General Sports Talk

Outrageous. But then I saw her dad is a radio announcer. DUDE!!! You are the dummy here.

Quote:

The father of a 4-year-old whose accurate NFL predictions made her a viral sensation says his family is now receiving death threats after her picks during the playoffs were losers.

Reese Donatelli gained a large social media following for her spirited and sassy football predictions posted to her dad’s account, often grabbing the mini helmet of the NFL team she believed would win and sometimes tossing aside the loser’s.

Still, during the first weekend of this month’s playoff games, several of her predictions missed the mark, prompting some followers to claim her picks were “cursed.”

Her father, radio personality Anthony Donatelli of Riverside, California, told the Los Angeles Times that the family has received threatening messages, including demands for money from people who claimed to have lost thousands of dollars because Reese’s picks were incorrect.

“It’s nuts,” Donatelli. “She’s obviously not an NFL analyst. She’s picking teams based on the color of her dress, or she’ll pick the Packers because she likes cheese. She just relates these silly little things as reasons why she picks certain teams.”

Never trust a bunch of gambling strangers with your daughter. That's my motto.

https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/four-old-went-viral-her-145024323.html

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amazing yt from back in the day
Wilt blocking a shot while in college
his hand over the top of the backboard
his head way over the rim
Kansas ran a picture of the block in their college newpaper and the opposing players thought it was a fake - it was no fake
the legend is that he could could get up 50 inches off the ground - he high jumped and broad jumped in college track
I've never seen anything else like this - totally awesome

Wilt scored 100 points in one game and one season averaged 50 p.p.g.
records that will probably never be broken







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Wilt could do almost anything well, except shoot foul shots. Did you know he played professional volleyball after he left the NBA?

Al Oerter was a four-time Olympic Gold Medalist who attended Kansas when Wilt was there. He was trying to make a comeback in 1976 and signed up as a part-time field and conditioning coach at my high school. He told us about the time a loose shot put ended up in the high jumpers' pit, and Wilt picked it up and threw it like a softball. He said it traveled almost 60 feet, when the NCAA record was 62 feet.
Wilt wasn't really into weight lifting, although I've read he could bench press anywhere from 500 to 700 pounds and Arnold said he was the strongest man he ever met.
Al believed lifting weights was bad for athletes. Oerter did hundreds of push-ups three times a day and used to do pull-ups while wearing heavy chains. He was 6 feet 3 inches tall and weighed 270 pounds of all-natural muscle. He hated steroids and the athletes who used them to gain an advantage. He took it personally when someone he believed to be on steroids broke his record.

Maybe Wilt belongs in the Mandela Effect thread. Has any evidence of his 100 point game turned up yet? Maybe it was just a mass illusion.

I don't believe he could bench press 500 pounds. Too tall and arms too long, that's a terrible disadvantage in that game. The typical guy you see doing stuff like that is one of those 5 feet tall, 6 feet wide guys.

Quote: AutomaticMonkey

Maybe Wilt belongs in the Mandela Effect thread. Has any evidence of his 100 point game turned up yet? Maybe it was just a mass illusion.

I don't believe he could bench press 500 pounds. Too tall and arms too long, that's a terrible disadvantage in that game. The typical guy you see doing stuff like that is one of those 5 feet tall, 6 feet wide guys.
link to original post

There was no TV crew at the game and there is no film of Wilt's 100 pt game. I have a memory of seeing the box score though - maybe a Mandela Effect memory.

I carried a reproduction of the box score for many years, challenging people to name Chamberlain's teammates. Around 1968, my Dad and I visited Hershey and went to a hockey game at the Hershey Arena, a rundown rink on the edge of the amusement park. Inside the arena, they had a tiny plaque commemorating the Wilts game. The Knicks played a number of neutral-court games in the 60s and early 70s because their lease with the Garden gave priority to a six-week circus run each season. They played a playoff game in an armory in Queens that sat about a fifth of the team's season ticket holders one season.

