*By Michael Teich*
After a motorcycle accident ended his basketball career in 2003, former Blue Devils standout and Chicago Bull Jay Williams found a new calling.
Williams was a one-time NCAA champion and second overall pick in the NBA draft, but more than a decade later he's built an extremely successful career as a full-time game and media analyst for ESPN.
"I don’t look at it as a tragedy. I look at it as a gift," he told Cheddar Wednesday of his athletic career-ending accident.
Williams's latest project is new YouTube Originals docu-series "Best Shot," executive-produced by LeBron James and his business partner Maverick Carter. The series, which debuted last week, follows Williams in his new post as a member of Newark Central High School's boys basketball coaching staff. The 8-episode doc, Williams said, exposes the tough challenges young athletes faceーon and off the court.
Although his accident doesn't define him, Williams tells Cheddar he views it as an opportunity to make an impact on the sports world. Earlier this year, he weighed in on the latest debateーwhether college athletes should be paid for court time. He thinks it's about time players get a share of the nearly $1.1 billion in revenue that the NCAA earned last year. He even called for an outright player boycott of the NCAA's Final Four tournament in a [Twitter video](https://twitter.com/RealJayWilliams/status/968643972288704513) last February. Williams's video followed the example of other big names in sports like his TV-partner LeBron and ex-player and fellow ESPN analyst Jalen Rose.
Williams may be optimistic about change, but he knows that it may take a while.
"It’s going to take something monumental to happen."
For more on this story, [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/jay-williams-gives-his-best-shot-in-new-youtube-docu-series).
It's no secret that much of the popularity of Epic Games' smash hit Fortnite comes from its status as a free-to-play game. Now, Wedbush analyst Michael Pachter says two other surprising titles may make the switch: Overwatch and Call of Duty.
It's become par for the course for Epic Games to release game-changing items in Fortnite just before tournaments. Ghost Gaming's Kayuun shares his worries for what that means for competitive Fortnite.
In a sign of how attitudes around gambling have changed as laws around it have softened, the NFL announced its first-ever partnership with a gambling company, naming Caesars as the league's official casino sponsor. Chris Holdren, chief marketing officer for Caesars, told Cheddar that the sponsorship represents the beginning of a relationship that could eventually become one where the NFL is directly endorsing sports betting.
Bull riding isn't just for the rodeo, anymore. It's coming to a major city near you ー and streaming online ー thanks largely to the efforts of Colorado-based Professional Bull Riders (PBR). And PBR CEO Sean Gleason told Cheddarthe organization has plenty more tricks up its sleeve to keep its momentum going.
The markets opened up sharply higher on Friday after Thursday's big sell-off. The turnaround was due in large part to investor optimism over the upcoming U.S.-China trade talks but also the December jobs report. The U.S. economy added 314,000 jobs last month, topping the 184,000 jobs expected. Plus, Professional Bull Riders CEO Sean Gleason and bull rider Tanner Bryne stopped by to chat about growing bull riding in the U.S. in an ever-changing media landscape.
These are the headlines you Need 2 Know for Friday, Jan. 4, 2019.
Fitness and beauty booking tool Mindbody is planning to make a play for the next big thing in wellness ー on-demand video, CEO Rick Stollmeyer told Cheddar on Thursday. "You can expect us to be playing in that space because we think that the on-demand and streaming video revolution hitting the fitness space is a big breakthrough," Stollmeyer said.
These are the headlines you Need 2 Know for Wednesday, Jan. 2, 2019.
These are the headlines you Need 2 Know for Monday, Dec. 31, 2018.
There's a new mixed-martial arts league on the block. The Professional Fighters League ー or PFL ー is wrapping up its inaugural season with a championship match on New Year's Eve. According to Peter Murrary, the CEO of the league, the match's purse, $1 million, is a major draw for athletes ー money talks, and can mark achievement.
