It finally happened. Twenty different times Survivor had a final three with the potential for a tie vote, and 20 times it never happened. Then, on the 21st occurrence, it did. When Domenick Abbate and Wendell Holland deadlocked with five jury votes apiece in Survivor: Ghost Island, it all came down to third place finisher Laurel Johnson to cast the most pivotal vote in the show’s long history. And she cast it for Wendell.
How epic was it? We asked host Jeff Probst exactly that and where it ranked in terms of most exciting Survivor moments for him personally and on screen. “The tie vote is up there,” he says. “I’d have to really think about the ones that are above it, but it’s top three. Because we’ve never been able to do that. I’ve never been able to walk out and say, ‘I’m gonna read the votes.’”
As juiced as viewers were to see what would happen. Probst was even more amped in the moment. Here, he talks about what he remembers out how it went down.
“What I will never forget is at the end of the second of our two seasons — which Ghost Island was the second that we had shot — that’s 78 days over 95 that we are shooting. And I’m exhausted. It’s a taxing thing to do Survivor. You’re mentally fatigued like the players are, even though you’re eating and drinking and all that. So I’m excited that the season is over, because my brain is out of power. And [EP Mat Van Wagenen] is looking at me going [silently mouthing the word ‘tie’]. And I went ‘What?’ And he went [silently mouthing the word ‘tie’]. All I see is the mouth opening. And then he holds up a tiny little piece of paper with chicken scratches and it’s five and five and I [drops his mouth open] and all of a sudden I go, ‘Oh my God!’ And I had this renewed energy. So that to me is a salient memory because I was so tired and then — WHOOSH! — woke right back up!”
Ultimately, Probst gives credit to Wendell and Dom for playing such solid games that ultimately led to the tie vote. “It was just great. And also we had one of the best final Tribals ever. I had watched these guys [mimics heads being hit back and forth] — like a slugfest. And then it was five to five. It should be five to five! They both played killer games. I’m not sure who I’d vote for event though I picked Wendell [at the start of the season] to win. I was sitting at final Tribal going ‘I don’t know, Dom’s making a pretty good argument right now.’”
Watch the video above where Probst shares his reaction to the milestone moment. Also, set those DVRs for the premiere of Survivor: David vs. Goliath on Sept. 26 (you can meet the cast here), and for more Survivor scoop, follow me on Twitter @DaltonRoss.
Aaron Rodgers stages incredible Green Bay Packers recovery
Aaron Rodgers returned from being carted off the field with a knee injury to lead the Green Bay Packers to a remarkable 24-23 victory over arch rivals the Chicago Bears.
Packers quarterback Rodgers, who signed the richest contract in NFL history just before the start of the season, left the game in the second quarter as the Bears dominated to lead 17-0 at half-time.
The lead became 20-0 early in the second half but a hobbling Rodgers sparked a tremendous comeback as he threw three touchdown passes to pinch the game from their NFC North rivals.
“It’s the Bears-Packers rivalry. So it’d have to take something really catastrophic injury-wise to keep me off the field the second half,” Rodgers, whose four-year contract is worth at least $134m, told NBC.
“I told the guys at half-time, ‘If you shut them out, we’re going to win.’ We gave up six, but I just had a feeling if we could spark it and get things going.”
After reflecting on the largest comeback of his career, two-time MVP Rodgers said he would be back on the field next week in another tough test against the Minnesota Vikings.
A rare tie as Browns almost end 625-day streak
Cleveland Browns miss field goal to clinch game
In Sunday’s other games, five-time Super Bowl winner Tom Brady showed no sign of age catching up with him as the 41-year-old threw three touchdown passes for the New England Patriots who beat the Houston Texans and their returning defensive star JJ Watt 27-20.
The Cleveland Browns were one blocked field goal away from earning their first NFL win in 625 days as they held the Pittsburgh Steelers to a scrappy 21-21 tie in a wet and windy Ohio.
