UFC 251 is coming, COVID-19 spikes be damned. That’s what Dana White is saying with two new posts on his Instagram revealing “Fight Island.”
The UFC is building facilities on 2,000 square-mile Yas Island in Abu Dhabi, and this is White’s way of saying he will make fights happen come hell or high water.
White shared video clips full of info about what fighters can expect as well as how intense the project is as a whole.
Fighters, for example, will have to be tested five times before they get into the Octagon, and they’ll have three medical centers. And this was no light endeavor for the UFC—it apparently has taken more than 400,000 hours of work and massive amounts of construction material.
In what is perhaps a nod to generally agreed-upon findings that indicate COVID-19 does not spread easily outdoors, there is a beachside ring as well.
Credit to Dana White after watching the videos—though he’s received a lot of heat for his “keep the show going” ethos, it’s pretty clear the UFC is going the extra mile with sanitary measures for fighters and behind-the-scenes crew.
Check out both videos above.
The event is slated to feature Welterweight champ Kamaru Usman taking on Gilbert Burns. Featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski will face Max Holloway (II), and Bantamweights Petr Yan and José Aldo will square off for the vacant Bantamweight title. UFC 251 happens July 11 in Abu Dhabi and viewers can Livestream it on ESPN+.
The Pokémon Company and Japanese jewelry company Ginza Tanaka are selling Pikachu-inspired rings for couples looking to make their marriage themed. Ah, love. Love and pokémon. Two concepts that are definitely entangled in my mind. Why catch ‘em all when you can snag The One?
As a person who buys jewelry that turns my skin green, I don’t know much about engagement or wedding rings. These rings appear to be perfectly fine for matrimony. There are a few band options available in platinum and gold, all pretty simple. They also come with a pokéball box. The collection, which runs from ¥115,500 to ¥346,500 (roughly $1,074 to $3,223), includes a pretty straightforward Pikachu head emblem with “I choose you” engraved into the band, while another…
Arkansas commit Taylor Ewert named Gatorade National Girls Track and Field Athlete of the Year, joining an iconic group of former winners who have combined for 72 gold medals and 33 National Championships.
Arkansas commit Taylor Ewert was named Gatorade’s 2019–20 National Girls Track and Field Athlete of the Year, joining an iconic group of former winners who have combined for 72 gold medals and 33 National Championships.
The Beavercreek High School (Ohio) alum’s family surprised her at home on the morning of Tuesday, June 30. Ewert beat out over a million other student-athletes who compete in the girls track and field nationwide. She topped the list of 51 state winners, which included seven with All-American honors, 40 who volunteered at two or more organizations, and 25 with GPAs of a 4.0 or higher.
Ewert, a 5’10” senior and the Gatorade Ohio Girls Cross Country Runner of the Year, won the 1600-meter run with a time of 4:52.02 and 3200-meter run in 10:34 at the 2020 Division I indoor state meet. Additionally, she won the two-mile event at the University of Kentucky High School Invitational in March, prior to the coronavirus global pandemic, with a time of 10:18.94, ranking as the nation’s No. 3 performance among prep indoor competitors this past winter.
Ewert clocked the U.S. Top 10 prep times in three indoor events in 2020 and the U.S. Top 20 in three outdoor events in 2019. She’s the reigning state champion in the 3200, and won the 2000-meter steeplechase at the 2019 New Balance Nationals Outdoor. Ewert placed second in the mile and the 4×800 relay in the same competition.
The Arkansas’ commit’s personal-best time in the steeplechase landed her at No. 7 in prep history, and Ewert is also ranked in the all-time Top 35 for the indoor two-mile and all-time Top 50 for the outdoor mile among high school girls. Top cap off her accolades, Ewert also holds seven national high school records in race-walking and seven American U20 records in that sport.
Eweert’s dedication to her sport extended to volunteering as a meet official and instructor for middle school athletes with her track club and spending her time at the Beavercreek XC Camp for elementary athletes, teaching a mini-class on race walking.
Outside of her athletics, Ewert has served as an altar server at Wright Patterson Air Force Base Chapel for six years, and through AFB Chapel Youth Group, she’s helped support the homeless. Additionally, Ewert served as an inspirational speaker for a summer program for athletes at West Liberty-Salem High School.
The now-alum maintained a weighted 3.49 GPA in the classroom, and signed a National Letter of Intent to run on scholarship at the University of Arkansas.
Ewert is now a finalist for the Gatorade Female High School Athlete of the Year award, which is announced in July.
Samsung’s Galaxy Buds Plus truly wireless earbuds that have excellent battery life and come with a wireless charging case are more affordable than ever today, and we have two special deals to tell you about. Daily Steals has the best price on a new set of Galaxy Buds Plus, down to $130 ($20 off). If you want to check that out, head over to its site and enter VERGESBUDS at checkout to get the discount. These have a one-year warranty through Samsung.
On the other hand, you can save even more money by snagging a refurbished set of Galaxy Buds Plus at Best Buy. They’re just $90, which is a steal. Like all of Best Buy’s refurbished gear, these are tested for quality and include all original accessories. (In this case, that means ear tips, the…
2019 No. 1 overall pick and New Orleans Pelicans forward Zion Williamson is the cover athlete for NBA 2K21 on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X.
Zion Williamson has only been in the NBA for a little over a year and he’s already built one of the most impressive off-the-court résumés.
The New Orleans Pelicans star and the 2019 No. 1 overall pick has been named the NBA 2K21 cover athlete on next-generation consoles.
“Realizing that I am going to be on the cover of NBA 2K21 was one of those moments that I am still processing,” said Williamson over a Zoom chat with Sports Illustrated. “I dreamed about being on the cover and for 2K to give me this honor, it means a lot because I have always played 2K with teammates and all my friends growing up. 2K has always been there with me. Looking at each cover and thinking maybe one day I could possibly be on the cover of one of these and for it to actually happen is a lot to process.”
