the coolest traditions in sports.
Imagine Sidney Crosby walking up to your house!
Pittsburgh Penguins
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Winning a high school state championship as a first-year head coach at your alma mater and then rejoining the NFL as a backup quarterback on the NFC's top seed *in the same year* is an incredible storyline.
QB Teddy Bridgewater coming out of retirement, expected to sign with Lions. (via @rapsheet, @tompelissero, @MikeGarafolo )
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David Beckham's move to MLS is one of the best sports business deals ever:
• Earned $255M over 5 years
• Purchased Inter Miami for $25M
• Inter Miami is valued at $600M
And now they have Lionel Messi, which will push the club's valuation toward ~$1 billion.
Incredible 🤯
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Kristen Faulkner (@FaulknerKristen) has one of the craziest stories at this year's Olympics:
• Grew up in Alaska
• Rowed at Harvard
• Moved to NYC after school
• Started working for a venture capital firm
• Took a beginner's cycling class in Central Park
• Started cycling at 5:00 am before work
• Started competing in local cycling tournaments
• Quit her job & moved to California to cycle full-time
• Added to the USA road cycling roster one month before the Olympic Games
And now, just seven years after taking a beginner's cycling class in New York City, Kristen Faulkner has won gold at the Olympics in Paris — the first American to win gold in the women's road race in 40 years.
INSANE.
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Nike’s ad for Rory McIlroy is perfect
nitter.app/Nike/status/1911560405…
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Cost Of A 30-Second Super Bowl Ad:
1967: $42,500
1970: $78,000
1975: $107,000
1980: $222,000
1985: $525,000
1990: $700,000
1995: $1.2 million
2000: $2 million
2005: $2.4 million
2010: $3 million
2015: $4.25 million
2021: $5.5 million
2022: $6.5 million
2023: $7 million
Crazy 🤯
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Liga BBVA MX
Luigi Gatto
This drone shot of Buenos Aires is INCREDIBLE 🔥
(🎥: Ale Petra)
Kardoso Media | Travel Films
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Conor McGregor has taken delivery of the $3.5 million Lamborghini yacht he purchased last year.
• 63-feet long
• Two-bedrooms
• 4,000 horsepower
• 70-mph top speed
The yacht is 1 of 63 that were made, with McGregor receiving #12 in honor of his Proper 12 whiskey.
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One of the best traditions in sports is the fact that the Pittsburgh Penguins use players to hand-deliver season tickets.
Imagine Sidney Crosby walking up to your house!
(🎥: @PensInsideScoop)
Pens Inside Scoop
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Unpopular opinion but the $2.3 billion MSG Sphere is one of the coolest things the US has built in a long time.
(h/t @VegasIssues)
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Here's a cool sports story...
Luke Combs grew up in North Carolina as a Panthers fan, so after Hurricane Helene, he organized a charity concert at Bank of America Stadium to raise money.
But rather than charging Combs the standard rate, Panthers owner David Tepper donated everything.
Tepper let Combs use the venue for free. He didn't keep any of the parking, merchandise, food, or beer money. He also paid the salaries of all the employees who worked the event and even covered 100% of the tax bill.
The result?
It was the largest concert in stadium history, with over 82,000 people showing up to donate $25 million.
And since Tepper paid for everything, every single dollar that was raised went to hurricane victims.
That's incredible 👏
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This video is incredible. A Chinese speed skater takes off at the beginning of a longer race. Her teammate then sprints to the front, confusing everyone on the “final lap” and easily securing Gold and Silver medals for the team. Watch until the end. Great teamwork.
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Pat McAfee left millions of dollars on the table when he retired from the NFL.
He wanted to start creating content & people thought he was insane.
Now, just 4 years later, he has signed a ~$120 million deal with FanDuel, or roughly 8x what he made in the NFL.
That's legendary.
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This might be the most aesthetically pleasing Olympic venue of all time 🤯
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The Chiefs used a B-2 for last night's flyover.
The B-2 is the world's most expensive plane ($2B+) & its wingspan stretches half a football field.
The plane can carry 16 nuclear bombs & reach anywhere in the world within hours.
Only 21 were ever built.
سمکِ عیّار
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The Savannah Bananas are the best story in sports.
Their owner went $1.8 million in debt to build the Harlem Globetrotters of baseball — and it's working.
The team now makes $200,000 per home game and is about to embark on a 70-game tour across 22 states.
Here's the story 👇
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The WNBA’s Atlanta Dream typically play in a 3,500-seat arena.
But for tonight’s game against Caitlin Clark and the Indiana Fever, they moved it to the nearby NBA arena.
The game sold out and set a franchise record with 17,575 fans in attendance.
