Up Next

What Had Happened Was

What Had Happened Was: 8/24/16

Oh, you don’t know? We got you.

Up Next From Sports

    New York Yankees v Seattle Mariners
    SEATTLE, WA – AUGUST 23: Former Seattle Mariner Ken Griffey Jr. of the Seattle Mariners waves to the crowd from the broadcast booth during the game against the New York Yankees at Safeco Field on August 23, 2016 in Seattle, Washington. Otto Greule Jr/Getty Images
    By Ryan Cortes Rhiannon Walker

    GAME. BLOUSES.

    On Tuesday night, the man, the myth and the legend himself, Ken Griffey Jr., joined Jon “Boog” Sciambi and Rick Sutcliffe on ESPN during the New York Yankees-Seattle Mariners game. It was the first Mariners home game on ESPN since 2011, so it was only fitting to have Griffey smiling in the booth.

    Junior was asked at one point about his Hall of Fame induction and even revealed who told him he had to wear his cap backward:

    BLESSINGS!

     

    SOCIAL STATUS

    *Grabs kettle corn* After Washington Redskins cornerback Josh Norman sounded off on Denver Broncos wide receiver Demaryius Thomas in the most recent issue of ESPN The Magazine, it’s just so unfortunate that Norman and Thomas don’t square off this season. (To Norman’s credit, he held Thomas to just eight yards in last year’s Super Bowl.)

    FOR THE CULTURE

     

    Newark, New Jersey, police confronted a 10-year-old black boy because they thought he was an adult suspect.

    All across America, Simone Biles wannabes are flocking to gymnastics facilities.

    America’s pay gap could cost black women more than $1 million.

    Meet the 14 incredible female Muslim athletes who won medals at the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro.

    Here’s Asnath Mahapa, South Africa’s first black female pilot.

    Olympian Feyisa Lilesa took the Oromo protests to the international stage. In Ethiopia, he had nothing to lose but his chains.

    TOP THREE TWEETS

    Every morning we’ll hit you here with the best of what we saw on social media the previous night. Why? Why not?

    1. YASSS, GLO UP

    2. ALL RIGHT, SMART KID

    3. WE LIKE THIS PLAN

    #ICYMI

    Our friend David Dennis Jr. wrote about the best video game football player to ever live: Michael Vick, who was on the cover of Madden NFL 2004:

    I can still see the cover image when I close my eyes: Vick holding the ball loosely in his left hand, scrambling to his left, eyes down the field looking for the next hole. Vick was rated 90 (out of 100) overall with a speed rating of 95, 97 in accuracy, 98 in throwing power and 92 in elusiveness. It was easier to tackle steam than it was to tackle Vick, and he threw the ball farther than any other player. There just wasn’t an answer for him. In fact, Vick damn near broke the game itself. “Michael Vick was the greatest quarterback in Madden history, because his speed rating as a QB was astronomical, and there was nothing you could do stop him,” Clint Oldenburg, former NFL lineman and current game developer with the Madden franchise, said in an interview with Gamesradar. “For a number of years before I got here, features were added to the game specifically to stop Vick. Now [to prevent one player from being similarly overpowering] we try to keep ratings within a certain range. So if a QB comes out of the draft with a 99 speed rating, A, B and C is done in the game engine to make sure everything is balanced.” And as great as Vick was on the field in the time he played for the Falcons, his status as unstoppable video game foe only added to his legend status.

    PICTURE PERFECT

     

     

    Ryan Cortes is a staff writer for The Undefeated. Lemon pepper his wings.

    Rhiannon Walker is an associate editor at The Undefeated. She is a drinker of Sassy Cow Creamery chocolate milk, an owner of an extensive Disney VHS collection, and she might have a heart attack if Frank Ocean doesn't drop his second album.

    This Story Tagged: What Had Happened Was Ken Griffey Jr. Josh Norman Demaryius Thomas