Sports
NHL To Broadcast Stanley Cup Final Games In American Sign Language, A 1st For A Major Sports League
Brice Christianson was concerned that interpreting the annual pre-Stanley Cup Final State of the NHL address into American Sign Language for the first time in 2022 would be a one-time opportunity to introduce the Deaf population to hockey.
Two years later, it is impossible for him not to become emotional as the league takes another significant stride.
The Stanley Cup Final will be the first time a major sports league broadcasts games in American Sign Language. Deaf announcers will provide play-by-play and color analysis for each game between Edmonton and Florida. Game 1 is on Saturday.
“This is a great first step toward having representation, having deaf people on screen, and connecting the Deaf community to people like them,” said Christianson, the founder and CEO of P-X-P, which is producing the telecasts that will be available on ESPN+ and Sportsnet+. “For the NHL to approve and believe in this is revolutionary. It’s genuinely historic, and they’ve confirmed that they want to continue doing so.”
Stanley Cup | AP News Image
NHL To Broadcast Stanley Cup Final Games In American Sign Language, A 1st For A Major Sports League
This next phase in the NHL’s cooperation with P-X-P, which seeks to make sports more inclusive through interpretation, follows another historic occasion. Last weekend, TNT aired an ASL broadcast of the United States Women’s Deaf National Soccer Team’s match against Australia. Reporter Melissa Ortiz was on television, narrating the scene in American Sign Language.
In the Cup Final, Jason Altmann, a third-generation Deaf and P-X-P’s chief operations officer, will face Noah Blankenship from Denver’s Office of Deaf and Hard of Hearing Services. Having that representation is more important than closed captioning since it directly benefits the Deaf community rather than forcing members to read words about the games.
“To be able to have this real-time coverage of play-by-play and color commentary in American Sign Language being called directly rather than a re-interpretation is really what the Deaf and hard-of-hearing community want,” said Kim Davis, the NHL’s senior executive VP of social impact, growth initiatives, and legislative affairs. “It is what they deserve. That makes the game more significant to them. It is not as if you are reinterpreting for them from another language. They’re hearing the game live in their native tongue and in the way they understand it best.”
Reaching this stage is another success for Christianson, an ASL interpreter born to deaf parents who have spent years convincing teams and leagues to try new things. The relationship with the NHL began during a 2021 meeting with Paul LaCaruba, the NHL’s VP of youth strategy and hockey culture, and ended with Christianson begging one person to support his ideas for serving the Deaf population.
Stanley Cup | Sportico Image
NHL To Broadcast Stanley Cup Final Games In American Sign Language, A 1st For A Major Sports League
Christianson explained that LaCaruba became that person, allowing him to interpret for Commissioner Gary Bettman and Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly two years ago. That was a news conference, but this is an opportunity to offer the season’s most crucial games to a previously neglected population.
“We know there are millions of deaf and hard of hearing hockey fans — and many more who have yet to fall in love with the sport,” LaCaruba stated. “We are building access for the Deaf community, by the Deaf community, and there is no better platform to gauge a reaction than during the Stanley Cup Final.”
Do not do a victory lap; instead, gauge the reaction. Christianson stated that there is a plan to continue doing this for the NHL beyond this series, and that way forward allows this to serve as a test, with potential tweaks and enhancements for the next time.
“I think it’s very brave for the NHL to say, ‘Hey, we want to do this,'” Christianson stated. “We’re all going to go in with our best and we’re going to try our best, and then we’re going to come back and we’re going to debrief and we’re going to try to get better with every process.”
Stanley Cup | Global News Image
NHL To Broadcast Stanley Cup Final Games In American Sign Language, A 1st For A Major Sports League
It could become a pattern for others. Davis, who has learned a lot about ASL and dealing with the Deaf population, would be delighted if the NHL were the first, but not the last, to try something like this.
“We’re doing something no other major league has ever tried before, and that is a broadcast and experience for the Deaf by the Deaf,” Davis stated. “We are proud of that. We simply want to continue to support the communities with which we want to be authentic, and if another league wishes to model it, we believe that imitation is the finest form of flattery, so let us do so.”
