PSG defeated Lille 2-0 on Sunday to go 10 points clear of Marseille at the top of the Ligue 1 table. Both of the goals were scored by Neymar — the first a sensational effort from the top of the box and the second from the penalty spot — who celebrated his brace by paying tribute to Kobe Bryant. Bryant, along with his 13-year-old daughter Gianna, were involved in a helicopter crash that claimed the lives of everyone on board.
Kobe Bryant’s sudden passing at the age of 41 in a helicopter crash shocked the world on Sunday. The man’s impact and influence on the game of basketball needs no explanation, but Bryant was also a massive soccer fan having grown up in Italy (where his father played professional basketball).
The world was shocked and saddened at the sudden passing of Kobe Bryant and his daughter on Sunday, who were among nine people killed in a helicopter crash in Calabasas, California. Bryant was reportedly traveling to a basketball game with his 13-year-old daughter when the crash occurred. Bryant was 41.
The Super Bowl is around the corner, a time when all Americans gather around a TV to shovel nachos into their mouths while drinking copious amounts of beer, all under the guise of watching that abating sport called American football. Of course, all anyone really cares about, besides the food and beer, is the commercials, and we got our nacho-covered hands on the latest 2020 Budweiser Super Bowl ad on Thursday.
“Variety is the spice of life,” someone once said before doing something obviously stupid and dangerous. But with danger and stupidity comes ingenuity and joy, and that’s the common thread that connects the majority of these bastardized forms of soccer. Here are 10 variants of the beautiful game that are strangely captivating.
#1. Eisfussball
Major League Soccer is trying to become a big player in the world of eSports. The Philadelphia Union aren’t helping much right now.
Wolverhampton forward Adama Traoré is one of the fastest soccer players in the world. The 23-year-old Spaniard has clocked in at a blistering 23.61 mph in training and has reached speeds of 22 mph in games.
Traoré’s physique is what separates him from other speedsters like Kylian Mbappé and Mohamed Salah. The Wolves forward stands at 5-10, but weighs 159 pounds, the majority of which is muscle.
The Houston Dash lost their captain, all-time leading scorer and most-recognizable player on Monday. The Dash sent Kealia Ohai to the Chicago Red Stars after the forward had requested a trade.
Ohai’s fiancé, a popular professional athlete also based in Houston, was incredibly supportive of the move but became upset Tuesday when it came time to read the headlines.
The United States’ closest version to the Champions League final will be underway soon. The College Football Playoff National Championship between LSU and Clemson is set for 8 p.m. EST on Monday, Jan. 13, in New Orleans, Louisiana.
College football fans outside of the good old USA are few and far between. Hell, even a good number of Americans couldn’t tell you what state Clemson is even in. (Hint: It’s in South Carolina).
I don’t care much for the NFL. As a Texan by birth, I’m required to at least have a team (hint: it’s not the Cowboys), but other than that the Super Bowl is nothing more than an excuse to eat guacamole and queso.
But one thing caught my eye in the NFL on Sunday night as the Buffalo Bills beat the Pittsburgh Steelers 17-10 to clinch a playoff berth, just their second trip to the postseason this millennium.