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Vinny Hale

Weekend Recap: Astroworld Tragedy, Elon Musk Ending World Hunger, and The Weeklong Parlay

Updated: Nov 11, 2021

Today is Tuesday, November 9th, 2021, and a lot happened over the last weekend - as such is the case almost every weekend - I think I might start trying to provide a quick recap for those of you who might not remember much from your Friday and Saturday night.


My goal is to provide a little something for every type of reader.


So, without further ado - let's look back on how this weekend went down.


Notable News

  1. Astroworld

On Friday, November 5th, a massive crowd of young Travis Scott enthusiasts traveled to Houston's NRG stadium to take part in the music festival known as Astroworld.

Eight members of the audience died at the event and hundreds more were treated in local hospitals for injuries. Most of the injuries are thought to be caused by a large stampede that took place both entering the venue and during the concert while Scott performed on stage.


In addition to the stampede, there's an ongoing investigation by the Houston Police Department into an alleged crowd of people either injecting or allowing people to ingest a concoction that contained fentanyl - an extremely deadly synthetic opioid.


While the news itself is hard to hear, it's even harder to imagine something this tragic happening to people you know. Unfortunately, that's the case for many people right now.


The majority of people who were killed or injured were young adults or college students very similar to myself - a group of my close friends were actually in attendance at the event and were thankful to come away with only a vivid - and extremely tragic - story to tell.


Business

  1. Elon Musk Solved World Hunger

Well - kind of.


The director of the United Nations' World Food Programme, David Beasley, mentioned in a statement last month that only a small percentage of a fortune like Elon Musk or Jeff Bezos has could help end world hunger.

The catch...?


Elon Musk called him on his bluff last weekend by offering $6 BILLION in return for one thing - for Beasley to send him an explanation detailing how the money will help solve world hunger.


Since Musk's comments - that were made via Twitter, of course - many different outlets have begun an effort to propose their ideas on how the money would help. Beasley, himself even responding to Musk's tweet and offering to visit with him personally as soon as possible.


No SpaceX meals have begun being massed produced and shipped out yet - so now we'll patiently wait for the next tweet from the tech mogul for an update on the state of world hunger - welcome to 2021.


Sports

  1. The NFL is Soft

Roger Goodell and the rest of his NFL commissioners office decided this offseason to tell their officiating crews to tighten up on the "taunting" calls.

For those of you who don't already know, the NFL defines taunting as,

"any flagrant acts or remarks that deride, mock, bait, or embarrass an opponent."

And while I know good and well that it's a necessary penalty - it's also makes the game 100x less fun to watch.


A rant...

I watch football - like most 24 year old males (I'm generalizing) - to see the most exciting game possible with some of the most physically talented and outrageously overpaid grown men on Earth.


Forgive me if after a big play, I think it's exhilarating to watch a player bask in the glory of the moment they created.


The NFL has told their officiating crews to essentially take the passion out of the game by enhancing what qualifies as a taunting penalty- I'm disappointed (not that Goodell cares what I think).


Last night, as I'm sure most have seen by now, the Chicago Bears lost on a late game field goal to the Pittsburgh Steelers.


And while we should all be celebrating the ~breakout~ performance of rookie QB, Justin Fields, we are instead spending our time debating with sports analysts via Twitter about whether or not Cassius Marsh, a Bears defensive player, took a celebration too far by looking at the Steelers sidelines. Eventually, receiving a taunting penalty that would allow the Steelers to continue a drive to win the game.


The celebration is shown below. You can see Marsh very clearly celebrating his tackle for a loss, the same way he has his entire career.

Where the video get's interesting is after he's done celebrating - and no penalty flag has been thrown - NFL referee Tony Corrente decided to "hip-check" Marsh on his way back to the sidelines and ONLY THEN throw the flag.



Sorry for the rant but I'm not done yet. The NFL is soft for this. Tony Corrente should be fired and we should all get back to watching football be played the right way - where a passionate player can express their emotions after seemingly deciding a game with a huge sack against a hall of fame quarterback.


Wack.


The Weeklong Parlay

This one is for those of you who fancy yourselves an expert sports picker.


You know who you are - the guy listening to ESPN radio on his way to work, only to get home and scream at the TV about how the tight-end was lined up too far outside, or the coach doesn't know how to call plays.


I'll admit. I'm that guy.


Which is why I bring you my newest segment - The Weeklong Parlay.


The Weeklong Parlay, is one pick for every day of the week.


My favorite part about sports is getting to argue with my friends about why one team will beat another and so this is my way of putting my picks out there for the world to see and debate. What you do with these picks is none of my business.


However, given this article is coming out on Tuesday this week, I'm cheating and you'll just have to take my word for it - I picked the Bears +6.5 last night.


Here are the picks for my first ever Weeklong Parlay. Let me know what your opinions are on the picks and make sure to sound smart around your friends when they start talking about who they think will win.


Monday: NFL - Chicago Bears +6.5 v. Pittsburg Steelers

Tuesday: NCAAB - Kansas v. Michigan State U143.5

Wednesday: NBA - Dallas Mavericks v. Chicago Bulls U212

Thursday: NFL - Baltimore Ravens -7 v. Miami Dolphins

Friday: NCAAF - Cincinnati -23 v. USF

Saturday: NCAAF - Texas A&M -2.5 v. Ole Miss

Sunday: NFL - Patriots -1.5 v. Browns


Gambling is a serious addiction and I'm in no way encouraging you to do so nor giving financial advice. These picks are solely for the enjoyment of rowdy conversations with friends discussing who will win a game. If you or someone you know need help with a gambling addiction, please click here.


I hope you enjoyed the first edition of The Weekly Recap - until next week.


Vin


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Sources/Images: Yahoo! Sports, Sporting News, Business Insider, NBC News


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