ZVV4 - News For Sports World 2020

Welcome to “Spinning Back Clique,” MMA Junkie’s weekly show that takes a spin through the biggest topics in mixed martial arts. In this week’s episode, “Gorgeous” George and “Goze” unpack potential fallout from Jon Jones’ latest run-in with the law, what the hell is going on with UFC, and more.

SHOW RUNDOWN:

By now you probably have heard that UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones was arrested last week on charges of aggravated DWI, negligent use of a gun, and more after police responded to hearing a gun shot in downtown Albuquerque only to find an intoxicated Jones in his car with a loaded gun, according to the police report. We’ve been down this road with Jones so many times before. Quite simply, where does the UFC light heavyweight champion go from here?
Suppose Jones gets stripped for the title (it’s happened twice before), or he decides to pull away from the sport so he can get things in order. Then what? You’ve got guys like Dominick Reyes, Jan Blachowicz, and Thiago Santos all staking a claim to the next title shot. What would be the fights to make if Jones parted ways with the title?
UFC president Dana White continues to be determined to make UFC 249 happen April 18, even with no location set as of this post, but the latest major wrench is that lightweight champ Khabib Nurmagomedov, who is supposed to finally fight Tony Ferguson after four failed attempts, could be stuck in Russia because of a coronavirus travel ban, prompting the promotion to possibly move on without him. WHAT!? So now the UFC is scrambling to find options for Tony Ferguson, with Justin Gaethje and maybe even Dustin Poirier among them. You’ve also got welterweight champ Kamaru Usman and Jorge Masvidal beefing and talking about stepping in as a last-minute headliner. All of this is nuts. What is even going on anymore?
With all the talk of MMA promotion’s canceling events left and right amid the global coronavirus pandemic, Submission Underground 12 took place this past Saturday with extreme measures in place. Could MMA take a page out of the grappling promotion to keep events moving along?
Speaking of the COVID-19 pandemic, what is the biggest positive we’ve taken so far from these unprecedented circumstances in our lives?

For answers to all of those questions, watch Episode 22 of “Spinning Back Clique” above.

Clay Travis is joined by Petros Papadakis of AM 570 LA Sports to discuss the potential of the NBA finishing off their season in Las Vegas.

Last week, Clay was on the forefront of this conversation, as he suggested the NBA could finish their season on a college campus. Players, coaches and refs would be able to live on the campus in isolation from everybody else, and theoretically be able to safely finish the season.

When Clay asked Petros about his idea last week, Petros shot it down with authority and hated the hypothetical. Well, now the conversation has slightly changed, but the principle of Clay’s initial idea is the exact same. Clay is now arguing that Las Vegas would be the perfect spot. The teams, refs and skeleton media crews could all post up in various Vegas hotels, and the games could be played out in the numerous gyms and facilities around town with no fans in attendance.

Petros still doesn’t like the idea, even though Clay’s proposal is now gaining more traction on a national level, and the NBA itself is considering it as a potential possibility. Could this idea be the best way of bringing back the NBA? It seems like it certainly could be the safest option to keep the players out of harm’s way, and a great way to get pro sports back on television sets across America and the world.

Find out why Petros says he’s going to send a white coat to Clay.

Click the play-button to hear the full audio.

With little face-to-face business taking place during the coronavirus pandemic, companies that lease office space are experimenting with new ways to find tenants.

Earlier this month, Boxer Property posted a new service on its website: video tours.

As incidents of COVID-19 were growing and the city was preparing for a stay-at-home order, the Houston-based company decided to offer prospective tenants an alternative to the typical an onsite tour with a leasing agent.

“Can’t make an in-person property tour? We offer a no-contact experience through live video calls and digital lease signing,” the site read.

RELATED: Harris County says real estate services are essential amid coronavirus stay home order

Residential real estate agents have been doing virtual tours for a while. During the last housing boom, when it was key to see a property as soon as it hit the market, agents would use Skype or FaceTime to walk would-be buyers through homes. Many of those properties sold sight unseen — apart from the video tour.

The day after Boxer posted its new service, a small company in the health care industry took it up on the offer. Just over a week ago, that company signed a lease for space in one of the company’s Clear Lake office buildings.

“No one ever touched the same piece of paper. No one ever set foot in the building,” Boxer CEO Andrew Segal said. “It was just very efficient.”

Another option already in use by the residential sector is the OpenDoor model, which allows prospective home buyers to tour properties by themselves.

“It will be interesting how this whole experience changes how companies like ours operate and approach tenants and prospective tenants,” said Boxer’s National Director of Leasing Alex Kakhnovets. “Out of necessity we’re seeing some innovation. Some of the things we’re doing I don’t think will be temporary.”

Ian Heinisch won’t change promotions anytime soon – but he will change training camps.

The UFC has signed Heinisch (13-3 MMA, 2-2 UFC) to a new four-fight deal, according to the middleweight fighter. Heinisch announced the deal in an interview with TheScore on Monday.

