On September 7, the Kansas City Chiefs played the Houston Texans to kick off the 2020 NFL season. Due to COVID-19 this season is unlike any other.
Most of the teams have decided that there will be no fans in attendance for their games this season, however there are a few exceptions. The Miami Dolphins, Jacksonville Jaguars, Indianapolis Colts, the Kansas City Chiefs, and the Dallas Cowboys will all allow between 2,500 and 17,000 fans to attend their games.
The NFL is also allowing individual players to opt out of this upcoming NFL season because of COVID-19. So far, a total of 66 players have already opted out with nearly half of the players who have opted out being linemen. Players who choose to opt out will be guaranteed $350,000 if they prove that they are high risk for getting the virus. Players who aren’t high risk are guaranteed $150,00.
There were a total of 16 games played week one of this year’s NFL season.
During the Vikings game against the Green Bay Packers, both teams chose to honor George Floyd in their own way. The Vikings did not sound their signature Gjallarhorn at the beginning of the game to honor Floyd. The Packers on the other hand, stayed in their locker room during the playing of the nation anthem.
This was the 85th annual NFL Draft. The 2020 NFL Draft started on April 23rd and lasted through April 25th. The first round was held on April 23rd. Then on April 24th, the second and third rounds were held. Finally, on April 25th, rounds 4-7 were held and that concluded the NFL Draft for 2020.
Due to COVID-19, lots of safety regulations were taken, and the Draft was virtual. The Draft was originally supposed to take place in Paradise, Nevada but the safety regulations were mandatory.
The Draft was broadcasted on ABC, ESPN, NFL Network, ESPN Deportes, and ESPN Radio. NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell broadcasted the picks from his home in Bronxville, New York.
Many different college players were recruited from a numerous number of teams. According to Wikipedia, the final overall player selections were 39 Linebackers, 35 Wide receivers, 27 Cornerbacks, 21 Safeties, 20 Defensive tackles, 20 Offensive tackles, 18 Offensive guards, 18 Running backs, 17 Defensive ends, 13 Quarterbacks, 12 Tight ends, 9 Centers, 3 Placekickers, 2 Punters, and 1 Long snapper. All of that equals 255 players drafted.
According to 247Sports, the top picks in the 2020 NFL Draft were:
Jedrick Wills; picked by the Cleveland Browns. Wills has a four-year contract with a total of $19,702,914. Baker Mayfield (quarterback for The Browns) needs more time and protection and they believe that Will’s could provide that.
CJ Henderson was picked by the Jacksonville Jaguars. Henderson has a four-year contract with a total of $20,516,188. His position is a defensive back. During his college season as a freshman, he had a total of four interceptions, and then when he was a sophomore, he had another 2 interceptions.
Isaiah Simmons was picked by the Arizona Cardinals. Simmons has a four-year contract with a total of $20,664,055. He could end up being one of the best Draft picks. He can play multiple positions and he is also one of the most athletic players in the NFL.
Derrick Brown was picked by the Carolina Panthers. Brown has a four-year contract with a total of $23,621,405. He had an average of 3.1 sacks per season.
Justin Herbert was picked by the Los Angeles Chargers. Herbert has a four-year contract with a total of $26,578,755. He was the third quarterback drafted.
Tua Tagovailoa was drafted by the Miami Dolphins. Tagovailoa has a four-year contract with a total of $30,275,437. Tagovailoa does have past injuries that could come back.
Andrew Thomas was picked by the New York Giants. Thomas has a four-year contract with a total of $32,345,588. Last year, the Giants drafted a quarterback and this year they drafted his protection.
Jeff Okudah was picked by the Detroit Lions. Okudah has a four-year contract with a total of $33,528,522. He is one of the top-paid rookies in the league. He had three interceptions and 9 pass deflections this year.
Chase Young was drafted by the Washington Redskins. Young has a four-year contract with a total of $34,563,595. He had 21 tackles and 16.5 sacks at Ohio State this past season.
The top pick was Joe Burrow, drafted by the Cincinnati Bengals. Burrow has a four-year contract with a total of $36,190,137. Burrow was the number 1 pick in the draft as a quarterback. The Bengals now have a strong quarterback on their side.
Image taken from: ttps://www.slamonline.com/wnba/wnbpa-opt-out-cba-after-2019-season/
It’s no secret that the NBA has a larger fan base than the WNBA, but why? People have shown that they don’t really care about the WNBA, and they have been given many opportunities show that they care. According to Sports Illustrated, “In 2007, the WNBA and ESPN reached an eight-year television agreement, thus assuring high-impact exposure.” Even with that exposure, the WNBA is still less popular. Another reason why this is is that they play in the summer and play about half as many games as the NBA teams will play in a season.
Another argument against the WNBA is that it is simply not as fun or interesting as the NBA; you are more likely to see somebody dunk or fly over an opponent in the NBA. Most of that is just genetics and the fact that most women physically are unable to dunk.
The WNBA started on April 24, 1996 when the NBA board of governors approved the idea of the WNBA to start playing in June of 1997. This year they are celebrating their 23rd season.
