Long (l) will receive a $250,0000 to his eponymous foundation for winning the WPMOY awardGETTY IMAGES
Eagles DE CHRIS LONG was named the '18 Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year. Long's foundation will receive a $250,000 donation and an additional $250,000 will be donated to the UnitedWay in Long's name to expand the Character Playbook program across the country (NFL)....Saints QB DREW BREES won the Art Rooney Sportsmanship Award for displaying "qualities of outstanding sportsmanship on the playing field, including fair play, respect for opponents and integrity in competition" (THEADVOCATE.com, 2/2)....Jaguars DE CALAIS CAMPBELL was presented with the Bart Starr Award, which is given annually to the NFL player who best exemplifies character and leadership in the home, on the field and in the community (JACKSONVILLE.com, 2/2).
NOT WHAT YOU THINK: The new Netflix film “HIGH FLYING BIRD” is about a sports agent that "tries to maneuver his star client around an NBA lockout." But director STEVEN SODERBERGH said there "actually isn’t any sports in it.” The movie "explores power, race, corporate ownership and how people try to exert control over their lives." Soderbergh said the basketball story line is a "Trojan horse that lets us talk about some other stuff." The film stars ANDRE HOLLAND, whose character "negotiates with a franchise owner (KYLE MACLACHLAN) and the representative for the players union (SONJA SOHN), while secretly trying to circumvent the system" (WALL STREET JOURNAL, 2/3).
HOLLYWOOD CALLING: Seahawks QB RUSSELL WILSON and wife CIARA recently signed with CAA to boost the efforts of the couple's production company West2East, and Wilson said, "We’re excited about what we’re going to do together. We have our production company and my creative director DANIEL MOGG is really talented. JORDAN DINENBERG is really, really smart and knows tons of people throughout the game. For us, we want to be able to create, create, create. We want to tell amazing stories and CAA is going to be a big part of that" (HOLLYWOODREPORTER.com, 2/2).
NAMES: Redskins TE VERNON DAVIS last week "spent four days" in Birmingham for the filming of "HELL ON THE BORDER," an upcoming Western thriller directed by WES MILLER. The film is based on the true story of BASS REEVES, the first black deputy U.S. marshal west of the Mississippi River (WASHINGTONPOST.com, 2/1).
