Thứ Hai, 2 tháng 11, 2015
They literally found love in a hopeless place.
These are newlyweds Kate Queram and Brandon Wagoner — or, as they were once known in the ESPN comments section, bleu_girl_04 and AAWolv.
Long before their Oct. 24, wedding, they first "met" on January 30, 2012, while joking about being some of the only Michigan fans on ESPN. Queram signed up after moving to Wilmington, North Carolina, and missing the rabid college football fans she'd left behind.
Commenting soon became part of her regular routine, as did "talking" to Wagoner. "I liked him right away," she told BuzzFeed Life, noting that many commenters thought she was a man. "He was funny and flirty and he could spell, and he was, of course, a Michigan fan. He made me laugh, and every time I logged on, I hoped he would be there."
She was purportedly one of the only women commenting, Wagoner said. "I was immediately struck by how hilarious and fun she is," he said. "Beyond that, I didn’t think that anything serious would occur, because, well, we were commenting on an ESPN blog." Both of them had graduated from Michigan, but Queram had in 2004 and Wagoner had in 2011, so they never crossed paths.
Their interactions became frequent and flirty, so much so that fellow commenters started calling them a "blog couple," a title they didn't fight. At one point, Wagoner jokingly "proposed" by uploading a picture of a Michigan 1997 Championship ring to the comments. At the time, they still didn't know each other's names.
Courtesy of Kate Queram
A year later, the Manti Te'o scandal broke, and hiding behind an online alias raised serious concerns.
"When the Te'o thing happened, all the guys started up the 'but are you a guy, really?' comments again, and this time even Brandon said something along the lines of, 'But really, am I being catfished?'" Queram said. Tired of the questions, which had been happening since she started commenting, she sent Wagoner a private message with her Twitter handle to prove her identity. From there, they exchanged email addresses, and started talking — a lot.
Two months later, in March 2013, Wagoner drove from Ann Arbor to Wilmington (a 12-hour trip) to meet Queram for the first time. Even though he was "so nervous that I could barely stand," they hit it off instantly.
Their relationship got serious pretty quickly from there. Queram says her friends and family were supportive of her unconventional love story from the start, but Wagoner said some of his loved ones were a bit more skeptical. "I never lied [about how we met], but I didn’t go out of my way to tell everyone at first," he said.
Kate Queram
They got married in Queram's hometown of Middleton, Wisconsin, but their wedding was pure Michigan.
They played the college fight song, and ESPN was there to film the whole thing. Both Queram and Wagoner incorporated the story of how they met into their vows. Queram said, "Since the very first time we ever talked on that ridiculous football blog, you have been the best part of my day. I will spend the rest of my life trying to be the best part of yours."
Their officiant also told the story of how they met (without mentioning Manti Te'o), and both the best man and Queram's father mentioned it in their toasts. "I think most of the people at our wedding knew the story, at least in some way, so I don't think any of it was a shock," Queram said.
Courtesy of Kate Queram
Doug Pensinger / Getty Images
The Kansas City Royals are World Series champs for the first time in 30 years, beating the New York Mets on Sunday in Game 5.
The Royals beat the Mets 7–2, though the Mets had hung onto a lead for most of the game. The Mets' Curtis Granderson hit an early home run, which remained the only score on the board through five innings. He scored again in the sixth off of a fly ball hit by Lucas Duda.
Though Royals starting pitcher Edinson Volquez — who had just returned from his father's funeral in the Dominican Republic — pitched six innings, allowing only two hits, one earned run, and five walks, Mets ace Matt Harvey dominated through 8 scoreless innings to send the game into the final frame with the Royals down two runs.
In the top of the ninth, Harvey allowed a leadoff walk to Royals center fielder Lorenzo Cain, who then stole second base during first baseman Eric Hosmer's at-bat. Hosmer ripped a double deep to left to score Cain, and Harvey was pulled for closer Jeurys Familia. Down 2–1 with one out, Hosmer advanced to third on a ground out by third baseman Mike Moustakas. Catcher Salvador Perez hit a ball softly to Mets third baseman David Wright, who threw Perez out at first, but Hosmer scored the tying run when Mets first baseman Lucas Duda wasn't able to successfully throw him out at home.
The game went to extras, and the Royals took the one-run lead in the 12th inning. Catcher Perez hit a leadoff single to start the inning, and was replaced with pinch-runner Jarrod Dyson, who quickly stole second base. Dyson advanced to third on a groundout, and scored the go-ahead run on a single from pinch-hitter Christian Colon. Mets second baseman Daniel Murphy bobbled a hit from Paul Orlando, and Colon advanced to second, and Orlando reached first. Murphy had a similarly crucial fielding error in Game 4.
