An advertising blimp fell from the sky on Thursday and crashed near the scene of golf’s U.S. Open in Wisconsin, injuring the pilot.

The Washington County Sheriff’s Office described the pilot’s injuries as “serious.” It said in a statement that the pilot was the only person on board.

“The initial investigation reveals the blimp may have experienced mechanical problems prior to the crash,” the sheriff’s office added.

Justin Maynard, a representative of the blimp company AirSign, told The Two-Way that the pilot had been transported to the hospital. He suffered burns but is expected to be “OK,” Maynard added.

The company does not know what caused the crash, which occurred as the blimp was advertising for a client near the U.S. Open, Maynard said.

Two fire departments were at the golf course when the blimp went down at about 11:15 a.m. local time, the sheriff’s office said. They were able to quickly reach the scene, about 1 mile from the tournament.

Video posted by someone attending the tournament shows the dark form of the crumpled blimp rapidly descending, eventually falling from view behind a crowded grandstand.

“It started deflating, and then it started going down,” witness Bryan Rosine told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

“They were trying to give it some throttle and it didn’t go up. … Then there was a bunch of kabooms and smoke clouds.”

Another video, posted by Fox Sports, shows the blimp already on fire in the field when an explosion rips through it.

Earlier in the day, AirSign had shared blimp pictures from the U.S. Open, advertising PenFed Credit Union. The PenFed logo is visible in an Associated Press photo of the blimp plummeting to the Earth.

The blimp was airborne for “several hours” before it went down, the sheriff’s office stated. It says the office had been in touch with the Federal Aviation Administration before the crash and “determined the aircraft was lawfully operating at the proper altitude.”

The U.S. Open, played this year in Erin, Wis., is one of the four major tournaments in golf.

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It was in Egypt’s Tahrir Square that I became a critic of the idea that social media somehow powers activism.

I was there researching social media’s impact on movements and revolutions.
Across the world, I have seen how it is great at spreading information when it is able to reach people who normally would not be connected to traditional news sources.

But during the Arab Spring I also saw how social media locks that information into bubbles that are constructed in ways that we barely control or see.

In Cairo, the bubble was young, educated, middle class, liberals. The failure to break out of that bubble and transform political institutions ended up leading to the military coup in 2013.

Since then my view has changed a bit, in part, because of basketball. Specifically the NBA.

The NBA has shown that social media can be a great tool in shaping social and political causes. It can do so if those causes are adopted by a strong and engaged organization with a broad reach.

The NBA blows away every other professional sport in the world in terms of social media activity and engagement. It was the first major sport to pass over one billion followers on social media. No other league even comes close.

The NBA, its coaches, its players are among the most active participants on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat and the like.

This allows it to reach people of different demographics, cultures, and places who use different social media platforms.

It also allows the league to engage with fans even when nothing is available to watch live.

The NBA also does something the other leagues generally frown on, it uses social media to support the activist causes of its athletes and coaches.

This lets the brand of what is basically an entertainment organization vouch for political and social causes.

Being attached to the NBA gives those causes greater staying power.

So, we see four-time MVP LeBron James and other league stars using technology to amplify awareness of the Black Lives Matter protests of killings of men like Trayvon Martin or Eric Garner.

Or Steve Kerr, head coach of the Golden State Warriors, taking to Twitter to speak out on anti-immigrant policies and gun violence.

Social media can amplify an activist cause, if the organization that uses these tools already transcends the bubbles we all recognize when we go online.
We see that in action with the NBA.

One hundred and forty characters can be used to gain great power and visibility, when you have the right organization behind it.

Is that enough to produce lasting political change?

That’s still not clear, but the NBA is a great space to watch to see how it could play out.

Ramesh Srinivasan is an associate professor at UCLA. You can follow him at @rameshmedia.

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The Golden State Warriors earned their second NBA title in three years with a 129 to 120 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers in Oakland Monday night, led by All-Star forward Kevin Durant’s 39 points and strong bench scoring.

