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BYU Football Player Dies At 22 After Tragic Construction Accident

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BYU offensive lineman Sione Veikoso has died at the age of 22 after a tragic construction accident. The football team’s head coach, Kalani Sitake, confirmed his passing in a statement on social media.

“We are extremely saddened to learn of the tragic death of one of our brothers, Sione Veikoso,” Sitake wrote on Twitter. “His passing is heartbreaking to all of us. We offer our deepest condolences and prayers to his family as we share in their grief. Our love for you is forever, Sione!”

PALO ALTO, CA – NOVEMBER 26: The BYU Cougars football team including Houston Heimuli #35, Sione Veikoso #72, Kingsley Suamataia #78, Alden Tofa #51, Joe Tukuafu #52, Lorenzo Fauatea #55, Peter Falaniko #68 and others pose for a group photo prior to an NCAA college football game against the Stanford Cardinal on November 26, 2022 at Stanford Stadium in Palo Alto, California. (Photo by David Madison/Getty Images)

The BYU football program also offered its condolences in a statement: “On behalf of the entire BYU Football family, our thoughts and prayers are with Sione’s family and friends during this extremely difficult time. Rest in Love Sione. God be with you till we meet again.”

The accident occurred in his hometown of Kailua, Hawai’i, on Friday. A total of six men were on the site when a 15-foot retaining rock wall collapsed and trapped three of them. After emergency personnel cleared the rubble, they pronounced Veikoso dead on the scene.

Veikoso began his collegiate career at Arizona State but transferred to BYU in the summer of 2022. While at BYU, he played in one game as a redshirt freshman.

Prior to college, Veikoso played for Kailua High School in Hawai’i before serving a full-time mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Manaus, Brazil, from 2018-20.

Check out the statement from Kalani Sitake below.

[Via]

Deion Sanders Helps Introduce Jackson State’s New Head Coach

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Deion Sanders found himself at the center of controversy last week. As many of you know, Sanders announced that he would leave Jackson State University to coach at Colorado. Although this is a big opportunity for Sanders, many felt betrayed by his decision.

When Sanders was hired by JSU, the NFL legend claimed that he was committed to raising the profile of HBCUs. In the end, however, Sanders decided to pursue opportunities at a bigger school. Overall, it is a complicated situation that has led to a whole slew of hot takes.

Deion Sanders
Head Coach Deion Sanders of the Jackson State Tigers talk with the media during the post game press conference after the game against the Florida A&M Rattlers during the Denny’s Orange Blossom Classic Game at Hard Rock Stadium on September 04, 2022 in Miami Gardens, Florida. The Tigers defeated the Rattlers 59 to 3. (Photo by Don Juan Moore/Getty Images)

Deion Sanders Brings In T.C. Taylor

This week, Jackson State University got its new head coach. His name is T.C. Taylor and he just so happens to be a former JSU player. For three seasons, Taylor was the team’s receivers coach, and according to TMZ, Sanders was a big advocate for Taylor in terms of being his replacement.

In the video clip below, you can see Sanders introducing Taylor as the new head coach of the team. “Congratulations [Coach Taylor] on being the new [Jackson State football] head coach!” Sanders wrote below. “You deserve it! Love ya and appreciate u my brother. #CoachPrime.”

Taylor knows many of these players well, and in the end, he got a monstrous ovation from his new players. He was clearly excited about the new opportunity, saying “It has been a dream of mine to be a coach here.”

Overall, Sanders has left the program in good hands, and the future is still very bright at JSU. Hopefully, Taylor is able to have a long and prosperous career in Mississippi.

[Via]

Something Jay-Z Said Inspired Manti Te’o To Speak Out About His Fabled Catfishing Hoax

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Jay-Z Mant Te'o
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A decade ago, Notre Dame linebacker Manti Te’o had become one of the most decorated defensive players in college football. He was the unquestioned leader of the team heading into the BCS national championship game. But none of that really matters anymore. That’s because Te’o became embroiled in one of the weirdest and most notorious catfishing cases ever. Te’o had forged an online relationship with who he thought was a college student named Lennay Kekua, who had been in a car accident and was diagnosed with leukemia. His supposed girlfriend’s tribulations were framed as a sort of inspiration for Te’o on the field, until he found out… that she didn’t exist.

Long story short, Kekua was actually a male named Ronaiah Tuiasosopo, who has since transitioned and is now Naya Tuiasosopo. While Tuiasusopo explored their gender via the online relationship, Te’o was catfished. Some pundits tried to accuse Te’o of being in on the ploy, but by all accounts he was an unknowing participant. The scandal went very public and Te’o’s draft stock slipped, sending him to the Chargers in the 2nd round. Today, he’s out of football after stints with the New Orleans Saints and Chicago Bears and he’s never really spoken at length about the scandal until now, and he says Jay-Z inspired him to do so.

