Friday's P.M. Hot Clicks: Victoria Justice; CTE and Football
Howdy, Andrew Doughty from Next Impulse Sports here with a spectacular Friday edition of Hot Clicks. Feel free to follow me on Twitter if you wish.
CTE and Football
On Friday, PBS Frontline released a report stating that researchers at the Department of Veterans Affairs and Boston University have identified chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) in 96% of the NFL players they have studied. In all, after examining the brains of 165 people who played football at the college, semi-professional or professional level, the researchers found that 131 had CTE. The study noted that since it is only possible to identify CTE posthumously, the sample size of the study is likely skewed because people who suspected that they had CTE were more likely to donate their brains to the research project.
Earlier this year, the NFL stated that it has been able to reduce concussions in the game by 35% thanks to rule changes. However, Frontline found that the decrease was closer to 28% once preseason and postseason games were taken into account. One former NFL player, Tom Crabtree (pictured above), took some time on Friday to answer fans' questions on his experiences in the NFL as it relates to CTE. According to Crabtree, the NFL didn't provide any education on CTE while he was in the league from 2010 to 2013. This is an issue that isn't going away any time soon.
Just Baffling
The two players who brutally attacked a Texas high school football referee joined Good Morning America for an interview on Friday and provided horrifying clarity on the situation.
Battier Trolls Morey
During Shane Battier's "Battioke" charity karaoke event, Rockets general manager Daryl Morey sung a rousing rendition of the Wicked musical's "Defying Gravity" with the help of Battier himself, only to find Battier change the lyrics to remind Morey of the time that he traded Battier away from the Rockets.
P.M. Lovely Lady of the Day
Today's P.M. LLOD is the gorgeous Victoria Justice. Enjoy, everyone, and have a good weekend. (Click here for Victoria's full-size gallery)
Romo is Now Clutch (in Madden)
Although he's long held the (unfair) reputation for choking in big moments, Tony Romo is now one of 29 players in Madden to have the Clutch trait in the game.
Kris Bryant: Lyft Driver
Kris Bryant went undercover as a Lyft driver in the Chicago area. Despite Bryant transporting plenty of Cubs fans, not one was able to identify him until he told them his name.
Manziel Alert
Meanwhile, at Ralph Wilson Stadium
Von Miller: Not a Kelce Fan
High School Football is Rad
Odds and Ends
Russell Westbrook takes his pregame PB&J sandwiches very seriously ... The Atlanta Hawks are conducting an "Ashley Madison" ticket sale promotion ... Bleacher Report compiled this awesome list of the funniest curses in sports ... Ranking NFL stadiums by cheapest beer ... Tom Hardy discusses a bizarre sexuality question from Toronto film festival ... "Black Mass" got off to a fast start with a Thursday opening ... Fordham football will be donning some patriotic uniforms this weekend ... Michelle Obama is headed to Stephen Colbert's Late Show ... Find out which players had the highest ratings in Madden '99 ... Girl gets tooth pulled by drone.
The Atlanta Hawks Get Creative
You Don't See This Often
Punter Cynthia Brown tosses a touchdown pass in a high school football game.
Chris Archer's Wiffle Ball Slider
Rays pitcher Chris Archer got together with GQ to see how his pitching skills would translate to Wiffle ball.
Watch this video on The Scene.
James Corden: Field Goal Kicker
Good try, good effort.
In Case You Missed These
Here are some of SI.com's more recent photo galleries. Mouse over each photo to get a pop-up view and click on the link to go to the gallery.
The Top 100 NBA Players of 2016
Johnny Manziel's Rise to Stardom
Classic Photos of Moses Malone
Biggest Sports Retirements of 2015
Why Your Team Won't Win SB 50
Click here for previous versions of Hot Clicks, and visit our Extra Mustard Page throughout each day for more offbeat sports stories and the latest Cheerleader of the Week gallery. Also check out the SwimDaily Page for the latest updates and Instagram pictures of models who have appeared in our issues.