Crazy.
LiveWire Sports Media
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Estimates suggest Reggie Bush would make between $4 million to $6 million annually with the new NIL rules.
Yet the NCAA took away his Heisman Trophy because he accepted $300k under the table while USC made millions of dollars off his success.
It's time to return him the trophy.
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The people complaining about this are lame. Of course the Bills could hire a company to come shovel snow. But if I was in high school, getting paid $20/hour to hangout at my team’s stadium while shoveling snow sounds like the best day ever.
We’re going to need some snow shovelers (again)!
Help get Highmark Stadium ready for our Divisional Round playoff game: bufbills.co/3SnBI4t
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ESPN had 9.3 million viewers for last night's 4 Nations final between the USA and Canada.
That makes it the most-watched NHL game in 30+ years.
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The Kansas City Chiefs used a B-2 Stealth Bomber for tonight’s flyover.
• Cost $2 billion
• 172 foot wingspan
• Only 21 ever built
• Can carry 16 nuclear bombs
America is back, baby.
Daniel
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Shoutout to Nelson Agholor. It looked like he noticed DeVante Parker was concussed and tried to get the play stopped. Great teammate.
Michael Hurley
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Vin Diesel walked Meadow Walker down the aisle at her wedding in place of her late father, Paul Walker ❤️
“You don’t turn your back on family”
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The Celtics social media team needs their own championship rings if they win the NBA Finals this year 🤯
Boston Celtics
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Real Madrid's underground greenhouse is insane.
They store the pitch there when it isn't being used and keep it in perfect condition with fully automated air conditioning, irrigation, mowers, and LED lighting.
Easily one of the world's most impressive venues.
(📸: @rgguti)
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Well this is wild…
The Yankees made new bats that moved more of the wood into the label so the hardest part of the bat strikes the ball.
They have 8 home runs today.
Awful Announcing
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The Wynn Golf Club is one of the most expensive public-access courses in the country ($600+).
And now you must stare at a 366-foot tall and 516-foot wide fake eyeball while you play.
They can’t be happy about that.
Heidi McKee
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Phoenix Suns owner Mat Ishbia announced earlier this year that the team would remove its games from cable.
By making the games free to watch on local channels, roughly 2 million more people could watch Suns games.
“We're not focusing on money. We're focusing on winning, success, and taking care of fans.”
But now Mat Ishbia is taking it a step further.
The Suns are giving away free indoor TV antennas to any fans who don't already have a pay TV subscription.
You just go to their website, fill out a form, and they will ship the antenna to your house.
Now that's awesome 👏
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One of the worst things about US sports leagues continuously maximizing profit over passion is that the world’s best players don’t get to compete in environments like this. Real fans get priced out and the atmosphere at games becomes much less fun.
EuroLeague
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Coastal Carolina just announced that all concessions will be free at home football games this fall.
Fans can get four items per concession visit (hot dogs, nachos, popcorn, and fountain drinks), with no limit on the number of in-game visits.
That’s wild.
Coastal Carolina Athletics
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Can someone explain to me why Vail is taking such a hard line with this strike? Ski Patrol is asking for a $2 per hour raise, which Vail can easily afford. One-day lift tickets are $300 (!!), and the reputational damage alone isn’t worth it. But why won't they give in?
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Ken Griffey Jr. is at the Masters this year as a credentialed photographer
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The craziest stat I’ve seen about this year’s Kentucky Derby is that every single horse in this year’s race is a descendant of Secretariat.
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I know some people want ESPN to take Lee Corso off GameDay, but it still clearly brings him happiness and it’s been really cool to see guys like Kirk Herbstreit look after him over the last couple of years.
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The Baltimore Orioles have implemented a new concession menu with 11 items for $5 or less:
• $2.50 peanuts
• $3.50 popcorn
• $4 bottled water
• $4 hot dogs
• $5 beers
I love how this is becoming a trend in pro sports.
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The WNBA has released a report saying...
• Attendance is up 156% from last year, and more than half of all WNBA games this year have been sellouts.
• About 400,000 fans have attended WNBA games this season, filling WNBA arenas to 94% capacity.
• This year's televised games (ABC, ESPN, etc.) are averaging 1.32 million viewers, nearly triple last season's average of 462,000.
• WNBA Countdown is averaging 741,000 viewers, a 211% increase from last year's full season average.
• The WNBA's online merchandise store has already set a single-season sales record (with 4+ months left in the season), and sales are up 756% compared to last year.
• The WNBA's social channels garnered 157 million video views through the first week of the season, an all-time high and up 380% compared to last year.
• The WNBA set an all-time high for League Pass subscriptions last month with a 355% increase vs. last season.