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at the end of the vid I posted they don't identify the speaker but I believe it's Bill Russell

he says:

"I continue to call Wilt the 8th wonder of the world when it comes to basketball"

linked is Wikipedia's account of the 100 point game




from Wiki:

"The game was not televised, and no video footage of the game has been recovered; there are only audio recordings of the game's fourth quarter, which was added for preservation in the United States' National Recording Registry by the Library of Congress in 2016."

at the beginning of the 4th quarter:

"Chamberlain now realized he could break his own 73-point scoring record (for a regulation 48-minute game) or his record 78 points, set in triple overtime"

in the game, you can see from the Wiki box score that Wilt made 28 of 32 free throws - 87.5%

that is quite surprising since since thru his career he only shot .511 - a little over 50% from the line

free throw shooting was his only weakness as a player; and opponents knew it and really hacked him because of it

in the game he also grabbed 25 rebounds; 15 more than the next player with the highest rebound total


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wilt_Chamberlain%27s_100-point_game#Box_score


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thinking about Wilt I then remembered that before he joined the NBA he played for the Harlem Globetrotters

then I remembered seeing the Trotters when I was a kid and my favorite player Curly Neal (r.i.p.) and how much joy he brought to people including me

how great he was___!!!!





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I’m guessing a record was set last night that will never be broken. Two ex college teammates are NBA rookies playing against each other. They combine for 83 points! Flagg 49. Kneuppel 34. Flagg’s 49 most ever for NBA teenager. He may soon be the best player in the world.

Alcaraz versus Djokovic for Aussie Open.

History will be made. Either oldest grand slam tournament winner or youngest to win career Grand Slam.

Quote: SOOPOO

Alcaraz versus Djokovic for Aussie Open.

History will be made. Either oldest grand slam tournament winner or youngest to win career Grand Slam.
link to original post

I am still shocked by Djokovic accomplishments. I don't think of him as a "great" like I do Federer.

Quote: DRich

Quote: SOOPOO

Alcaraz versus Djokovic for Aussie Open.

History will be made. Either oldest grand slam tournament winner or youngest to win career Grand Slam.
link to original post

I am still shocked by Djokovic accomplishments. I don't think of him as a "great" like I do Federer.
link to original post

I think Djokovic wins the men’s GOAT award

Serena women’s.

One of the few surviving ticket stubs to Wilts ' 100-point game in Hershey has come up for auction at Robert Edward's Auction. Opening bid is $35,000. There was one on display in a bar on 33rd Street in NYC for many years before new owners got rid of the 1960s sports motif.

Quote: SOOPOO

Quote: DRich

Quote: SOOPOO

Alcaraz versus Djokovic for Aussie Open.

History will be made. Either oldest grand slam tournament winner or youngest to win career Grand Slam.
link to original post

I am still shocked by Djokovic accomplishments. I don't think of him as a "great" like I do Federer.
link to original post

I think Djokovic wins the men’s GOAT award

Serena women’s.
link to original post

Looking at his past accomplishments I can certainly see why people would consider him the GOAT. I just don't ever remember thinking that about him when watching him. Serena is definitely the GOAT probably of all men's and women's players.

Djokovic is a very good tennis player who found an edge against other elite players with extreme conditioining. He frequently loses the first set of a match but then wins the remaining sets because he is in better shape. He also is brilliant: in the Laver Cup he would be on the same team with Fededer, Nadal, Murray and other top European players and he always seemed to be the one who was coaching his teammates about what adjustments to make in their matches.

Djokovic is often cited as being the greatest returner (of opponent' serves) of all time. I've always believed that he was able to anticipate which side of the court the opponent will serve to - in addition to having great foot speed.

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r.i.p. Sonny Jurgensen - truly great - I'm from the DC area and I was a big fan of his






https://archive.ph/onK5u

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a look back at the worst call in Super Bowl history - 11 years ago - Patriots vs. Seahawks - maybe the worst call of all time

27 seconds left, down by 4 points, second down and needing only 1 yard for a TD and a Super Bowl win and Pete Carroll calls for a pass which was interecepted

instead of giving the ball to superstar rb Marshawn Lynch

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CZSqjfYaX4M


https://www.cnn.com/2026/02/06/sport/new-england-patriots-seattle-seahawks-rematch

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Should the NFLPA ban future Super Bowls from being played in California?