Durant’s stellar play all season and throughout the playoffs vindicated Golden State’s massive payout to the superstar in a controversial off-season deal.

Fellow All-Star Stephen Curry added 34 points.

But it was Durant, who left Oklahoma City for Oakland at the end of last season, who carried the team.

The capacity crowd, most dressed in Warrior gold T-shirts, cheered and sang along with the tune “We Are The Champions” as confetti fell.

Warriors’ sluggish beginning gives way to brilliance

The Warriors started the game lackluster and trailed at the end of the first quarter.

But a Durant dunk about four minutes into the second sent the sold-out hometown crowd into a frenzy. The Warriors went on a 21-to-2 second-quarter run. They led at the half by 11.

The Warriors, once again, showed their team depth with Andre Iguodala scoring 20 off the bench, including several emphatic dunks and three-point shots that seemed to rejuvenate the Warriors and their fans.

The Cavaliers, led by stars LeBron James’ 41 points and Kyrie Irving’s 26, repeatedly battled back and pulled Cleveland within striking distance of Golden State in the second half.

But each time, the Warriors recovered — led by Durant’s clutch shooting.

This is the third straight year the Warriors and Cavs faced off in the Finals. There was more than a touch of pay-back Monday night. In last year’s championship series the Cavs roared back from a 3-1 deficit to spoil the Warriors’ record-setting 73-win season.

Not this year.

A winning team’s formula

Sometimes lost in all the chatter about a possible Warriors’ dynasty is the fact that Golden State plays beautiful, often unselfish team ball.

Throughout the playoffs coach Steve Kerr encouraged his team to enjoy the ride, to “play with joy.” And throughout the Finals, it often looked as though they were listening to him. The team’s four All-Stars shared the scoring wealth and played tough defense.

Kerr joked after the game, “Actually we had very little talent, it was mostly coaching.”

“They’re so committed to each other and unselfish,” Kerr added of his players.

Durant, in accepting the Final’s MVP Award, agreed. “It’s a team sport and I wanted to achieve the highest honor, which is win a championship.”

“We did it!” he exulted, saying it was fulfillment of a childhood dream.

The only real drama in the Warriors’ path to a championship this season was Kerr’s health. He missed 11 playoff games dealing with on-going complications from back surgery. Kerr returned to full-time coaching for the Final’s second game.

Cavs’ superstar James had another great season and playoff run. He led his team to a dominating game-four win in Cleveland. But in the end, James fell short.

Going forward, dominance undiminished

With the off-season acquisition of Durant, the Warriors, arguably, have the NBA’s best collection of players in recent decades. And with the team’s core lineup all in their prime, it looks like they could remain at championship caliber for several more seasons.

“Pretty much all of their big-name guys are in their 20s,” the Cavs’ James said, “and they don’t show any signs of slowing down. So there will be a lot of teams trying to figure out ways to put personnel together to match that.”

The long-term challenge for the NBA is how to address the on-going grumblings about a lack of competitive balance. The Warriors and Cavs simply towered over every other team this season. Both teams breezed through the playoffs.

And it may stay that way for several seasons to come.

The league continues to try to use the leverage of the collective bargaining agreement — salary caps and incentives — to get superstar players such as Durant to stay with their teams.

But as many have pointed out, it’s not working. If a superstar can get about the same salary by switching to a much better team, there’s little incentive not to do so.

The NBA’s new labor deal doesn’t expire until 2023. That’s all good news for Warriors fans.

As Curry said after the win, “We accomplished something special. And we’re going to do it again.”

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The Pittsburgh Penguins shut out the Predators 2-0 Sunday night in Nashville, Tenn., to win their second straight championship.

The Penguins have won five championships — all of them on the road.

The game was scoreless until the third period when Patric Hornqvist scored with 1:35 left. Carl Hagelin cemented the win by scoring into an empty net with 14 seconds left. Penguins goaltender Matt Murray made 27 saves for his second straight shutout.

The last team to have back-to-back Stanley Cup wins was the Detroit Red Wings in 1997 and ’98. The Penguins are the first to do it in the salary-cap era.