SOURCE – (AP)
Sports
Men’s Golf Will Have A Good Attendance Record At The Paris Olympics
As seen by attendance, the Olympics have progressed significantly in the 12 years since golf returned to the program.
This year, very few people are staying at home.
Bernd Wiesberger was one of two qualified players who chose not to play, which was unusual.
Wiesberger was Austria’s third-ranked player until tying for second place in the European Open, where he unexpectedly passed Matthias Schwab. He then withdrew almost quickly, which was not surprising given that Wiesberger previously withdrew from the Tokyo Games.
Cristobal Del Solar of Chile also withdrew, citing the fact that he is on the verge of receiving his first PGA Tour card and did not want to miss time on the Korn Ferry Tour.
The remaining qualified players have all confirmed their participation in Paris.
Adam Scott opposed golf in the Olympics from the outset and withdrew again. Brooks Koepka and Tyrrell Hatton also withdrew, though neither was eligible.
This contrasts sharply with the Rio Olympics, where the top four players in the world—Dustin Johnson, Rory McIlroy, Jordan Spieth, and Jason Day—were among the dozen or so who stayed home.
This was mainly due to concerns about the Zika virus. McIlroy later stated that he despised the Olympics for making him choose between Ireland and Britain, but he eventually changed his mind and played for Ireland in Tokyo.
Golf | AP News Image
Men’s Golf Will Have A Good Attendance Record At The Paris Olympics
The Tokyo Games, which were postponed a year to 2021, had no fans due to the pandemic and daily COVID-19 exams. Eleven players, including Johnson, Sergio Garcia, Matt Fitzpatrick, Louis Oosthuizen, Francesco Molinari, and Camilo Villegas, elected not to play.
Villegas, Fitzpatrick, and Emiliano Grillo, three players who elected not to participate in Tokyo, will travel to Paris. The others were ineligible.
Jon Rahm and Bryson DeChambeau were scheduled to play in Tokyo until they tested positive for COVID-19 and were forced to withdraw. Rahm will be in Paris, and DeChambeau is the second alternate.
But it’s a welcome difference that no one is discussing who isn’t going to the Olympics, at least among the males. It was never an issue for the women, who have been out in full force since the beginning.
The men’s Olympic field will have eight of the top ten players and thirteen of the top 25. Countries are allocated two players — a maximum of four if all are in the top 15 — ensuring that every eligible player attends Le Golf National.
Open and close?
Cam Davis of Australia won the Rocket Mortgage Classic, moving up to No. 38 in the global rankings. That may be needed to qualify him for the British Open.
Davis is almost set to be the highest-ranked player in the Official World Golf Ranking next week, which the R&A indicated it will use as a reserve list. Thomas Detry of Belgium is next on the OWGR, at No. 50 among those not previously exempt.
The question is whether a reserve list is necessary.
As of Tuesday, the field for the British Open was 132 participants (assuming Todd Hamilton does not compete since he has not since 2018). Two spots are available at the John Deere Classic, five for the top 20 players in the Race to Dubai following this week, and three for the Scottish Open.
Following Tuesday’s 36-hole qualifying round, 16 additional slots were added to the field. That brings the field to 158 players (or 159) when it should be 156. A reserve list or room for Davis may be unnecessary.
According to the R&A, two to three players often withdraw for various reasons, bringing the field back to 156. However, the Open will go with that number if it arrives at 158 (or 159).
Having a field of more than 156 players in the United Kingdom is not an issue because it only grows dark around 10 p.m. in the summer. The last time the field topped 156 participants was in 1995 when there were 159 at St. Andrews.
Davis’ sole path to Royal Troon could be to win one of the two spots available at the Scottish Open next week.
The wonderful life of Richard Bland
Richard Bland has won two of golf’s most prestigious senior majors, the U.S. Senior Open in a playoff at Newport and the Senior PGA Championship.
