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Everything you’ve heard from Odell Beckham Jr. about Josh Norman is wrong

Pro football player and boating enthusiast Josh Norman joins Discover Boating, a national campaign to help people get on the water and enjoy boating. Norman found time to relax out on the water before he reports to his first training camp with the Washington Redskins next week. (Diane Bondareff/AP Images for Discover Boating)

When Odell Beckham Jr. says he made 2015 NFL All-Pro cornerback Josh Norman “relevant” thanks to their battle during week 15 of the 2015 season, he sounds like a jilted ex-lover.

To watch the footage now, coupled with Beckham’s endless quotes since then (a sign in itself that he was bested that day, like an ex-girlfriend who can’t move on with her life), it becomes obvious what happened: Beckham, for possibly the first time in his life as an athlete, ran into a player that was better than him, and he didn’t know how to handle it.

As Troy Aikman said during the broadcast, “Norman has owned [Beckham] in this game.”

“People have been underestimating me since high school. And I don’t mean that in the cliched way. I had to walk-on to even play in college,” Norman told me in an interview for DiscoverBoating.com.”That by itself was so much work. And I have just continued to work from then on.”

Read the full interview.

New stars, old faces, shine at 2016 Gatorade Athlete of the Year Awards

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Jonathan Ogden is a huge man. We met the greatest LT in NFL history following the Gatorade Athlete of the Year Awards.

Jayson Tatum and Sydney McLaughlin took home the hardware as they were named Gatorade Male and Female Athletes of the Year for 2016. We were on hand at the L.A. Hotel in downtown Los Angeles for the festivities hosted by ESPN’s Sage Steele.

This prestigious award for high school athletes has been an annual tradition since 1985 (when it was know as the Player of the Year Awards), and this was our fifth year covering this fun event. The event was attended by sports stars including Cam Newton, Karl-Anthony Towns, Todd Gurley, April Ross, Abby Wambach, Landon Donovan and Matthew Stafford.

Read about it here.

#SmellEm If You Got ‘Em! All-access at the 2016 ESPYS and after-party

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I asked Cam Newton to teach me how to dab and this was his response.

In the first 15 minutes at the official after-party of the 2016 ESPYS, I shook Richard Sherman’s hand, met former Lakers’ player/coach Byron Scott and told him he got a raw deal after his recent firing, and got a selfie with former Detroit Pistons “bad boy” John Salley.

As part of the launch for two new spots for the new “Smell ‘Em Who’s Boss” campaign (and two new Old Spice Guys: Swagger Guy and Desperado Guy), Old Spice set me up with full access to the ESPYS and after party.

Read the full story here.

Could you stop Landon Donovan from scoring a goal? These people tried outside a Buffalo Wild Wings

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How surreal would it be to go to your local Buffalo Wild Wings for some food and have Landon Donovan, the greatest male soccer player in U.S. history, stop you at the entrance and challenge you to a game of one-on-one?

Recently, at a Buffalo Wild Wings in Los Angeles, the above scenario played itself out. Would you have the guts to jump in the net and try to stop the all-time leader in goals and assists for both the U.S. Men’s National Team and MLS? The answer may not be so easy after you watch this video:

We had the opportunity to speak to Donovan about his experience making the video, hanging out with fans and life after retirement. Read the interview here.

 

How good will the Warriors be with Kevin Durant?

Kevin Durant has declared his independence and taken his talents to Oakland. He’ll sign a two-year deal with the Golden State Warriors in an attempt to form a super-team and finally win a title.

I don’t blame Durant for leaving, it’s his decision, yet I also feel bad for the fans in Oklahoma City. As a Cavs fan I know how they feel. But I am a little confused by this decision, as Durant had a very good team in OKC with a clear shot at getting back to the Finals. He clearly didn’t have to leave, which makes this even more painful for OKC fans.

Many assume that Durant and the Warriors will be unbeatable, but how many scorers can a team accommodate? We’ve seen Kevin Love and Chris Bosh make real sacrifices to win a title in a Big Three environment. Who will make the sacrifices here? Who takes the big shot at the end of the game? Durant thrives on ISO basketball. What happens now?

Chemistry is critical in basketball, so now we’ll have to see what kind of chemistry develops in Golden State.

Also, the Warriors will have to shed salary in order to make this happen, so say good bye to players like Andrew Bogut and Festus Ezeli. Who will play center now for the Warriors? How will they handle bigger teams? Will Draymond Green wear down as he’s forced to handle the load against big centers over a long season? The starting five of the Warriors looks like a dream team, but there’s so much more that goes into winning a title.

In many ways this is great for the NBA, driving some serious buzz heading into next season. Lebron James and the Cavs can play the role of underdog yet again. It should be fun to watch!

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