It seemed stupid at first, but after looking over the circumstances, there may be a point.
California has a very high state income tax and pro athletes who play a game there owe taxes.
During the regular season, if the Jets fly in to play San Fransico, players owe California income tax for the day they worked in the state. They can fly in on Saturday, play Sunday, and fly out Monday, but they owe only 1/365 of their income because they worked only one day.
For the Super Bowl, teams spend the two weeks before the game engaged in all sorts of work-related activity, so they end up owing roughly ten days' worth of taxes. An example they used was Sam Darnold, who was paid $178,000 for the game but owes $187,000 in state taxes.
These figures are being released by the Players Association and may not be accurate, but that is the claim.
I'd love to see the Super Bowl find a permanent spot in Las Vegas, as it appears that Wrestlemania has. No state income tax, easy to get to, has good weather in February, and tons of hotel rooms.

Quote: billryan

Should the NFLPA ban future Super Bowls from being played in California?

It seemed stupid at first, but after looking over the circumstances, there may be a point.
California has a very high state income tax and pro athletes who play a game there owe taxes.
During the regular season, if the Jets fly in to play San Fransico, players owe California income tax for the day they worked in the state. They can fly in on Saturday, play Sunday, and fly out Monday, but they owe only 1/365 of their income because they worked only one day.
For the Super Bowl, teams spend the two weeks before the game engaged in all sorts of work-related activity, so they end up owing roughly ten days' worth of taxes. An example they used was Sam Darnold, who was paid $178,000 for the game but owes $187,000 in state taxes.
These figures are being released by the Players Association and may not be accurate, but that is the claim.
I'd love to see the Super Bowl find a permanent spot in Las Vegas, as it appears that Wrestlemania has. No state income tax, easy to get to, has good weather in February, and tons of hotel rooms.
link to original post

Sam Darnold made $37.5 million in 2025-26 season. Assuming the NFLPA is accurate, he won't be paying $187,000 on $178,000 in income. He'll be paying $187,000 in taxes on $37.5 million in income. That's about 0.5%. Plus, he plays in the NFC west, and played 2 regular season games in CA, so that adds to his jock tax hit. He'll be just fine money-wise.

Quote: GenoDRPh

Quote: billryan

Should the NFLPA ban future Super Bowls from being played in California?

It seemed stupid at first, but after looking over the circumstances, there may be a point.
California has a very high state income tax and pro athletes who play a game there owe taxes.
During the regular season, if the Jets fly in to play San Fransico, players owe California income tax for the day they worked in the state. They can fly in on Saturday, play Sunday, and fly out Monday, but they owe only 1/365 of their income because they worked only one day.
For the Super Bowl, teams spend the two weeks before the game engaged in all sorts of work-related activity, so they end up owing roughly ten days' worth of taxes. An example they used was Sam Darnold, who was paid $178,000 for the game but owes $187,000 in state taxes.
These figures are being released by the Players Association and may not be accurate, but that is the claim.
I'd love to see the Super Bowl find a permanent spot in Las Vegas, as it appears that Wrestlemania has. No state income tax, easy to get to, has good weather in February, and tons of hotel rooms.
link to original post

Sam Darnold made $37.5 million in 2025-26 season. Assuming the NFLPA is accurate, he won't be paying $187,000 on $178,000 in income. He'll be paying $187,000 in taxes on $37.5 million in income. That's about 0.5%. Plus, he plays in the NFC west, and played 2 regular season games in CA, so that adds to his jock tax hit. He'll be just fine money-wise.
link to original post

It’s apparently quite complex. They take your entire years pay and divide it into ‘duty days’. Article I read said NFL players (that make it to the Super Bowl) have around 180. And the SB has around 10 ‘duty days’. So 1/18 of his $37.5 million is around 2 million. And his California tax bill on that is around $200k MORE than if he didn’t make it to the Super Bowl. And his added pay from the SB was some thousands less.

You can moralize on ‘he made enough’. But if I’m an NFL player I’d want no more games in California.