Also for a second straight year, Penguins captain Sidney Crosby was awarded the Conn Smythe Trophy — awarded annually to the team’s most valuable player in the playoffs.

The Associated Press reports:

” ‘We knew it was going to be tough all year, but we just tried to keep with it,’ Crosby said. ‘We had a lot of injuries and things like that. We just kept finding ways. That was really what we did all season, all playoffs. It’s great to be able to do it.’

“Crosby also became just the third player to win the Conn Smythe Trophy in consecutive years as the Stanley Cup MVP to go along with his third championship. He led the Final in scoring with one goal and six assists, including three in a 6-0 win in Game 5 that put the Penguins on the doorstep of another title. Only teammate Evgeni Malkin (28 points) had more than Crosby’s 27 this postseason.

” ‘You have a small window to play and have a career,’ Crosby said. ‘I feel fortunate, but I also understand how difficult it was so you just want to try to make the best of it.’ “

Predators Colton Sisson scored a goal in the second period but it was not allowed — the referee had blown the play dead just before the puck ended up in the net.

Patric Hornqvist scored the Penguins’ first goal off Nashville goalie Pekka Rinne’s left elbow.

Nashville challenged the call for goalie interference, but the goal was upheld.

Hornqvist used to play for the Predators but the team traded him to the Penguins in 2014, a front-office decision that last night came back to bite Nashville.

Shortly after the Penguins scored, Rinne was pulled from the ice to allow Nashville to have an extra attacker, but things didn’t quite work out for them.

With 14 seconds left in the game, the Pens’ Carl Hagelin put the puck in an unguarded net.

Pittsburgh’s win is the second championship in 18 months for coach Mike Sullivan, who has yet to lose a playoff series since taking over after Mike Johnston was fired. Sullivan is the first American-born coach to win the Cup not once, but twice.

The series had been a tough one for the Penguins, who are celebrating their 50th anniversary. The Penguins won the first two games at home, and then the Predators won the next two games at home. The Penguins won Game 5 in Pittsburgh.

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At one point Saturday, it looked as if Simona Halep was on her way to her first ever major victory. She’d won the first set of the French Open against her unseeded opponent, and despite fierce play from Jelena Ostapenko, few onlookers expected the unseeded Latvian to mount a comeback.

So much for that.

On the strength of an unrelentingly aggressive attack, hitting just about as many unforced errors as she did winners, Ostapenko ultimately wore down Halep, taking the second and third sets in thrilling fashion. Ostapenko, only a few days removed from her 20th birthday, upset Halep to take home her own first-ever major.

She won the final, 4-6, 6-4, 6-3.

“I cannot believe I am champion at 20 years old. I love you guys. It’s so amazing to be here,” she said after the match.

She added: “I knew Simona was a great player. But I tried to play aggressive and everything turned my way. I fought for every point. I’m glad it finished my way.”

As The New York Times reports, Saturday’s win makes Ostapenko the first unseeded woman to win the French Open since 1933. The paper notes she is also the first Latvian ever to win a singles Grand Slam.

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The Saudi Arabian Football Federation issued an apology after its national team provoked outrage in Australia by not formally participating in a moment of silence for London rampage victims.

Ahead of a World Cup qualifying match on Thursday in North Adelaide, the Australian players lined up in a row, put their arms around one another and stood silently in memory of the eight people killed on Saturday.

Members of the Saudi team largely appeared to disregard the tribute, with some milling around the field. One player appeared to bend down and tie his shoe, which can be seen in a video from Euronews.

Saudi Arabia’s federation hasn’t specifically explained why its team did not participate. But in a statement carried by The Associated Press, Football Federation Australia said it was told by the Saudi team prior to the game that its players did not plan to take part for cultural reasons.

“Both the (Asian Football Confederation) and the Saudi team agreed that the minute of silence could be held,” the FFA said in a statement, as quoted by the AP. “The FFA was further advised by Saudi team officials that this tradition was not in keeping with Saudi culture and they would move to their side of the field and respect our custom whilst taking their own positions on the field.”