The Browns famously went 0-16 last season but it seemed their luck had finally turned when they overturned a 21-7 fourth-quarter deficit to force overtime, and then saw the Steelers miss a game-winning kick, only for TJ Watt to block Zane Gonzalez’s effort with eight seconds left.
Back-up quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick produced a wonderful display for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as they stunned the well-fancied Saints in a wild 48-40 victory in New Orleans – with the journeyman throwing four touchdown passes in the shock result of the day.
Jimmy Garoppolo finally lost his first game as an NFL starter at the eighth time of asking as he and the San Francisco 49ers felt the full force of the Minnesota Vikings’ defence in a 24-16 defeat in Minneapolis.
Kirk Cousins won his first start as Vikings quarterback as they hope to go one better than last season and make the Super Bowl, but defence will be their main asset and they forced four turnovers, showing why they were the top defensive unit in the NFL last season.
Where’s Le’Veon Bell?
Pittsburgh Steelers running back Le’Veon Bell didn’t show up for work this week, as he’s unhappy at being offered a $14.5m franchise contract this year, and his absence cost him a cool $853,000 – and the same amount again every week he doesn’t report for duty.
The news didn’t go down too well with some of his team-mates, who feel that one of their star players has hung them out to dry – and perhaps Bell could have made the difference in their draw at Cleveland.
Saying that, back-up James Connor ran for 135 yards and scored two touchdowns so maybe Bell’s plan will backfire if the Steelers feel they can get just as much production out of Connor – this story will run and run.
Le’Veon Bell made his NFL debut in 2013, scoring two touchdowns in an international series game at Wembley against the Minnesota Vikings
Osi on Bell & NFL contract disputes
“I was a guy that had numerous contract disputes with the teams I was in, and I did stay away but I did it the smart way, I sat on the bike and rode the bike so I was actually in the facility so I wasn’t getting fined,” says BBC American football expert Osi Umenyiora.
“What really disappoints me about the Pittsburgh Steelers is that offensive line (including Ramon Foster and David DeCastro) taking shots at Bell when they all know we’ve only got a finite amount of time to make as much money as possible from this game.
“When it’s all said and done and they kick this guy out of the league, which eventually will happen to every player, who’ll be looking out for him? It won’t be those offensive linemen.
“The same thing that’s happening to him is going to happen to all of them and they should have had his back and they can never win a Super Bowl with that type of offensive line.
“It’s a different situation to over here in the UK where players have guaranteed contracts, in the NFL we don’t have guaranteed contracts and I think more and more people are now starting to understand that we have to make as much money as possible in the time we’re playing.
“When you have guaranteed contracts like over here people aren’t as understanding about players leaving for more money.”
Catch Osi Umenyiora and Jason Bell on the NFL This Week every Tuesday on BBC Two and the NFL Show on Saturdays on BBC One or on the BBC iPlayer.
Watch plays of the week
NFL: Tyreek Hill, Khalil Mack & Austin Ekeler make great plays in week one
Stats of the week
The 88 total points in the game between Tampa Bay and New Orleans was the most points scored in an opening game of the season in NFL history.
Buccaneers quarterback Fitzpatrick became just the second player in history to record 400 passing yards, four TD passes, no interceptions and also run in for a touchdown himself. He joins Mark Rypien in that exclusive club.
The 21-21 tie between Cleveland and Pittsburgh was the first to occur on the opening weekend of the NFL season since 1971.
Chiefs receiver Tyreek Hill had an incredible day against the Chargers and became just the third man ever to have a 50+ yard touchdown catch and 90+ yard punt return touchdown.
Due to severe weather delays caused by lightning, the Miami Dolphins v Tennessee Titans game lasted seven hours and eight minutes – the longest NFL game ever recorded.
Tyreek Hill scores a hat-trick of touchdowns
MVP vote
Landmark weekend for Peterson
Veteran Adrian Peterson only got a job in Washington after their top draft pick was injured, but he showed he’s still got it with a 96-yard game that saw him enter the top 10 of the all-time rushing list.