They have 12 teams, with either 11 or 12 players on each team, meaning that they have a total of 144 roster spots available. The NBA has 15 players per team with 34 teams, this leaves them with 510 open roster spots. The WNBA has less spots so they are a more exclusive organization, but they still have a smaller fan base.
The largest difference between the NBA and the WNBA is the pay gap. The average salary for an NBA player is $7.7 million, according to CNBC. The rookie salary for the #1 draft pick, Deandre Ayton, is set at $6.7 million dollars, the #2 draft pick will start at $6 million. Comparatively, the average salary for a WNBA player is only $75,000. The rookie salary in 2019 was $41,965. The WNBA has decided for the 2021 season that they will have a maximum salary of $130,000.
Some people argue that the WNBA players are overpaid as it is. Others believe that they deserve their pay because in 2017 the WNBA made $25 million in revenue and the NBA made $7.4 billion that same year, according to GrandStand Central. It’s obvious that male sports are generally more popular than their female counterparts playing the same sports.
On February 14th and 15th, at Target Center, the State Dance Competition for 2020 was held.
Many different teams competed to go to finals. The teams for class A Jazz were: Duluth Marshall, Frazee, Houston, Minnewaska, BOLD, and Dilworth-Glyndon-Felton.
The teams for class AA Jazz were: Marshall, Totino-Grace, Rocori, Benlide-St. Margaret’s, Fairbault, and Simley.
The teams for class AAA Jazz were: Lakeville North, Blaine, Centennial, Brainerd, Anoka, and Edina.
Every team did an excellent job but the teams that stood out the most to me were Simley and Edina.
Simley had a beautiful jazz dance. They had amazing spotting on their turns and many different types of leaps that were done well. Their song was upbeat and interesting for a jazz dance. Their costumes didn’t catch the eye, which made the dance a little less interesting. Overall, they did a wonderful job and the only thing I think they could have improved was better pointed toes and to incorporate more choreography compared to skills.
Edina had a very dramatic jazz dance. They also spotted very well on their turns. Their turns looked difficult. The whole dance was a bit chaotic. I think there was too much going on at once. Their music was quite lyrical for a jazz dance. Overall, they did a fantastic job, and the only thing I would suggest they work on is making it less chaotic and more put together.
On February 15th, the high kick competition was also held at Target Center. The teams for class A Kick were: Frazee, Piez, Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City, St. Charles, Yellow Medicine East, and Cannon Falls.
The teams for class AA Kick were: Totino-Grace, Rocori, Zimmerman, Orono, St. Cloud Tech, and Simley.
The teams for class AAA Kick were: Centennial, Anoka, Chaska, Lakeville North, Spring Lake Park, and Eastview.
Once again every team did an excellent job but the teams that stood out the most to me were Austin and Simley.
Austin had a kick dance that I’ve never seen before. The dance was based off of the movie It. During their dance all of their kicks had pointed toes and they were all together. Their costumes were very interesting. Having 2 different colored pant legs are very hard in kick because if you don’t get your timing right on your kick you can tell exactly what person did it. They also had makeup on that made them look more like a clown. Overall, I didn’t find anything to critique their dance.
Simley had yet another beautiful kick dance. They had these amazing pink costumes. The mashup for their song was upbeat and catchy. Most of their kicks were together. One thing I would suggest to them is working on perfecting their skills more and kick height for some. Overall, they did a fabulous job.
On Friday, January 24, the annual NHL skills competition was held. In this competition, the best players from all around the NHL compete in competitions based on some of their best skills. This year the competition was held in St. Louis and there were several new events including, for the first time ever, an elite women’s 3-on-3 game.
The first event was the fastest skater; in this event players have to skate one lap around the rink as fast as possible and whoever has the fastest time wins. This year Mathew Barzal won with a time of 13.175 seconds. This ended Connor McDavid’s three year reign, during this time McDavid set the world record for fastest lap around the rink with a time of 13.020 seconds.
The second event was the save streak competition. In this competition the goalies face a series of shootout attempts and the goalie with the most saves wins. This year the winner was Jordan Binnington with 10 saves.
The next event was the accuracy shooting competition. In this competition, the players shoot from 25 feet away and try to hit 5 targets in the net as quick as possible. This year the winner was Jacob Slavin with a time of 9.505 seconds.
Next up was the elite women’s 3-on-3 game. This game had two ten minute periods with running time. This is the first year this event was held and team Canada came out on top with a score of 2-1.
The hardest shot competition came next. Shea Weber won this competition with a shot of 106.5mph. Shea Weber’s personal best is 108.5mph and the world record is 108.8 held by Zdeno Chara.
The final event of the first day was the shooting stars competition. In this competition players would shoot 7 pucks from a raised platform and try to hit as many targets as possible. This is the first year this event has been held, and Patrick Kane won with a score of 22.
The NHL skills competition happens every year and although the players get money for winning the events, the competition as a whole is used to raise money for charity and to honor former NHL all stars.