This has drawn sharp criticism. As Australian politician Anthony Albanese told Channel Nine’s Today Show: “That was a disgraceful lack of respect not just for the two Australians killed, one of whom was a young South Australian, but also all of those victims of that terror attack in London.”

In a statement, the Saudi Arabian Football Federation said it “deeply regrets and unreservedly apologises for any offense caused by the failure of some members of the representative team of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to formally observe the one minute’s silence.”

It added that the “players did not intend any disrespect to the memories of the victims or to cause upset to their families, friends, or any individual affected by the atrocity.”

FIFA has said it would not discipline the team over the controversy, as Reuters reported. Soccer’s governing body said, “After reviewing the match report and images of the said match, we can confirm that there are no grounds to take disciplinary action.”

The Saudi team lost the Thursday night game against Australia, 3-2.

Since the incident, several examples have emerged of Saudi teams appearing to participate in similar tributes.

In Doha, Qatar, in December, Al-Ahli Saudi FC joined FC Barcelona in observing a moment of silence honoring members of a Brazilian soccer team killed in a plane crash, according to the BBC.

The broadcaster also reported that “Saudi male handball players also held a minute’s silence before a match against Germany in January 2015 to remember the late king, Abdullah bin Abdulaziz.”

So is this kind of commemoration actually against Saudi culture?

Shadi Hamid, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, tells The Two-Way that ultraconservative Salafi clerics like those in Saudi Arabia “would be opposed to minutes of silence since they’d consider it a bida’a or ‘innovation’ ” to the way early Muslims practiced the faith.

He adds: “That doesn’t mean the Saudi football team has to follow suit, but it’s hard for me to imagine a state-sponsored activity of any sort directly contradicting the state’s religious establishment’s ultraconservative version of Islam.”

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The Pittsburgh Penguins are one game away from a second consecutive Stanley Cup championship.

Six different players scored goals in the Penguins’ rout of the Nashville Predators Thursday night in Pittsburgh.

The 6-0 score tied for the seventh-biggest blowout in Stanley Cup Final history.

Justin Schultz, Bryan Rust, Evgeni Malkin, Conor Sheary, Phil Kessel and Ron Hainsey scored for the defending champions. Sidney Crosby had three assists, and goaltender Matt Murray had 24 stops in the shutout.

Predators goaltender Pekka Rinne was pulled after allowing three goals in the first period. Backup Juuse Saros didn’t fare much better, giving up three goals in relief.

After the game, Rinne told The Associated Press:

“Obviously not the start you want to have. It seemed hard for us to get anything going. Right now we’ve just got to focus on Game 6 at home and put all our energy in that one.”

Predator coach Peter Laviolette, who talked to The AP, didn’t put all the blame on Rinne.

“We’ve got to be better in front of him. I don’t think that necessarily they were bad goals. Our guys have a tremendous amount of confidence him. We just have to do a better job in front of him.”

The Penguins were clearly fired up in front of the home crowd. Losing the two previous games in Nashville gave them something to think about on the trip home.

Heading into Nashville, Pittsburgh was leading the series 2-0 but the Predators won Games 3 and 4 and tied the series 2-2.

Game 6 will be played Sunday night in Nashville, where the Penguins will try to be the first team to repeat as Stanley Cup champions since the Detroit Red Wings in 1997-98.

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The Cleveland Cavaliers came into the third game of the NBA Finals in a dispiriting but familiar position after two Golden State blowouts. Last year, that led to one of the most stunning comebacks in NBA history

That remained a possibility the entire game Wednesday night — until the closing minutes, when the Warriors ripped the Cavaliers hearts out. Now Cleveland, which last year became the first team to recover from a 3-1 Finals deficit, faces historically long odds again.

Golden State closed the game in Cleveland on an 11-0 run to win 118-113, with perhaps no basket bigger than Kevin Durant’s transition three-pointer over Lebron James with 45 seconds left. That gave the Warriors a lead they held the rest of the way.