Heinisch’s new contract comes as he looks to snap a two-fight losing skid. After winning his first two UFC fights against Cezar Ferreira and Antonio Carlos Junior, Heinisch dropped back-to-back unanimous decisions against Derek Brunson and Omari Akhmedov.

The signing wasn’t the only announcement he made Monday. The 31-year-old Coloradan also revealed he’s left his home gym of Factory X. He’ll now be training at Tiger Muay Thai in Thailand – a “tough decision,” Heinisch said.

“I felt like there were so many distractions out here,” Heinisch said. “The environment was so different. The elevation didn’t really agree with my body. Yeah, I got good lung power, but my body would never recover here. I was always in pain.

“I went out there (to Thailand) and the training was so good. Just the different environment was a real fighter life. It was a street with two MMA gyms, 12 muay thai gyms, all healthy food restaurants, massage palors. It was so cheap.”

Seattle’s NHL team is set to have its expansion draft in June 2021. The upcoming expansion draft will be the 13th in NHL history, and second in four years.

How do expansion drafts work, and what are the rules for the Seattle expansion draft? Let’s break it down.

WHAT IS THE FORMAT FOR THE UPCOMING EXPANSION DRAFT?

Seattle will fill its roster by selecting one player from each of the NHL’s 30 teams except for the Golden Knights, who are exempt. Seattle must select 14 forwards, nine defensemen and three goalies.

Of the players Seattle selects, at least 20 of the 30 players must be under contract for the 2021-22 regular season. The other players they select are allowed to be pending free agents, but they can not select any more than 10 pending free agents.

The total value of cap hits for players Seattle selects must total between 60 and 100 percent of the prior season’s salary cap upper limit, which has yet to be determined.

The players Seattle selects are not eligible to be bought out of their contracts by Seattle any earlier than the summer of 2022.

Because the Golden Knights will not be participating in the upcoming expansion draft, they will also not get a cut of Seattle’s $650 million expansion fee that will be divided up between the league’s other 30 teams.

WHO CAN/MUST TEAMS PROTECT?

The rules differ from draft to draft, but the upcoming Seattle expansion draft will follow the same format as the Golden Knights’ expansion draft.

NHL teams must all protect only one goaltender, and can choose one of two options for protecting skaters. Teams can protect seven forwards and three defensemen for a total of nine skaters, or teams can protect any combination of eight skaters.

Teams must protect players with no-movement clauses in their contracts, unless the player elects to waive the clause. They do not have to protect players with only no-trade clauses.

All first- and second-year NHL players, and all unsigned draft choices are exempt from the draft. They do not count toward a team’s protected list.

Players with potential career-ending injuries who have missed more than the previous 60 consecutive games may be exempt from being selected with league approval.

WHO MUST TEAMS EXPOSE?

A team’s list of players who are not protected in the draft must meet certain requirements.

Of a team’s defensemen exposed to the draft, at least one must be under contract in 2021-22 and have played in at least 40 NHL games the prior season, or played in at least 70 NHL games in the prior two seasons.

Teams must expose two forwards who under contract in 2021-22 and have played in at least 40 NHL games the prior season, or played in at least 70 NHL games in the prior two seasons.

Of the goaltenders who will be exposed, at least one must be under contract in 2021-22 or will be a restricted free agent at the end of his current contract immediately prior to 2021-22. If a goaltender is exposed who is a restricted free agent, he must have already received his qualifying offer. If Casey DeSmith is still in the Penguins’ organization and has not been traded by the expansion draft, he meets this requirement for the Penguins because he is under contract through 2022.

Teams can not use players with potential career-ending injuries who have missed more than the previous 60 consecutive games to meet the above requirements.

WHO DID THE PENGUINS CHOOSE TO PROTECT LAST TIME?

Last expansion draft, the Penguins elected to protect eight total skaters and one goaltender. Of the skaters, they protected four forwards and four defensemen: Sidney Crosby, Patric Hornqvist, Phil Kessel, Evgeni Malkin, Brian Dumoulin, Kris Letang, Olli Maatta, and Justin Schultz.

Marc-Andre Fleury has a no-movement clause, but waived it so the Penguins could protect Matt Murray in the draft.

WHO ON THE PENGUINS MUST BE PROTECTED?

The Penguins only have three players under contract next summer who have no-movement clauses: Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, and Kris Letang.

Other players have no-trade clauses, but no no-movement clause. Only no-movement clauses protect a player in an expansion draft.

WHO ON THE PENGUINS IS EXEMPT?

Samuel Poulin, Nathan Legare, and any other prospects who have yet to make their NHL debuts at this point are exempt from being selected in the draft and do not have to be protected. Since first- and second-year players are exempt, that won’t change if a prospect makes his NHL debut in the next year.

John Marino is the only current player on the NHL roster who will be exempt from the draft because next season will only be his second NHL season.

For more hockey-related primers, click here.

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Brandon Copeland has a game on Tuesday. Kickoff is at 5 p.m. Eastern.

Coronavirus be damned. That’s when the first in a series of webinars Copeland has created begins for fellow NFL players in which he’ll offer life advice that includes time and financial management.

