Category: Viral
Category Added in a WPeMatico Campaign
Jeff Gordon made his iRacing debut at virtual Talladega on Sunday afternoon, but the retired NASCAR driver didn’t get off to the start he hoped. Gordon was the latest racing pro to try his hand at the video game version of America’s most popular stock car series, as the shutdown of the actual NASCAR circuit has put drivers in their homes giving virtual racing a go.
It was a cool moment in what’s been a growing event for the iRacing series, which has allowed drivers to distract fans from a bleak sports-less reality with some fun and plenty of controversy since the series began in mid-March. And Gordon got in on the fun with his paint scheme as well, an homage to an infamous win he had at Talladega in 2004 that literally re-wrote the NASCAR rulebook.
Jeff Gordon’s iRacing scheme for Sunday throwsback to his infamous win at Talladega in the spring of 2004 which directly resulted in NASCAR implementing Green-White-Checkers into the Cup Series. pic.twitter.com/qRrVbsmAIn
— Tyler Head (@TylerHead18) April 24, 2020
Gordon’s first pixelated event, however, quickly got into trouble at virtual Talladega Superspeedway. At one point, he nearly flew off the track and actually got his car stuck in the virtual catch fence.
He almost went to the parking lot.@JeffGordonWeb | #ProInvitationalSeries pic.twitter.com/zOGGaFy91Q
— FOX: NASCAR (@NASCARONFOX) April 26, 2020
The crash is one of the many joys of iRacing and why it works so well as a televised event. A crash this severe in real life would be harrowing and potentially dangerous for the drivers. As visually stunning as it is to see a high-powered stock car go airborne and see the physics at work, it could be deadly.
In iRacing, however, it’s actually kind of hilarious that Gordon found trouble at a track in which he had so much history. And though racers get a second chance after crashes — it’s not like there’s any need for a pit crew to try and salvage digitally wrecked cars — Gordon crashed twice on Sunday and saw himself get an early exit from the race. He really seemed to take it in stride, though, and like many drivers he enjoyed the virtual racing experience.
Trouble for @chaseelliott and @JeffGordonWeb at Talladega.#ProInvitationalSeries pic.twitter.com/Oxu8mcG1kO
— FOX: NASCAR (@NASCARONFOX) April 26, 2020
It’s tough out there on Talladega with no spotters. Even in the digital world.
In late March, Scarface revealed that he tested positive for COVID-19, the illness caused by novel coronavirus. A Houston legend and a member of the Geto Boyz, Scarface revealed the news during a zoom chat with fellow Geto Boys member Willie D on his YouTube channel.
“This whole three weeks have been an ordeal,” he said.” I’ve been to the point where I just felt like I was going to die, bro. I threw up so much until it was just hot sauce. Like your gasses and the sh*t in your stomach, your acids. I didn’t have no food in my stomach.”
Ice-T just gave an update on Scarface while appearing on this Hip Hop Museum fundraiser. Said he talked to Face today, and “He had kidney failure. He’s on dialysis now.”
— Shawn Setaro (@SameOldShawn) April 23, 2020
In the month following, not much was said about Scarface’s condition until this past Wednesday night. Joining Willie D on his YouTube channel for another conversation, Scarface shared an update on his health.
“I fought COVID, double bilateral pneumonia — both lungs — and kidney failure in my house,” he said. “I went back to the hospital. I just got out of the hospital [on April 20].” He later revealed how his body felt through the ordeal, “I couldn’t keep food down, I couldn’t get comfortable, I couldn’t sleep, I couldn’t stay woke, I could not breathe. It was the worst time of my life.” He later revealed that her most likely “30 pounds” by the end of it all.
Pointing to his dialysis port, he continued by explaining how the circumstances have changed his lifestyle. “That’s my new lifeline, I gotta change my entire diet, I gotta do dialysis four days a week, three hours a day. That’s taking all my blood out, cleaning it and putting it back in my body.”
As for the rest of the conversation, Scarface also opened up about Georgia’s controversial reopening of nonessential businesses, calling it “stupid” and a way for the government to have black people “pass that shit out amongst ourselves and kill ourselves.”
The two chain restaurants successfully applied for a total of $30 million in loans from the Paycheck Protection Program.
The New Orleans Saints will once again be led by quarterback Drew Brees, who decided against retirement to return to New Orleans on a two-year, $50 million deal.
The Saints are also insistent that they have their quarterback of the future already on the roster in the form of 29-year-old Taysom Hill, who they signed to a two-year, $21 million extension (with $16 million due at signing) on Sunday to show their commitment to him.
Compensation update: Taysom Hill’s two-year extension with the Saints is worth $21 million, including $16 million fully guaranteed at signing, plus $1 million more in performance incentives, per source. So it really is a one-year, $16.3M extension.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) April 26, 2020
Not only have they now committed $71 million to those two quarterbacks for the next two seasons, it’s also been widely reported on Sunday morning that Jameis Winston will be joining their quarterback room on a one-year deal to take over Teddy Bridgewater’s role as the nominal backup to Brees.
Sources tell Yahoo Sports the #Saints are finalizing a 1-year deal with free agent QB Jameis Winston. New Orleans hopes to continue maximizing Taysom Hill’s versatility on gameday while mitigating some risk in exposing Drew Brees’ backup to injury.
Story: https://t.co/srblaQWfhI pic.twitter.com/D2jNWL2446
— Charles Robinson (@CharlesRobinson) April 26, 2020
By doing a 1-year deal with the Saints, Jameis Winston would get to learn and be around Sean Payton, Drew Brees and others. He would fill the role that Teddy Bridgewater did in last season before he left for Carolina. With no other staring jobs, it would be an ideal landing spot.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) April 26, 2020
The #Saints are expected to sign FA QB Jameis Winston to a 1-year deal, as @CharlesRobinson said, as the former No. 1 overall pick is taking a less lucrative contract to learn from coach Sean Payton & Drew Brees.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) April 26, 2020
It’s interesting that Sean Payton and company insist that Hill is the future, but in possible absences of Brees, they insist on having a different quarterback playing backup. As Charles Robinson of Yahoo notes, the idea is to mitigate the issues caused by possible injury to Hill, who plays all over the field (and on special teams) and as such has a higher injury risk than any other backup in the league. It also allows them to keep him in that role, even when Brees is out, although it certainly raises questions about how they plan to use Hill once Brees does retire if they aren’t giving the heir apparent regular snaps in a situation where Brees is hurt.
In any case, the Saints are investing heavily in this year’s quarterback room and it will be interesting to see if Jameis can use this opportunity to grow as a player and parlay some time in New Orleans into another starting job in the future, a la Bridgewater.