“I’ve been wokring on that shot my whole life, and for that one to go in, that’s liberating,” the forward told ESPN’s Doris Goodwin after the game.

Warriors coach Steve Kerr said that Durant has played with purpose throughout the series.

“You can tell, he knows this is his moment,” Kerr said. “He’s been an amazing player in this league for a long time, and I think he senses this is his moment, his team.”

Durant finished 31 points and eight rebounds, with guard Klay Thompson adding 30 points in a breakout performance after two weak games to start the series. Point guard Steph Curry scored 26 points and led the team in rebounding with 13.

The Warriors turnover problems from Game 2 carried over to Wednesday night, when they had 18, which helped the Cavaliers stay in the game.

Cleveland was led by James with 39 points, 11 rebounds and nine assists. Point guard Kyrie Irving added 39 points, though he missed all seven of his three-point shots. Forward Kevin Love went 1-9 from the field, including 1-7 from three, but did have six steals. Starting center Tristan Thompson went scoreless for the second time in the series.

Friday night in Cleveland (9 p.m. ET, ABC) both teams will have an unprecedented goal in mind. For the Warriors, a win will make them the first NBA team to get through the playoffs with four series sweeps, 16-0. For the Cavaliers, a win would be the first step toward becoming the first NBA team to overcome a 3-0 deficit in the Finals.

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Milagros “Mili” Hernandez loves soccer, and she’s good at it. Really good. At age 8, the short-haired Nebraska girl plays on an Omaha club team with 11-year-olds.

But on Sunday, Mili’s dad, Gerardo Hernandez, found out his daughter’s girls’ team had been disqualified from the finals of a Springfield tournament, set for that day. The Azzuri-Cachorros Chicas couldn’t play, The Washington Post reports. Somebody had complained that there was a boy on the team.

“They only did it because I look like a boy,” Mili told WOWT 6 News.

Hernandez figured the mistake would be easily rectified. He took his daughter, along with her insurance card listing her gender as female, to the tournament. But when he got there, “They didn’t even want to take it,” he told the Post, “They told us the thing was decided.”

“Just because I look like a boy doesn’t mean I am a boy,” Mili said to WOWT.

But the tournament organizers said Mili’s looks did not influence their decision. Rather, it was a mistake on her registration form.

“(T)he roster submitted to the state by the club identified this player as male, and the competition rules for US Youth Soccer do not allow boys to play on a girls’ team,” Nebraska State Soccer Executive Director Casey Mann said in a written statement.

But Nebraksa State Soccer also said in a statement on Twitter that while it was the local tournament organizers, not the state group, that made the call, “we recognize that our core values were simply not present this past weekend.” It added, “We apologize to this young girl, her family, and her soccer club for this unfortunate misunderstanding.”

The soccer organization said it has suspended its sanction of the Springfield Invitational tournament pending a review of the incident.

Mili’s father said the experience was upsetting for his daughter and that she had cried after finding out she and her team couldn’t play.

But if there’s a silver lining, it may be the outpouring of support Mili has received on social media, especially from some of the world’s best female soccer players.

Olympic gold medalist and Women’s World Cup champion Abby Wambach — who also happens to have short hair — posted a video to Mili, saying, “You’re inspiring, you’re a natural-born leader, Honey, and I’m so proud of you.”

Mia Hamm, another Olympic gold medalist and World Cup champion invited Mili to participate in Hamm’s TeamFirst Soccer Academy. Hamm told Mili to “Be You!”

And Billie Jean King, once a top women’s tennis player, tweeted, “Mili, continue to be yourself, dream big and go for it. Take Mia up on her offer.”

As for Mili’s hair, the reason she keeps it short is simple. “When my hair starts to grow, I just put it short because I’ve always had short hair,” says Mili, “I didn’t like my hair long.”

The Post reports Mili is back to kicking the soccer ball and still wants to play the game all the way through high school and college. Then she wants to go pro.

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