The Ottawa Senators received bids from four interested parties by May 15 who were keen on becoming the new owners of the Senators. The bids came from Jeffrey and Michael Kimel ex-owners with a minority stake with the Pittsburgh Penguins, L.A entrepreneur Neko Sparks, billionaire Steve Apostolopoulos and Michael Andlauer.
Senators Go With Michael Andlauer
The Senators was estimated to be over $1 billion in value and a number of bids were estimated to be in excess of $1 billion. The Senators has now confirmed that they have decided to go with Michael Andlauer’s bid. Andlauer is set to become the new owner of the Senators subject to the finalisation of the sale and approval from the NHL.
Andlauer nor the Senators have disclosed the sale amount nor have they disclosed any other terms and conditions of the sale. The one condition that the Senators did lay out was that the new owner must keep the Senators in Ottawa.
Andlauer released a statement and said he was very happy to be chosen to be the new owner of the Senators and will hold a 90 percent stake with the team.
The PGA did not like it when the Saudi backed LIV Golf Tour launched and tried to lure players away from the PGA. The PGA not only forbid its players from having anything to do with the LIV Golf Tour but also decided to take legal action and the LIV Golf Tour filed its own lawsuit.
LIV Golf Tour and PGA Merge
The golf community were caught off-guard on June 06 when the PGA announced that it had decided to merge forces with the LIV Golf Tour. Jay Monahan, PGA Tour Commissioner confirmed that both sides had decided to drop all legal charges and join forces and move in the same direction.
Monahan said the decision was made after both sides realized that it wasn’t good for the game of golf to be moving in two opposite directions. Monahan said that he had worked together with Yasir Al-Rumayyan, governor of the Public Investment Fund for the last seven weeks to put the deal together.
Players and fans criticized the PGA for changing its stance after threatening and warning PGA players from joining the LIV Golf Tour. Monahan said that he was prepared for the backlash and would accept it as it would for the good for the game!
Anthony Bass who plays as a pitcher for the Toronto Blue Jays shared a post on Instagram to his 34,000 followers and the post went viral – something he did not except to happen. Bass decided to share a post that went after the LGBTQ community.
What Upset The LGBTQ Community?
Many Christians on social media have recently lashed out at brands like Bud Light and Target for running LGBTQ ads and promotions. One such account on Instagram made a video warning Christians to stay away from brands like Bud Light and Target because they supported the LGBTQ community.
The video encouraged Christians to not do business and give their money to such brands as the bible did not endorse the LGBTQ community. Bass went on to share this video and this triggered the LGBTQ community as they felt he was causing anti-LGBTQ sentiment.
The Toronto Blue Jays were put under pressure to take Bass to task for his comments, with some users called for the Blue Jays to transfer or cut Bass. The pressure forced Anthony Bass to issue an apology to the Blue Jays and the LGBTQ community for his comments. Bass will now get help to make better decisions and not anger the LGBTQ community.
Conor McGregor is once again in the news with the release of ‘The Ultimate Fighter 31’ – TV show this week. McGregor is one of the coaches alongside Michael Chandler and MMA fans are keen to watch the show as McGregor is still must watch television.
The UFC usually gets the two coaches on the Ultimate Fighter season to fight during International Fight Week which takes place in July. However, the UFC is yet to announce an official date for McGregor vs. Chandler since McGregor only recently entered the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) testing pool and will have to go through 6 months of testing before he can compete.
McGregor Promises Greatest Comeback In MMA
McGregor has not fought in the UFC since July 2021 when he broke his leg in the Octagon fighting Dustin Poirier. He has told MMA fans that he is likely to make his return in either Nov or Dec 2023 and promised them that it will be the greatest return in MMA as he put his Mystic Mac hat and predicted a KO win over Chandler.
McGregor said that he hoped he would be able to fight consistently in the UFC like before and start the journey with a win over Chandler.
India and Australia will battle it out at The Oval in London, England from 7 to 11 June to determine who will be crowned the 2023 World Test Champions. Both countries have named their 15 member squads for the 2023 World Test Championship and on paper, Australia look to have a better balanced squad.
Australia will play at full-strength as all of their players are fit and raring to go as of this writing. Australia have the better pace attack as India’s bowling attack is weaker with the leader of the pack Jasprit Bumrah out of action due to injury.
Batting or Bowling – Key Selection Choices
India in the past have chosen to strengthen their batting in overseas conditions. They are most likely to play Ravi Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja as they add depth to the batting, even though the conditions will suit the fast bowlers more than the spinners. India will also look to use Shardul Thakur as the third seamer as Thakur is also handy with the bat.
However, for India to win, they need to take 20 wickets against Australia and the selectors might take a risk and strengthen their bowling by playing just one spinner and bringing in a third pacer in Umesh Yadav. We will have to wait and see if India play it safe or take a risk in their push to win the 2023 World Test Championship.