Tag: sports

DAMAR HAMLIN FANS THINK ‘NEW HAND TATTOO’ TIES INTO ‘CLONE’ CONSPIRACY THEORY

Damar Hamlin fans think his ‘new hand tattoo’ ties into a ‘clone’ conspiracy. The ridiculous theories first circulated around the time of his cardiac arrest in early January.

The NFL Honors took place on Thursday evening in Phoenix, Arizona. The annual awards ceremony acknowledges standout achievements and accomplishments from the recent NFL season.

A whole host of NFL stars were in attendance at the event, which saw Patrick Mahomes awarded NFL MVP. However, the most memorable moment of the night came when Damar Hamlin accepted the Alan Page Community Award.

The Bills safety suffered an on-field cardiac arrest against the Cincinnati Bengals on 2 January. He was listed in a critical condition for over a week before he thankfully recovered.

One of the more bizarre things to emerge from Hamlin’s incident was the theory that he died on the field and was replaced by a clone or body double.

As reported by The Independent, conspiracy theorists at the time hypothesised that the FBI and NFL quickly dispatched Hamlin’s body to Cincinnati Medical Centre to hide his death, replacing him with someone else.

Needless to say the theory is completely baseless. However, the theories have once again emerged following the appearance of Damar Hamlin’s ‘new hand tattoo’.

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IRS Targeting Fantasy Sports (and much more) with New Tax Code Change: “Most Americans are about to get run over, and they have no idea.”

The IRS continues to be in the news cycle due to a continuous back and forth about how much power it will continue to have, and whether or not it will be weaponized even further against the average American. Even with the current delay of the onerous attempt to hit gig workers with a $600 threshold for reporting, they forge ahead, empowered by an $80 billion investment under the Inflation Reduction Act and some new code changes.

First it was reported that a new IRS alert went out to explain that there would be a new question to answer regarding “digital assets” and how to stay in compliance. Failure to answer accurately could spark and audit and attendant consequences.

“All taxpayers must answer the question regardless of whether they engaged in any transactions involving digital assets,” the agency cautioned.

It is a legal requirement to accurately report all income, including income from digital assets, on federal income tax returns. Failure to do so could result in non-compliance with tax laws and possible penalties. – Source:  The Epoch Times

Now there is a new target for tax oversight: your friendly fantasy sports league. Clearly not intending to wage war against billionaire tax cheats as advertised, this latest code change is set to “cause a sizable increase in audits and taxes on Americans, especially those using transaction services like Venmo and PayPal for fantasy sports, according to tax experts,” reports Fox News.

One tax expert, Bruce Willey, even likened it to being put in the path of an oncoming truck.

“Most Americans are about to get run over, and they have no idea. If they’re not prepared for it, things could get pretty ugly for people,” he said.

The same previously mentioned mechanism for gig workers is finding its way into fantasy sports for those who use online apps as their payment systems. Additional scenarios and specifics were described by BakerHostetler Nationwide Tax Chair Jeff Paravano. As one should quickly see, it’s vague, extremely burdensome on all parties involved, and will likely do nothing except drive up the numbers of audits and extortion that will result.

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A Good Democrat: Liberal NBA Player Stephen Curry Opposes Affordable Housing Development Near His Mansion

NBA player Stephen Curry is a liberal, Biden-supporting Democrat. He is also a hypocrite.

Despite being part of a nonprofit that “aims to promote economic equality and opportunity,” Curry and his wife are opposing the construction of an affordable housing development near their multi-million dollar mansion.

It’s classic NIMBY – Not in my back yard.

The Washington Free Beacon reports:

Lib NBA Star Stephen Curry Opposes Affordable Housing Near His $30 Million Mansion

NBA superstar and Biden-supporter Stephen Curry is opposing the proposed construction of a low-income multifamily unit proposed for construction next to his $30 million mansion, saying he has “major concerns” for his “privacy” and “safety.”

Curry, who joined a nonprofit in 2021 focused on “bridging the racial wealth gap,” wrote a letter with his wife Ayesha to the city of Atherton, Calif., asking that it reconsider the construction of a 16-unit property near their estate.

“We hesitate to add to the ‘not in our backyard’ (literally) rhetoric, but we wanted to send a note before today’s meeting,” the couple wrote in the letter. “Safety and privacy for us and our kids continues to be our top priority.”

While the Golden State Warriors guard opposes affordable housing in his own neighborhood, Curry in 2021 joined the nonprofit NinetyToZero, which aims to promote economic equality and opportunity…

Curry is a longtime Democrat. He joined former president Barack Obama for a town hall on racial equality in 2019. A year later, he put his kids in front of a camera during the 2020 DNC to endorse Joe Biden. He gave $10,000 to Colin Kaepernick-linked charities and called Donald Trump’s 2024 run a ‘threat.”

He wants to help the little guy, as long as it doesn’t happen in his neighborhood.

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No, Damar Hamlin was not replaced by a body double

Activists who blamed NFL star Damar Hamlin’s on-field collapse this month on Covid-19 vaccines have concocted another baseless conspiracy theory – that the player has been replaced by a “body double” or even a “clone”.

It’s an escalation of rumours that circulated after Mr Hamlin’s injury.

The latest allegations claim the player is dead and has been “replaced”.