Williamson’s mother delivered the news to him.
“It was one of those subtle things, like ‘hey mom how is it going?’ and she was like ‘Yeah, 2K is going to put you on the cover.’ And it was one of those things that just grab your whole attention and you’re like ‘what, for real? Nah you are playing?’ And when my agent and my team confirmed it… like I am still processing it. That game is global. Everyone plays that game everywhere. For them to choose me as the cover athlete is a dream man.”
The former Duke star took the NCAA by storm, earning consensus 2019 National College Player of the Year honors and he became one of the most sought after sneaker prospects since LeBron James. He signed a deal with Jordan Brand for a record rookie sneaker deal worth $75 million over five years and he quickly became the face of the Air Jordan XXXIV signature model. His portfolio also includes a five-year deal with Mountain Dew and a multiyear deal with Gatorade.
Williamson said this past year has been a lot to process and he is still taking time to fully accept the reality of all his recent accolades.
“This year has been a lot. I got drafted No. 1, which was another dream come true and then my season was delayed because of a knee injury and then I came back and was able to play in 19 games and learned a lot within those 19 games. Then the season was postponed for obvious reasons and now 2K tells me I am going to be the cover athlete, it’s a lot to process.”
Williamson’s social media presence has instantly made him a can’t miss marketing star who can relate to the younger generation.
“For the cover of the next-generation version of NBA 2K21, we wanted to find someone who could represent the next-generation of NBA superstar,” stated Alfie Brody, VP of Marketing at NBA 2K. “Zion is one of the few young players who has met the hype and can be considered a standard bearer for the next generation. We’re thrilled that he is representing the 2K21.”
When asked what it means to join players like Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, and Giannis Antetokounmpo on the cover, Williamson says it is an honor and a dream come true.
“Just to have my name mentioned in the same sentence as those guys and I know I keep saying it but it is just a big honor. Those are greats and for them to put me in with those guys just means a lot”.
A growing number of American distillers are turning out quality expressions of spirits beyond bourbon, including gins, vodkas, and even brandies and sotols. Here are a few new bottles to add to your home bar.
Courtesy image
Germain-Robin California Alambic Brandy
“Brandy’s been on the back burner a long time,” says Germain-Robin Ambassador and Master Sommelier Eric Entrikin. Fortunately, that’s no longer the case. Distilled largely from Mendocino, CA-grown Colombard grapes—with a few other varietals like Pinot Noir, Riesling, and Sémillon thrown in for added flavor and structure—Germain-Robin’s flagship brandy provides a promising glimpse of what American brandy can be in the hands of dedicated producers: fruity, structured, and nuanced. “For the alambic, we really want to let the fruit component come out,” Entrikin says, and they’ve done so, with flavors of apple, pear, dried apricot, peach, and honeysuckle underpinning rich barrel notes of vanilla and brown sugar. Lovers of fruitier, speyside-style whiskies, lighter cognacs, or both will also be lovers of Germain-Robin.
Produced just up the Hudson River from New York City in Poughkeepsie, N.Y., Tod & Vixen’s grew from a collaboration between a handful of revered bartenders—Gaz Regan, Leo Robitschek, and Jeffery Morganthaler—aimed at developing a gin specifically for use in cocktails. The resulting bottle succeeds, packing the typical top notes of juniper and herbaceous botanicals alongside orange peel, coriander, angelica root, tea leaf, and a pronounced lime citrus. You can sip this neat or with tonic if you want to, but tools are most effective when used as designed. For best results: Let Tod & Vixen do the heavy-lifting in your spirit-forward gin cocktails.
Sotol is often talked about in the same conversations as Tequila and Mezcal, but it’s important to note that it’s neither. Mezcals (and tequilas, which are mezcals) are made from agave, whereas sotol is made from, well, sotol. Sotol grows wild across northern Mexico as well as in parts of Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas, and while the spirit of the same name largely originates with distillers in Mexico’s Chihuahua State, a small distillery in Driftwood, TX, began turning out distinctive blue bottles of the stuff a few years ago. Grassy, herbal, vegetal, with a burst of bright peppercorns on the finish, it’s something you could sub into tequila cocktails, but it’s almost a shame to lose the rawness of a spirit that really captures its place of origin in the glass. We recommend sipping neat—maybe with a small splash of water—to fully appreciate this spirit.
Important up-front disclosure: While this vodka hails from Northern California’s most renowned cannabis cultivation region, a bottle of Humboldt’s Finest contains no THC. It does contain a hemp-infused spirit full of aromatic terpenes, which is to say it’s earthy, herbal, and green—think matcha tea, lemongrass, and pine forest. You could add this bottle to your bar because it’s cannabis adjacent and that’s cool and all, but you’d be missing the point. Add it to your bar because of the unique flavors it imparts, herbals that imbue cocktails with distinctly woodsy notes without going full alpine-medicinal (as an Italian amaro or other distinctly herbal additive might).
No discussion of American spirits would be complete without a nod to American single malt whiskey, a category that has made significant strides in recent years both in defining itself (no corn here, just 100% malted barley) and in producing a growing number of increasingly great whiskeys. Stranahan’s comes to us small batch from Denver, CO, where it’s aged in new charred American oak barrels for a minimum of two years (the final bottlings are typically a blend of whiskeys aging from 2-5 years old). Young whiskey from new barrels means lots of barrel presence—vanilla, baking spice, warm caramel, rich butterscotch, and oven-hot brown sugar—while the 100% malt at its core lends a slight creaminess to the mouthfeel. Pour it next to dessert, or in place of it.