So, in simple terms, business is booming 📈
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Robert Saleh's brother was working in the South Tower on 9/11 and survived the attack.
But it made Saleh rethink his life.
So he quit his 9-5 job and got into coaching.
And 22 years later, on 9/11, he'll open the season on MNF as the New York Jets head coach.
That's poetic.
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Pat McAfee starting his own show & signing a ~$30M annual deal with FanDuel is wild.
But the fact that he donated $6M of it on Day 1 to youth programs, children's hospitals, domestic violence shelters & other charities makes it that much more amazing.
Congrats @PatMcAfeeShow!
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BREAKING: The Iowa-South Carolina national championship game averaged 18.7 million viewers.
That makes it the most watched basketball game — men's or women's, college or professional — in five years.
What a MASSIVE month for women's basketball.
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Dawn Staley to the crowd:
"I want to personally thank Caitlin Clark for lifting up our sport. She carried a heavy load for our sport... She's gonna lift that league [WNBA] up... You are one of the GOATs of our game and we appreciate you.”
Super classy 👏
nitter.app/d9Hoops/status/1777086…
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More than 200 private jets departed Arizona airports immediately after the Super Bowl 🤯
(Reddit: u/Thinking4Ai)
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At 12.3 million viewers, last night's Iowa-LSU game had more viewers than:
• Any women's CBB game ever
• The 2023 NBA Finals
• The 2023 World Series
• The 2023 Orange Bowl
• The 2023 Big Ten Championship
• The 2023 Cotton Bowl
• The 2023 Pac-12 Championship
• The 2023 Big-12 Championship
• The 2023 ACC Championship
• The 2023 Peach Bowl
• Thursday Night Football
• Every 2023 college football regular season game except Ohio State vs. Michigan
Absolutely INCREDIBLE.
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Meet Gelje Sherpa.
He was taking a private client up Mt. Everest when he noticed someone dying just 500 meters from the summit.
So he ran over, wrapped him in a sleeping mattress, gave him oxygen, put him on his back, and hiked him 6 hours down the mountain to safety.
LEGEND.
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Over 225 private jets departed Augusta immediately after the Masters ended last night.
(h/t @radaratlas2)
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LeBron James says he wants to own an NBA team in Las Vegas, and I think I know how he's going to do it.
It's a series of calculated chess moves that has seemingly been in the works for over a decade.
Here's the breakdown 👇
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Travis Kelce has had a busy 24 hours:
• 7 catches for 69 yards and a TD
• Gained 300,000+ social media followers
• +400% increase in merchandise sales
• Top 5 selling jersey in the NFL
That's the Taylor Swift effect 🤯
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Kristin Juszczyk gained 100,000 followers on Instagram last night, and women's clothing has been the NFL's fastest-growing merchandise category for much of the last decade. The NFL should partner with her. There is demand, and this could be a legitimate business.
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Vince McMahon shut down the XFL 3 years ago after reportedly burning through $200M.
But Dwayne Johnson & his partners purchased the assets for $15M out of bankruptcy, and the league officially returns today.
Add in the USFL, and 46 of 52 weekends in 2023 will have pro football.
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Shane Thomas
Make hundreds of millions of dollars playing against inferior competition while living in a nice city where you can go to the supermarket without being swarmed by thousands of fans asking for autographs and pictures?
Safe to say Lionel Messi made the right decision.
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Paris spent $1.5 billion to clean up the Seine River for the Olympics.
However, excess rain this past weekend swept millions of gallons of sewage into the river, and triathlon swim training has been canceled for the second day in a row due to E. coli levels.
What a *shit* show.
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Mark Wahlberg has sold his Beverly Hills home for $55 million.
• 30,500-sq-ft
• 12 beds & 20 baths
The backyard has a pool, skate park, tennis/basketball court & a 5-hole golf course.
Wahlberg bought the property for $8.25 million in 2009 and completed construction in 2014.
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The Washington Mystics moved tonight's game against Caitlin Clark to the nearby NBA arena and ended up setting a new all-time WNBA attendance record.
It's impossible to overstate what Caitlin Clark has done for the WNBA.
Simply incredible.
Washington Mystics
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Nicole Lynn sent Jalen Hurts a "hail mary" Instagram DM after his college career ended:
"Hey, have you picked an agent? If not, I'd love to link."
Hurts then signed with her, and Lynn has now made him the highest-paid player in NFL history (5-yr, $255M).
Shoot your shot 🙏
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YouTube TV announced today that they will soon allow customers to build their own multiview options, including both sports and non-sports content.
So rather than only choosing from predetermined options, you’ll be able to create your own customized version.
That’s fantastic.
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