The anti-vaccination activists stoking the wild claims on Twitter have provided no proof.

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NFL Pro Game gets full power as Tennessee residents suffer freezing temps and rolling blackouts

Residents in Tennessee were furious at the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) on Sunday as the state suffered in a deep freeze and people were left cold on Christmas Day replete with rolling blackouts while the NFL’s Titans game against Houston was granted full power usage.

The temperature in Nashville on Sunday ranged from 16 to 30 degrees. The cold air put a significant strain on the TVA’s power grid and in response, the power authority implemented rolling blackouts in Memphis and Nashville. The Nashville Electric System (NES) also mandated reductions in power consumption just when it was needed most to keep residents warm. Over a million residents were told to limit the power they used to stay warm in freezing temps while millionaires cavorted on a football field for a billion-dollar enterprise.

As if the rolling blackouts and mandated limits weren’t bad enough, there were periods where there was no power at all during the below-freezing winter day.

The NFL allegedly got preferential treatment on power usage and was allowed to fully tap into mega-wattage for the game at Nissan Stadium. While a million residents shivered in their homes, 66,634 attendees luxuriated in buying tickets to a football game.

“I’ve been informed that TVA’s unilateral rolling blackouts will continue,” Nashville Mayor John Cooper said after requesting that the game be postponed. “All non-essential businesses should reduce power usage. I’ve asked the Titans to postpone their noon game in solidarity with our neighbors. TVA needs to invest in infrastructure to withstand extreme temps.”

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Camila Giorgi among the suspects for fake vaccinations

Camila Giorgi would be among the suspects in the investigation opened by the Vicenza prosecutor’s office, in Italy, for false anti-Covid-19 vaccinations. According to what emerged and reported by Italian media, Camila would have only pretended to have been vaccinated against Covid-19, with the intention of obtaining the green pass in any case and not having travel restrictions, as well as regularly participating in the tournaments of the WTA Tour that expressly required the administration.

The news was launched in these hours and has inevitably attracted the attention of the world of sport and music. We now await insights and updates on the matter, which confirm or deny the latest news. It all started last February, when the Vicenza prosecutor’s office conducted an investigation that led to the arrest of three doctors, all accused of various crimes such as corruption for acts contrary to official duties, ideological falsehood committed by the public official in public deeds and embezzlement.

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Phoenix Allows NFL to Determine What Residents Can Display on Their Property During Super Bowl

The Arizona-based Goldwater Institute (GI) has called out the city of Phoenix for imposing free speech restrictions on residents in a “Special Promotional and Civic Event Area” (Clean Zone) leading up to and through the 2023 Super Bowl.

“By delegating unfettered censorship power to private entities, the city of Phoenix has launched a blatant attack on its own citizens’ free speech rights under both the U.S. Constitution and the Arizona Constitution. It’s simple: Phoenicians shouldn’t need to ask the NFL for permission to communicate with the public on their own private property,” said GI Staff Attorney John Thorpe in a statement emailed to The Arizona Sun Times.

The Sun Times reached out to the city of Phoenix for additional comments but did not hear back.

Thorpe sent a letter Tuesday to the city regarding this issue. He explained that under Resolution 22073, passed by the city, all temporary signage in the Clean Zone “not authorized by the NFL or the Arizona Super Bowl Host Committee” (ASBHC) are restricted. According to Thorpe, these restrictions cover nearly all of downtown Phoenix and will be in effect until February 19th, 2023.

The city of Phoenix states that the final day to get any temporary sign applications approved is December 15th.

This ordinance has allegedly caused trouble for one Phoenician business and property owner, Bramley Paulin. The GI represents Paulin in this situation and shared that he reached out to potential partners about leasing and advertising but was rejected because of the city’s restrictions.

Aside from the aforementioned free speech violations, Thorpe argued that the city is also improperly delegating its government power. As established in Industrial Commission v C D Pipeline, the government “may not delegate its authority to private persons over whom [it] has no supervision or control.” Therefore, the city violates this by giving private entities, the NFL and ASBHC, regulation over private citizens’ free speech. Additionally, the city’s ordinance may violate the Equal Privileges and Immunities Clause and the Gift Clause.

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US soccer journalist Grant Wahl dies covering World Cup in Qatar, brother thinks ‘he was killed’

Influential U.S. soccer journalist Grant Wahl died in Qatar while covering the World Cup, his brother announced. He was 48.

While covering Argentina’s quarterfinal win over the Netherlands on Friday, Wahl, who had run his own Substack after a long career at Sports Illustrated, collapsed at Lusail Iconic Stadium and was rushed to a nearby hospital. It’s unclear whether he died at the hospital or in transport.

His brother, Eric, believes foul play from the Qatari government may have been involved.

“My name is Eric Wahl. I live in Seattle, Washington. I am Grant Wahl’s brother. I’m gay,” he said in a video posted to his Instagram account before making the account private. “I’m the reason he wore the rainbow shirt to the World Cup. My brother was healthy. He told me he received death threats. I do not believe my brother just died. I believe he was killed. And I just beg for any help.”

Prior to the USMNT’s World Cup game against Wales, Wahl was initially not allowed into Ahmad bin Ali Stadium and detained for 30 minutes for wearing a shirt depicting a soccer ball surrounded by a rainbow. He was eventually let into the stadium.

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