It’s fitting the class Copeland teaches at the University of Pennsylvania, his alma mater, is called “Life 101,’’ because in more ways than most professional athletes he has life figured out.

Copeland is a 28-year-old linebacker who recently signed with the Patriots after playing the past two years with the Jets, and he’s anything but one-dimensional. His “seasons’’ are not confined to the window in which NFL games are played, because Copeland is all about giving back and paying life forward.

Thus, the creation of the series of webinars, which are free for all active NFL players.

Copeland is determined not to let this period of sheltering in place because of the coronavirus crisis leave his peers confined to an existence of playing video games by day and watching Netflix by night.

“We should try to look at this as an opportunity to get better,’’ Copeland told The Post. “That may be by auditing ourselves, going through bills, getting things done, finding little pockets of money and coming out of this stronger in terms of having a better investment plan.

“The benefit of having me be the host is they’re talking to a brother when they’re talking to me. You can dwell on the negative of this [crisis] or you can come out of it better, because years from now, some people will talk about having made money or becoming the person they are out of the coronavirus pandemic.’’

Copeland, who graduated from Penn’s Wharton Business School before entering the NFL as an undrafted free agent in 2013, has never relied on football to define him. He had the game taken away from him in 2017 when he tore a pectoral muscle and was out of football for a year before signing with the Jets in 2018 and resuscitating his career, producing his best season with five sacks.

So, Copeland knows better than most that there are no guarantees in sports, particularly in the NFL, which is commonly known to stand for “not for long.’’

He recently reached out to the NFL Players Association with the webinar idea and it was embraced so emphatically that he’s since been in contact with both the NBA Players Association and the Major League Baseball Players Association to offer his services.

“When I pitched this to the [NFL] Players Association, I told them this is an opportunity for us to be a resource and a support system to our guys during this time,’’ Copeland said. “If we’re not doing that, then what are we here for?’’

Copeland said he’s already had fellow players reach out to him on a one-on-one basis, asking questions about how to invest in stocks and when they should be investing.

“So, let’s have a conversation together with everyone,’’ he said. “It’s also going to help people understand who’s like-minded around the league and also will help initiate more conversations in their own locker rooms about this stuff. This is just me doing what I do and keep pushing the conversation forward and keep connecting people.’’

Submit questions on your favorite New York teams to be answered in an upcoming mailbag

Copeland said ultimately, he’d like to open the webinars up to the public.

“A lot of people rag on athletes who’ve gone broke, but it’s not just players, it’s people,’’ he said. “People see athletes go broke within a few years of retirement. But my neighbors might be doing the same thing, they’re just not in the news.’’

Copeland said Tuesday’s opener “will be more of coronavirus-related check-in and about what we can do to better ourselves to we come out of this stronger.’’

“That can be estate planning or having a grip on an investment plan or something as simple as reading some books and getting some things done that you always wanted to get done but didn’t have the time,’’ he said.

In the subsequent webinars, he will address real estate, stocks, taxes, accounting, entrepreneurship and small business.

What’s in it for Copeland?

He’s being paid a nominal “honorarium’’ by the NFLPA, but the motivation, at its core, is purely altruistic.

“For me, this is about connecting with people who are like-minded and spreading the word, spreading knowledge,’’ he said. “I’m taking an hour of my time to do what I’m already doing, what I’m passionate about, and sharing the information. I personally believe that there’s a tie between stress and mental health issues and not being where you want to be financially.

“So, to have the platform I have as an NFL player and to have an opportunity to help people become more confident in that is something that I don’t take lightly. That’s what I’m in it for. This is life.’’

Speculating on the rumors surrounding pro wrestling is a favored pastime of many fans, perhaps second only to actually watching the matches. In this daily column, we take a look at the latest rumors being churned out by the pro wrestling rumor mill.

Important reminder: Rumors are just that — rumors. None of this has been confirmed as fact, it’s just circulating around the pro wrestling rumor mill. We track rumor accuracy in a weekly feature called Rumor Look Back you can find here. Remember, take it all with a grain of salt.

Rumors for the Day:

• According to WWE Network News, WrestleMania 36 is listed internally as having a three hour and fifteen minute run time on Saturday, and a three hour run time on Sunday. That’s not counting pre-shows.
• Dave Meltzer said on Wrestling Observer Radio that here’s been a lot of confusion among cable companies and PPV providers about what to charge for the two-night WrestleMania.
• Superstars will get their downside guarantee for working WrestleMania 36, but Sportskeeda’s Tom Colohue has heard there won’t be bonuses for most wrestlers.
• On Twitter, Meltzer refuted the rumor that Vince McMahon was the only person behind the scenes at WWE pushing for WrestleMania to go forward despite the pandemic.
• WWE sent out a survey which indicated one option they’re considering for future empty arena TV broadcasts involves putting live celebrity and fan webcams on screen for reactions during matches.

If you have heard of any interesting rumors that you’d like to add, feel free to post them in the comments section below. Just remember they are rumors and not confirmed as fact, so please take them as such. And check our weekly Rumor Look Back here to keep track of how often rumors turn out to be correct.

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