grew with multiple matches across the day. Having six games in each three-hour session helps generate a festival atmosphere, and the players often mix with fans during their breaks.Ryan describes sevens as being like the sna

CANTON, Ohio -- ESPNs Chris Mortensen made an inspirational appearance onstage during the Pro Football Hall of Fame ceremony Saturday night to collect the Dick McCann Award seven months after entering into treatment for Stage 4 throat cancer.Applause greeted Mortensen, 64, as the Hall of Fame recognized him for making a long and distinguished contribution to pro football through coverage.No one is more deserving, ESPN colleague Suzy Kolber said as part of a video presentation as thousands watched from Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium.Mortensen initially made his name in journalism as an investigative reporter for the Atlanta Journal Constitution. In 1988, he became the first sports reporter since Red Smith (1951) to win a George Polk Award. Mortensen continued to build his reputation as an NFL analyst for ESPN over the past 25 years.Peers in attendance for the Hall of Fame enshrinement ceremonies described Mortensen as thorough, tough, unassuming and exceptional in his ability to earn trust.When you were a local reporter, he would come visit your team and you would go, I hope Im not reading about this in the Journal Constitution or hearing about it on ESPN, longtime NFL columnist Clark Judge said. You knew he was going to find out something about the team you covered that you didnt know, even though you were out there every day.Mortensen became the 48th winner of the McCann Award and the third from ESPN over the past decade, joining John Clayton and Len Pasquarelli.Will McDonough was probably the first network NFL insider, but Mort took it to another level and transitioned into the world of everyday news like no other, said Bob Glauber, NFL columnist for Newsday. He would break a story any day of the week, any day of the year. He was a true trailblazer in that sense.ESPNs Chris Berman noted during the ceremony that Mortensen has stayed true to the reporting roots that launched his career in television.I know this, he reports 5 percent of what he knows, and his 5 percent is more than the 100 percent for other reporters, veteran NFL columnist Ira Kaufman said.Mortensen appeared onstage with his wife, Micki. McCann Award winners do not give a speech during the ceremonies, but Mortensen waved to the crowd after Hall of Fame president David Baker honored him.Mort is one of the conspicuously nice guys who does a great job, said Frank Cooney, a Hall of Fame selector who has covered the NFL since the 1960s. Mort knows how to get difficult stories. He works with people so well that he is able to get the information he needs even if it isnt comfortable sometimes. Its a tribute to him.USA Todays?Jarrett Bell called Mortensen?a standard-bearer in this industry.Whats so much more defining than the well-deserved honor that marks his career is the person that Ive come to know over the years, said Bell. Chris is as first-class as they come. In a business overflowing with huge egos, Chris is a good, down-to-earth dude who always seemed to me to represent something larger than getting the next story. Thats why Im more proud to call him a friend than a colleague. Cheap Jerseys Free Shipping . Shot outdoors against the stunning backdrop of Banff, Alta., the networks 30-minute original production airs tonight at 8pm et/5pm pt on TSN2. The four All-Star teams will play for $100,000 in prize money during TSNs annual skins game, airing live this weekend on TSN from The Fenlands Banff Recreation Centre. Cheap Jerseys 2020 . 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Rugby sevens certainly grabbed attention in its debut at the Olympic Games.The New England Patriots watched some of the bruising encounters involving teammate Nate Ebner, sending messages of support. It made headlines in Japan. It virtually shut down an entire Pacific nation.Unlike golf, which was returning to the Summer Games after a long absence, the best rugby sevens players in the world tackled the Olympic challenge. True to form, they won gold.The Fijian men, the long-time entertainers and back-to-back world sevens series champions, were one of the best feel-good stories of the games, bringing their tiny country its first Olympic medal and prompting a national holiday. Britain and South Africa picked up the silver and bronze , with Japan finishing a way-beyond-expectations fourth.The world series champion Australian women beat New Zealand for gold, but only after scraping to a 12-12 tie against an under-rated U.S. team which eventually finished fifth. Canada beat Britain for the bronze, and the Brazil womens team -- assembled to represent the host nation -- did well enough to qualify for the world series.World Rugby said the reception had been outstanding in non-traditional rugby markets such as the United States, where USA Rugby had more than 10 million unique visits to their website during the tournament.Its been awesome. I wouldnt have done anything differently, said Ebner, who received special permission to play at the Olympics during the NFL offseason. No regrets, at all.Ebner scored a last-minute try against Fiji in the group stage that very nearly got the Americans into the playoffs, but for a missed conversion in a 24-19 loss.It has been exciting to play. I can only imagine people who havent seen it -- Its got to be exciting to watch, he said. The Pats were watching, he said, and were saying theyre proud. Theyre with us all the way.Ebner said the Olympic sevens tournaments had potentially brought the game to a vast new audience in places like America.With professional sports, the way they are in the United States, I would never put a ceiling on potential growth, he said. I hope people open their eyes and minds to something theyve never done before, whether they grew up playing it like I did, or its something they want to take a stab at later in their life.Hopefullyy everyone embraces it and takes a closer look at it.dddddddddddd. Thats really all I can ask.The secret to sevens success is in the timing, Fiji coach Ben Ryan said. The game is all over in about a quarter of an hour, leaving time for another 11 just like it. The ball almost never stops, and the action moves quickly across and up-and-down the field.The crowd for the tournament opening game was only about 1,000, but it grew with multiple matches across the day. Having six games in each three-hour session helps generate a festival atmosphere, and the players often mix with fans during their breaks.Ryan describes sevens as being like the snack variety of traditional 15-a-side rugby -- which was last played at the Olympics in 1924 -- making it perfect for a TV audience.His team attracted attention off the field, too, with other Olympians.When the boys come in together ... heads turn, he said. Its a different look in the village. Theres not many islanders in there, but (other athletes) have heard about the Fiji rugby sevens team.The whole hope is that rugby adds to the Olympic games, were not just an also-ran. I think its having an impact.The U.S. women produced two big performances, leading Australia 12-5 with a minute to play before the Aussies rallied, and taking New Zealand all the way in a 5-0 quarterfinal loss.U.S. captain Kelly Griffin said the Olympics highlighted how the game is growing. Players in the womens squads came from other sports including basketball, field hockey and track-and-field.I definitely think it adds something about girls and boys both have really powerful bodies and we can go out and be physical and use our bodies for sport, she said.World Rugby chairman Bill Beaumont said Japans upset win over powerhouse New Zealand on the opening day of the mens tournament was amazing, and noted the performances of the Brazilian teams.Anybodys that been here in a market that is not a traditional (rugby) market and look how the Brazil womens team qualified for the World Series and then you see the Brazilian men living on first and last tries when they played Fiji, he said. Weve had the opportunity and we thank the IOC for that.Hopefully weve showcased our sport on the world stage, and hopefully weve earned the right to be a permanent sport. ' ' '