These lists are a big deal in the NFL, so to get into the top 10 of the most yards ever run in NFL history is a great achievement – and it came in Arizona where he finished last season early due to an injury that led many to question if his career was at an end.
It was a day of landmarks for Peterson who also scored his 100th rushing touchdown – putting him seventh in that particular list – and he looks like he’ll get a few more this coming season for the Redskins.
Hill makes Legend’s day
Fantasy Football is a staple for NFL fans and celebrities often voice their thoughts on happenings on the field. They include singer-songwriter John Legend who was delighted for a number of reasons on Sunday.
On the field it was mainly due to Kansas City Chiefs receiver Tyreek Hill, with the speedster scoring touchdowns for fun and being the difference in many players’ Fantasy Football match-ups.
Pettis shines on debut
Dante Pettis takes lovely Jimmy Garoppolo throw
Rookie wide receiver Dante Pettis made an immediate impact in the NFL as his first catch was a remarkable grab at the end of a remarkable play from the San Francisco 49ers against the Minnesota Vikings.
Garoppolo performed Houdini-like escapology before tossing the ball into the end zone for a scampering Pettis to just grab the ball with his finger tips and crucially get both feet in bounds.
The more you see it the better it gets and, despite it not being enough to salvage something from the game, it could be a star partnership in the making in San Francisco.
Quote of the week
“I’m obviously not snowboarding anymore.” Indianapolis Colts quarterback Andrew Luck after admitting he suffered a second shoulder injury while snowboarding in Colorado.
After missing all of last season with a shoulder problem, resulting in the Colts winning just four games, the team are sure to have clamped down on their quarterback’s off-field adventures – especially as he’s on one of the biggest contracts in the league.
Settle down everyone, promo pics from a new Shrek film weren’t released over the weekend — that’s just Donald Trump Jr neck-deep in a literal gator-infested swamp.
The president’s son apparently can’t say no to money, so when someone bet him he wouldn’t casually wade around in a Louisiana bayou, he obviously had to.
“This is what happens when someone bets me a good sum that there’s no way that the guy from New York City would swim in a gator infested swamp/bayou down in Louisiana. Easy money!!!” Trump Jr. wrote alongside some murky swamp content.
For reasons unknown, the gators in the water declined to eat Trump Jr — perhaps they were turned off by all the #swimming and #winning — but the image of the first son in a swamp will forever haunt our brains.
Trump Jr was reportedly in Louisiana to support Attorney General Jeff Landry’s hunting fundraiser, and spoke onstage to members of the “Trump train.”
“It’s an honor to be here and I’m excited to go get a big gator,” Trump Jr said, before hunting gators with Rep. Steve Scalise while wearing a camo “Trump” hat.
According to Don’s girlfriend, Kimberly Guilfoyle, the couple also helped make some gator gumbo. She shared several photos of the two on Instagram, including a duck-face selfie of her with a dead pig and gator. Casual!
Ann Wilson, Immortal (Sept. 14) Good Charlotte, Generation RX(Sept. 14) Christine and the Queens, Chris (Sept. 21) Josh Groban, Bridges (Sept. 21) Macy Gray, Ruby (Sept. 21) Metric, Art of Doubt (Sept. 21 Logic, Young Sinatra (Sept. 28) Jon Batiste, Hollywood Africans (Sept. 28) Brockhampton, Iridescence (Sept. TBD) F*cked Up, Dose Your Dreams (Oct. 5) Ghostface Killah, The Lost Tapes (Oct. 5) Steve Perry, Traces (Oct. 5) Peter Bjorn and John, Darker Days (Oct. 19) Empress Of, Us(Oct. 19) Chris Tomlin, Holy Roar(Oct. 26) Andrea Bocelli, Si (Oct. 26) Boy George & Culture Club, Life (Oct. 26) Roseanne Cash, She Remembers Everything (Oct. 26)
Kenner, La., Mayor Ben Zahn III ordered playground booster clubs to stop wearing and buying any Nike products in a leaked memorandum dated Sept. 5.
