Global Edition

June 3-8, 2020

Sport has historically served as a platform to demand racial justice. Kobe Bryant tragically departed last January but his “I Can’t Breathe” shirt unfortunately resonates now more than ever, as his widow, Vanessa, pointed out (Marca). Sport has the opportunity to seize the moment and demand racial justice.



Let us remember Jesse Owens’ legacy and his 1936 defiance of racism at the Berlin Olympics. It took until 1956 for someone to equate his triple Olympic titles at the 100, 200 and 4×100 meters. Bobby Joe Morrow did it. He passed away this weekend, and we also

remember him (Washington Post).

• Remote cheering. Some football is back on empty stadiums. But Tunisia’s Club Sportif Hammam-Lif managed to get over 90,000 fans to remotely scream for their team. Wall Street Journal has the story.
• Korean Baseball is on. The NC Dinos had the best ever start with a 17-3 streak, but Samsung blew their streak See ESPN’s KBO Power Rankings.
• Black Lives Matter. Players from around the world are showing their solidarity with Black Lives Matter. An example was Liverpool’s players kneeling from the other side of the Atlantic. Liverpool Offside.
• Gaming with a cause. Esports have been able to continue online yet they are also showing solidarity with the global situation. Games Without Borders is are competing for a charity prize of 10 Million USD. by Gulf Business
• Simulation takes on reality. Simracing has had real-racing ramifications as three drivers have lost their rides or sponsorship last month due to simracing incidents. Robin Miller thinks this is nonsense (RACER)

GLOBAL PODIUM OF THE WEEK

Gold: Yuichi Fukunaga/Contral

(Japan, Horse Racing)

Yuichi Fukunaga won his second Japanese Derby (The Tokyo Yūshun)in three years, after an electrifying 400-meter final stretch. Contrail is now 5 for 5 at the Tokyo Racecourse. With this win, Contrail and Fukunaga have won two of three stages in the Japanese Triple Crown, which was last won in 2011. It will be decided in October’s Kikuka Sho.



Relive the race (Official JRA Channel)

Silver: Chase Elliott

(USA, Auto racing)

Chase Elliott became the second driver to win NASCAR Cup Series and Truck Series races at the same track, during the same week. He did so in Charlotte by defeating the other driver that had this honor: Kyle Busch.

Elliott also won two stages at Bristol and was close to winning until he made a costly mistake.



Watch the final laps at Charlotte (NASCAR)

Bronze: Petar Brljak

(Croatia, Simracing)

The historic Williams F1 is up for sale but their new simracing acquisition, Petar Brljak, shone with a penultimate lap pass to win the Formula Simracing World Championship British Grand Prix. He also finished second at the The Race Sim Masters reverse grid race and came back from a first lap incident to grab points at the Formula E Race at Home Challenge, which benefits UNICEF



Full Formula Simracing Broadcast here

GLOBAL SPORTS AGENDA

Weekend Preview

Several football league around the world are playing, including Germany, Portugal, Czechia, South Korea and Armenia, which decides title this week.

IndyCar racing will hold its first race of the season, although the Indy Lights season has been called off. NASCAR continues.

South Korea will pay attention to their football, baseball and ESports, with two Korean teams deciding the Global StarCraft II Season II.

Horse Racing is back in Britain but the larger races will be held in Tokyo, Belmont and Santa Anita.



June 2-8, 2020

Esports: 2020 Global StarCraft II League Season Final

Horse Racing: Santa Anita Derby & Hollywood Gold Cup

Esports: Overwatch League Matches

Esports: ESL One DOTA 2

Auto Racing: IndyCar Series (Texas)

Auto Racing: NASCAR Cup and Xfinity Series (Atlanta)

Esports: King Pro League Spring Arena of Valor

Horse Racing:

Runhappy Carter H. Belmont

Horse Racing: Yasuda Kinen

Esports: Call of Duty League Matches

Simracing: Supercars All Stars Eseries

Mixed Martial Arts: UFC 250: Nunes vs Spencer (Featherweight World title)

Baseball: KBO regular season

Darts: PDC Home Tour

PHRASE OF THE WEEK

Photo: ABC, AU

“I can’t and still can’t find the words to say or express how sad I feel…. but she found them for me. She found them for so many of us. A lot of us are numb… lost for words… I know I am. This is a difficult time. A lot of us growing up were taught to pray “Let thy kingdom come,” this is what I continue to pray for in addition to so many that have been hurt/killed, or simply traumatized by how people of a different color are treated. The worst part is this is nothing new, “it’s just filmed.” I’m with a heavy heart. I’m lost for words.
Video from @wealth



Serena Williams

23-Grand Slam Winner (Tennis), former no. 1.

Palm Beach, Florida, USA

Justice: 1968

NBC’s “1968 – A Mexico City Documentary” tells the story of Tommy Smith and John Carlos and their iconic podium celebration at the 1968 México City Olympic Games. Narrated by Serena Williams, this story in the backdrop of the 1960’s civil rights movements still resonates today.


Dedication: Cokes

Curtis Cokes (USA) was the Welterweight World Champion from 1966 to 1969 and is an International Boxing Hall of Fame inductee. He passed away last Friday, at 82. He now joins the arguably best Welterweight ever, José Ángel Nápoles (México/Cuba), who took Curtis’ Championship. He passed away recently. Relive their second fight in Mexico City.

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New York, 2020.