With the recent release of Netflix’s documentary, Untold: The Girlfriend That Didn’t Exist, viewers will soon be privy to the ins and outs of the catfishing hoax. But Te’o said he wouldn’t have spoken out about it — let alone for a documentary — until something Jay-Z said at a concert made him change his tune. He explained that he went with some Saints teammates to the concert in 2017, saying on CBS Mornings, “And at that concert, Jay-Z opens up with saying these words: ‘You cannot heal what you don’t reveal.’ And it may have been just some random words to everybody, but for me, at that time, it hit me like a ton of bricks.” He added, “In order for me to kind of heal from this, I needed to reveal it.”

Untold: The Girlfriend That Didn’t Exist is streaming now on Netflix. Watch Te’o’s full CBS Mornings appearance below.

Quavo Says Drake Is Ducking Him After Losing Their Bet On The College Football Championship

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drake and quavo
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Drake’s got a plethora of hobbies — collecting women’s bags, shooting hoops with NBA players, and even hitting the links with his uncle — but the one that’s undoubtedly cost him the most over the years is his penchant for sports gambling. In 2019, Future revealed that the two spent their whole joint tour gambling. Drake’s had his share of ups and downs but after Monday’s College Football National Championship, he owes Quavo big.

Quavo, who backed his home state Georgia Bulldogs, called out Drake, who bet on the Alabama Crimson Tide, on Instagram, joking that his Canadian compadre was ducking his calls after Georgia beat Alabama, 33-18. “He ain’t answer the phone,” said Quavo. “I need my chips with dip, baby. I need my chips with dip.” The two rappers had engaged in some cheerful trash talk before the game after Quavo posted a photo of them, warning Drake, “U kno why I’m here @champagnepapi we are locked in we are down.” Drake replied, “Run me my bread right after nice and slow no sudden movements.”

It looks like Drake is regretting that bet, but in actuality, you could say he’s really just paying Quavo back after Alabama beat Georgia in the National Basketball Championship a couple of years ago. He’s probably already hoping to get it back in this year’s tournament, so good luck to both Alabama and Georgia, because this is one rivalry that’s entertaining even without the drama on the field.

Harry Styles Led An Arkansas Arena In ‘Calling The Hogs’ During A Concert

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After back-to-back seasons with 2-10 records, the Arkansas Razorbacks showed a bit of life in 2020, improving to 3-7 under Sam Pittman. From there, the Hogs have burst onto the scene as a legitimately dangerous squad in 2021, posting a 7-4 record in the first 11 games and defeating the quartet of Texas, LSU, Mississippi State and Texas A&M along the way. On Friday, the Razorbacks will finish up the regular season with an annual showdown against Missouri on national television. In advance of that contest, Harry Styles brought a bit of extra attention to North Little Rock on Wednesday night, ultimately leading the entire venue in “calling the hogs” to great applause and excitement.

Styles, who isn’t exactly known for his college football bonafides, was playing a sold out concert at Simmons Bank Arena on Nov. 24, and either Styles or someone close to him clearly did some research on the crowd. During the show, Styles set it up in elaborate fashion, as you can see above, and then delivered on the situation with vigor.

It seems possible, or even likely, that Styles didn’t know much about this particular tradition before this night. Still, he pulled it off quite well, and the crowd was clearly buying in to what he was selling. Of course, it helps that most people paying to come see him perform probably have a great deal of investment in Styles himself, but others may be swayed by this spectacle in advance of a big game on Black Friday.

Andre 3000 Went With Big Boi To Watch His Son, Cross Patton, Play For Oregon

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For over a decade, hip-hop fans have been hoping that Outkast will get back together to make new music. There have been brief reunions to tour or do one-off shows, but for the most part, Andre 3000 seems content to pursue his new passions in music, art, and film, while Big Boi continues to put out albums and tour with Sleepy Brown.

While new Outkast music may remain simply a dream for many rather than a reality, we can take solace in the fact that the two legendary artists remain close friends, even as they’ve moved on to separate ventures. That’s not always the case when groups go their own ways after a long time together, but it is truly heartwarming to see how Big Boi and Andre 3000 continue to support each other and their families.

On Saturday night, we saw the latest instance of this when a photo from a pair of Oregon fans went viral of Big Boi and Three Stacks sitting together at the Ducks game against Arizona in Eugene, cheering on Big Boi’s son, Cross Patton, who plays for Oregon.

There is real joy in seeing the two members of Outkast still hanging out and supporting each other’s kids at games and graduations.

That’s real friendship as you get older and, whether we ever get new music or not, it’s cool to see they haven’t lost that connection.