“Under no circumstances will any Nike product or any product with the Nike logo be purchased for use or delivery at any City of Kenner Recreation Facility,” the memorandum appearing signed by Zahn states.
The widely shared memo says that all apparel, shoes, equipment and any athletic purchase must be approved by the Director of Parks and Recreation.
Zahn plans to issue a public statement on the memo sometime Monday, Kenner spokesman Bob Ross told USA TODAY. Chad Pitfield, the city’s director of Parks and Recreation Department, referred questions to Ross.
Gregory Carroll, a Kenner councilman, commented on the memorandum that he said was authored by the mayor. Carroll said on Sunday he wasn’t aware of the decision to ban Nike products before the message was sent and said “it is in direct contradiction of what I stand for and what the City of Kenner should stand for.”
Carroll said he plans to meet with the mayor and other council members to “rescind” the ban.
While Zahn refused to comment Monday on the memo, a video of him last week at a festival in Kenner showed him criticize those who choose to not stand for the national anthem.
“I’m going to ask y’all to stand for what’s about to happen. … Because this is not the NFL football players, right?” he said before the anthem was sung, eliciting cheers from the crowd. “This is the city of Kenner. In the city of Kenner we all stand. We’re going to be proud of that.”
Former NFL quarterback Kaepernick was the first to kneel during the national anthem to protest against social inequality and police brutality. He started a movement that triggered hundreds of NFL players to kneel at football games. Last year, he filed a collusion grievance against NFL league owners.
Nike has invested a lot of resources to promote Kaepernick’s ad campaign, which was also featured during Thursday night’s first NFL game of the 2018 season between the Eagles and Falcons.
Kaepernick is now a free agent who hasn’t been signed to a team since the 2016 football season.
SportsPulse: Golf insider Steve DiMeglio explains why Tiger Woods was an easy call for the Ryder Cup and how the U.S. has the deepest roster in decades, one that can win on foreign soil for first time since 1993. USA TODAY
After Sunday’s final round was postponed due to a few inches of rain, the BMW Championship is set to come to a conclusion on Monday morning.
Tiger Woods enters his final round at 12-under par, five shots back from leader Justin Rose. The 14-time major champion entered the week ranked 25th in the FedExCup standings, and barring a disastrous round, he should remain inside the top 30 to qualify for the Tour Championship next week, the PGA Tour season’s final event.
Tiger tees off at 8:40 a.m. ET alongside Ryder Cup teammate Webb Simpson and Scott Piercy. Follow his final round shot-by-shot.
Thoughts at the turn
If you’re experiencing déjà vu, you aren’t the only one. Tiger’s doing exactly what he needs to stay in contention during a final round. He got off to a hot start and moved up the leaderboard, was accurate off the tee, dialed in with approach shots and made putts when needed. It might all be just a little too late, or not enough, as the leaders keep on responding with birdies of their own. Barring a colossal collapse on the back, Tiger will earn a top 10, maybe top 5 finish en route to qualifying for the Tour Championship, the final event in the FedExCup playoffs next week. If he keeps up this form, he’ll be dangerous two weeks from now in Paris at the Ryder Cup.
Hole 9 – Par 5
Tiger needs to score here to make a move here on the first par 5 and put some pressure on the leaders. Subtle club twirl after the driver here on No. 9 for Tiger. His shot off the tee is down the left-center of the fairway and looks like it plugs. From around 250 yards out Tiger’s approach just climbs onto the green to set up an eagle putt. He’s sitting on the border of the fringe and green, with the PGA Tour’s shot tracker saying he’s 71 feet from the back-left pin. This one will move up and then down a slope, with a strong break from left-to-right. He tried to lag this one close but he goes long and left. From around five feet he knocks in the birdie putt to move to 4-under thru 9 (16-under for the tournament).
Elsewhere on the course, Keegan Bradley’s birdie on No. 6 was a real cliffhanger. Literally. Look at this!