And now? We’re heading to Andalucia.
That is the next stop for LIV Golf. Bland has been a member of the LIV since its inception in 2022, with Saudi funding. He competed on the rival tour but has no status as one of the PGA Tour Champions.
Senior majors are only granted an exemption for the following year (2025). Even if Bland wanted to play the PGA Tour Champions, he’d have to wait a year after his last appearance on LIV Golf. If he stops now, it will be next July.
But why would he want to do this?
Bland can now compete in the two biggest senior majors next year. Bland has already earned slightly more over $2.3 million on LIV Golf this year, with his best finish of tied for seventh. It’s a tight timetable with big money.
Bland made $4.4 million on LIV last year, and he earned just more than $3.5 million in seven tournaments during the 2022 season. Steve Stricker had to win six times, including three majors, to earn under $4 million on the PGA Tour Champions last year.
Golf | AP News Image
Men’s Golf Will Have A Good Attendance Record At The Paris Olympics
A true rock star.
Fast-talking Rocco Mediate now broadcasts a twice-weekly show on SiriusXM PGA Tour Radio. Now he’s bringing in a true rockstar.
Media and shock rock superstar Alice Cooper have teamed up for a monthly show called “Rolling the Rock with Alice Cooper and Rocco Mediate,” which premieres on Tuesday at 6 p.m. EDT.
Cooper began playing golf 50 years ago while recovering from alcoholism, has a handicap index of 4, and claims to be on the course six days a week, including while traveling.
Cooper and Mediate, a six-time PGA Tour champion best known for losing a U.S. Open playoff to Tiger Woods at Torrey Pines, will share stories from their careers, welcome guests from the golf and entertainment sectors, and discuss current golf topics.
“It’s a completely improvised ‘anything goes’ show. Cooper stated, “We don’t know what we’re going to talk about until we start.” “We’re quite literally just ‘rolling the rock.'”
Divots
This is Deere & Co.’s 25th year as title sponsor of the John Deere Classic, making it the PGA Tour’s second-longest continuous title sponsor after the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am (39 years). Cameron Young has 18 top-10 finishes in his three full PGA Tour seasons. He is still waiting for his first win. Richard Bland got $800,000 for his U.S. Senior Open triumph, the third-highest salary of his career. He won $1.175 million in a three-way tie for third place at LIV Golf events in Thailand and Greenbrier last year.
Stat of the Week
Florida State sophomore Luke Clanton tied for tenth place in the Rocket Mortgage Classic, becoming the third amateur this year to finish in the top ten on the PGA Tour. This features American Express winner Nick Dunlap.
Final word
“It simply made me a better player. You will not always play your best golf, but I am the best player I have ever been.” ― Richard Bland about his experience playing LIV Golf.
Sports
Ronaldo Says He Is Playing His ‘Last European Championship’
HAMBURG, Germany — Cristiano Ronaldo has declared that he will retire after this year’s European Championship.
The 39-year-old Portuguese legend is competing in the Euros for the sixth time and has helped his side advance to the quarterfinals, where Kylian Mbappé and France will face off on Friday in Hamburg.
Ronaldo | AP News Image
Ronaldo Says He Is Playing His ‘Last European Championship’
Ronaldo told Portuguese public radio RTP following the penalty shootout triumph over Slovenia on Monday: “It is, without a certain, my final European Championship.
“But I am not emotional about it. I’m moved by everything football represents—the enthusiasm I have for the game, the excitement of seeing my supporters, my family, and the devotion people have for me.”
Ronaldo, one of the most prolific scorers in soccer history with a record 14 goals at the European Championships, stated that his major drive today is “making people happy.” During the Slovenia game, he burst into tears when a penalty was saved in overtime.
Ronaldo | AP News Image
Ronaldo Says He Is Playing His ‘Last European Championship’
“It’s not about leaving the world of football,” he informed me. “What else can I do or win?” It will not come down to one point more or less.”
SOURCE – (AP)
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