The Royals went on to knock in Colon on a double by shortstop Alcides Escobar, making it 4–2. The Royals loaded the bases, and Mets veteran Bartolo Colon took the mound, allowing a base-clearing double from Lorenzo Cain, cracking the game open to 7–2, Royals. The Mets were unable to answer in the bottom of the frame.
It was par for the course for the 2015 Royals, who clobbered their way through the postseason to return to the World Series for the second year in a row. Their 2014 bid for the crown was stymied by the San Francisco Giants and dominant performances from Madison Bumgarner. Though the Royals clawed their way through the 2014 postseason — they made their way to the ALDS following a wild and unbelievable performance in the AL Wild Card against the Oakland Athletics — they finished the 2015 regular season with the best record in the American League.
The Royals took an early lead in the series over the Mets with back-to-back wins in Kansas City to send the game to New York needing only two wins. The Mets managed to take Game 3 from the Royals behind rookie pitcher Noah Syndergaard, but dropped Game 4 to the Royals.
The Mets last won a World Series in 1986. The Royals won their only World Series against the St. Louis Cardinals in an intra-state showdown in 1985.
LINK: What The World Was Like The Last Time The Kansas City Royals Were In The World Series
LINK: Father Of Royals Pitcher Dies Moments Before World Series Debut
New Zealand rugby player Sonny Bill Williams felt sorry for a boy who was tackled by security.
New Zealand All Blacks player Sonny Bill Williams made Charlie Lines the happiest boy alive when he gave him his winner's medal at the Rugby World Cup final.
Paul Gilham / Getty Images
The eight-year-old was roughly tackled by security at Twickenham stadium in London on Saturday after he leapt over the barrier to join the New Zealand team in a victory lap of the pitch after they beat Australia to win the Rugby World Cup.
Following the incident, Williams gave Lines his medal because he wanted to make sure that the boy's memory of the game was a positive one, Sky news said.
"If it was my little brother or a cousin, I would have given that security guard a hiding. This will be a night he remembers, hopefully," Williams said.
Mike Hewitt / Getty Images
Williams expressed concern for the safety of the young boy when up against a large security guard.
"He was only eight and the other fella was a full-on man, so it looked like he would break his ribs or something," the player told ITV News.
“Move it football head!”
"Look I'm a football head!"
Jim Rogash / Getty Images / Nickelodeon / Loryn Brantz
"Who's laughing now?'
Darren Mccollester / Getty Images / Nickelodeon / Loryn Brantz
"Ack got me."
Norm Hall / Getty Images / Nickelodeon / Loryn Brantz
"Move it football...player!"
Jim Rogash / Getty Images / Nickelodeon / Loryn Brantz
Riley’s dad — and, oh yeah, NBA champion and league MVP — dishes on his dadding life.
2015 has been quite the year for Stephen Curry.
Michael Buckner / Getty Images
On the court, he led the Golden State Warriors to their first NBA championship in 40 years and won the league’s Most Valuable Player award.
Ezra Shaw / Getty Images
Off the court, he became nearly as well known as the dad of 3-year-old Riley Curry, who took the internet by storm with her off-the-charts adorableness.
That's Riley doing the “Whip/Nae Nae” dance on her 3rd birthday.
And to top it all off, he had the joy of welcoming a new daughter, Ryan Carson, to the world.
Stephen Curry / Via instagram.com
The former NRL star is reportedly “shocked and upset” by the news.
Former Australian NRL star Jarryd Hayne's fledgling NFL career has hit a speed bump, with the San Francisco 49ers announcing Saturday that Hayne has been cut from their squad.
Ezra Shaw / Getty Images
After an impressive start to the pre-season that got tongues wagging across the globe, Hayne has received criticism over his more recent appearances.
Channel 7 reported that Hayne was "shocked" and "upset" over the decision, which saw him dropped from the 49ers 53-large active squad.
On Weekend Sunrise, L.A. correspondent Angela Cox said Hayne had found out the news on the team bus.
"The team is due to play tomorrow. He thought he was going to be playing," she said. "He's really shocked, very upset about this."
However, Hayne tweeted positively about the news, saying he was "blessed for another test".
Hayne has technically been "waived", meaning any other NFL team can now pick him up and add him to their squad. However, if no other teams choose to pick up Hayne, he can return to the 49ers practice squad.
Hayne's agent, Jack Bechta, said on Twitter he believes the Saturday announcement is a sign the 49ers would prefer Hayne to remain with them.