Hole 8 – Par 3
Far right pin guarded by a bunker here on the 212 yard par 3. Tiger hits it to the middle of the green, a little low and pretty well left of the cup. Safe shot, should be an easy two-putt par. This one wasn’t easy, and Tiger didn’t make it any easier. He hits the putt a little too hard and it rolls long and right. Got some meat left on the bone here, and with around six feet to save par Tiger buries the putt. 3-under thru 8 (15-under for the tournament).
Leaderboard update: 14 players are within three shots of Justin Rose at 17-under. Those players include the likes of: Tiger, Rory McIlroy, Patrick Reed, Justin Thomas, Tommy Fleetwood, Rickie Fowler, Xander Schauffele, Webb Simpson and Hideki Matsuyama. Not a bad Monday.
Hole 7 – Par 4
3-wood here for Tiger and this one is right down the middle. TW’s on cruise control so far off the tee. He hasn’t missed a fairway yet. Flip wedge from 114 yards and he stared this one down for good reason. He’s just short of the hole around five feet away. Useful. From six feet away he never gave it a chance. Disappointing par. 3-under thru 7 (15-under for the tournament).
Hole 6 – Par 4
Tiger finds the fairway again on No. 6, but his approach shot came up short of the green. No matter, says the Big Cat, who holes out his chip for consecutive birdies. 3-under thru 6 (15-under for the tournament).
Leaderboard update: Justin Rose re-claimed the lead, holing out off the green to move back to 17-under. Rory McIlroy and Xander Schauffele are T2 at 16-under, followed by Tiger, Tommy Fleetwood, Rickie Fowler and Keegan Bradley T4 at 15-under.
Hole 5 – Par 3
Tiger’s tee shot on the par 3 fifth hole is pretty good, inside 20 feet but short and right of the back-left pin. Nailed it. He’s lipped out so many birdie putts this year but this one falls. 2-under thru 5 (14-under for the tournament).
Hole 4 – Par 4
Tiger smoked this driver 311 yards down the right side of the fairway. He’ll have just over 130 yards to the green from there. He’s up on the green, but he’s got over 40 feet for birdie left with this putt. He almost jars the putt but it just misses. Another tap-in par. 1-under thru 4 (13-under for the tournament).
Leaderboard update: Justin Rose teed off in the lead at 17-under, but bogeyed the first. We know have a four-way tie at 16-under.
Another fairway here for TW, but this one is down the left side. Just another simple wedge in from here, but he comes up short of the green in the rough. He avoided a bunker and should be able to get up-and-down for par from there. Tiger’s chip gets to about three feet from the hole and he converts the par save. 1-under thru 3 (13-under for the tournament).
Hole 2 – Par 4
Another driver on No. 2 and this is even better than the last hole: 305 yards down the right side of the fairway. He played this one just about perfect, and he’ll have a flip wedge in to the green with a great angle. Useful approach shot here, he’s inside 10 feet with another look at birdie. This one misses to the left. Tap-in par. 1-under thru 2 (13-under for the tournament).
Hole 1 – Par 4
And we’re off. Tiger pulls driver on No. 1 and he’s safe in the soaked fairway down the right side. His approach finds the green and comes to rest just over 10 feet from the hole. Bang! He knocks in the putt for birdie at No. 1. 1-under thru 1 (13-under for the tournament).
Let’s say the weather gets bad again today and they can’t finish the final round. Per PGA Tour regulations, half the field must play 18 holes on Monday if there is to be a Tuesday finish. If half the field does not complete the final round, the tournament would become official after 54 holes. So … let’s hope half the field plays 18 today.
N’Djamena, Chad – Since the fall in the price ofoilin 2015, Chad has been struggling to deal with an economic crisis.
The main construction sites in the capital, N’Djamena, are abandoned, the market activities have suffered a slowdown and the salaries of state workers, including police and army officers, have been reduced as part of an austerity programme known locally as“the 16 measures”.
Chad’s health sector has been particularly affected – the national health budget was cut inhalf between 2013 and 2017.
According to a report by AmnestyInternational, doctors’salaries havedecreased from 517,000 to 317,000XAFper month ($913 to $560).
The impact of the crisis is evident is hospitals and health centres,where medical staff face with an increasing number of malnutrition cases.
A 2017 SMART surveyfound that the prevalence of severe acute malnutrition in N’Djamena stands at4.9 percent, more than twicethe emergency levelset by the World Health Organization. Nationwide, an estimatedfour million people, out of 15 million,are food insecure. By the end of the year, the country’s heath facilities are expected to receive more than 262,000 children, up to five years old, who suffer from severe acute malnutrition.
At the Chad-China Friendship hospital, the number of malnourished children in need of treatment has doubled over the past 12 months.
“This year is exceptional,” says Veronica Ladangbe, who was worked as a nurse at the hospital for three years.
“At the beginning of June, we even had mothers on the floor, we could no longer enter this room. As the country is in crisis, it is hard for the poorest.”
Tennis star Serena Williams accused the U.S. Open final umpire, Carlos Ramos, of sexism after she was penalized for calling him a “liar” and a “thief.” Williams lost the match in straight sets to 20-year-old Naomi Osaka.
Williams said the incident was a case in point of the glaring double standards according to which male and female tennis players are judged.
There’s a lot to make fun of about Florida, John Oliver noted on Sunday’s episode of Last Week Tonight before starting a montage of news clips featuring Florida men walking goats in the rain and steering motorcycles with their feet. But according to Oliver, the single most embarrassing aspect of life in the Sunshine State is the sheer number of citizens who aren’t allowed to vote there.
Florida has some of the harshest felony disenfranchisement laws in the country, with the result that around 1.5 million of the state’s citizens (or 10 percent of the adult population, including one in five black adults) cannot vote due to past felony convictions, despite having served out their sentences. With his typically British perspective, Oliver noted that these people are therefore suffering “taxation without representation,” the original rallying cry of the American Revolution.
“Historically, that’s been a bit of a sticking point for America,” Oliver said. “I’m pretty sure I learned about that in school. Something about how the American savages threw tea into the water without even having the common decency to add a splash of milk.”
Oliver explained that the reason Florida’s disenfranchised population is so high is that the state’s process for restoring voting rights is uniquely harsh. Florida’s current Republican governor, Rick Scott (“seen here auditioning for the role of Happy Pencil in all my nightmares,” per Oliver), made the process more difficult after he came into office. Under his system, convicts are required to wait five-to-seven years after finishing their sentence before they can apply to get their rights back, an application that requires traveling to Tallahassee to make their case in person before a four-person panel including Scott. Needless to say, there aren’t many success stories.
This fall, Scott’s re-election bid is being challenged by Democratic candidate Andrew Gillum. But that’s not all; there’s also a constitutional amendment on the ballot in Florida that would make the restoration of voting rights automatic for non-violent offenders after completing their sentences. It requires at least a 60-percent majority to pass, so Oliver transformed his desk into a neon-colored, flamingo-draped Florida parody in order to make a direct appeal to the state’s residents.
“I know that we make fun of you a lot, Florida, because of all the stupid things that happen where you live, and you’re probably expecting me to steer away from all that and appeal to your innate goodness and sense of reason, but I’m not going to do that,” Oliver said. “Instead, I’m going to double down and suggest that it’s because of that glorious stupidity that you should appreciate the value of second chances. I mean come on, Florida. You’re Florida!”
After reciting even more goofy Florida headlines, Oliver concluded, “The point is, Florida, this November you have got a real chance to remedy a mistake and do something genuinely good for over a million of your citizens. So please, on Nov. 6, for just one day, don’t take your goat for a walk in your underwear, stay away from any bite-y otters, draw a fake beard on yourself and go cast a vote on behalf of all your fellow Floridians who are unable to.”
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