*By Zane Bhansali*
Esports fans tuning into Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson's new show on NBC, "The Titan Games," may be surprised to see a familiar face: Alex "Goldenboy" Mendez, who is more likely as a commentator for "Overwatch" or "Halo" than for an athletic obstacle gauntlet.
Goldenboy's appearance on "Titan Games" marks one of the first times that an esports commentator has crossed over to mainstream entertainment. “It was very humbling to see that they had appreciated what I did," Goldenboy told Cheddar Sports.
"Titan Games," which premiered Jan. 3, caps off a stellar year for Goldenboy that includes 57 different events casted across 18 different games. He attributes that growth to an increased acceptance of esports as a fully-fledged industry in its own right.
“I think as a whole the industry has just really trended upwards as far as acceptance with mainstream media," Goldenboy said. "We’ve started to push away the stereotypes ... Now, more and more people are starting to accept that this is an industry, a growing industry, a business that has tons and tons of eyeballs and ears that are just glued to every little bit of content."
One of the things that Goldenboy said was most enjoyable about working on "Titan Games" was the production's understanding of the ways in which esports sets itself apart, right down to the gamer tags. When he asked if it would be "ridiculous" to go by his tag on the show, he said the showrunners responded, "No! That’s who you are. That’s your brand, we want that."
"If [Johnson] can go as 'The Rock,' then I can go as Goldenboy."
That homegrown sense of fun and levity is what Goldenboy says makes esports unique ー and what will draw in new audiences.
“What’s so great about this is, you don’t need any formal training, you don’t need a degree. I’m not very smart,” he laughed.
He's critical of attempts to grow esports by forcing it to fit a traditional sports model, and of cynical corporate attempts to capitalize on the industry boom.
"If you’re not having fun, people are going to sniff that out right away," Goldenboy said. "That is the raw character that makes video games and esports so amazing. When you try to corporatize it, you lose all of that. As long as we're entertaining and everyone's having fun, I think that resonates with the audience."
The golf superstar signed with TaylorMade back in 2017 but was out of the game that year due to a back surgery and a reckless driving incident. Since then, things have turned around for Woods. He's preparing to play in the British Open in just a few days and his "ball striking is terrific, his putting is great, and I think he’s in a great position right now to challenge,” says TaylorMade CEO David Abeles.
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Trump Faces Bipartisan Backlash
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*President Trump meets with Russian President Putin in Helsinki, Finland, days after the indictment of 12 Russian operatives for trying to disrupt the 2016 election.
*A federal judge blasts the HHS giving them one more week to reunite 2,000 families at the border after the administration missed the initial deadline.
*Protests erupted in Chicago over the weekend after a popular barber was shot and killed by the police.
*Novak Djokovic and Angelique Kerber won Wimbledon titles over the weekend. And France took home the World Cup.
Cheddar's Hope King gives us the details.
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*President Trump is in England preparing for a joint news conference with Theresa May. While the duo dined last night, The Sun newspaper published a sit-down interview with the president where he criticized May’s handling of Brexit. Trump warned trade deals with England could be nixed if Brexit isn’t handled properly.
*FBI agent Peter Strzok was removed from working on the Hillary Clinton email probe and the Trump-Russia investigation after text messages were discovered in which he criticized the president.
*Stormy Daniels made an encore appearance at the same strip club she was arrested at the night prior.
*A Kansas City water park will not reopen after a 10-year-old boy died on a water slide.
*Serena Williams beat Julia Görges of Germany yesterday to reach her 10th Wimbledon final.
Cheddar Big News's Jill Wagner gives us the details.
The Olympic gold medalist hosts “Wedding Cake Championship,” a new show on Food Network, with longtime friend and fellow figure skater Johnny Weir. While the new gig is worlds different from their athletic careers, there are still some similarities. “The competition part of it was fun,” Lipinski tells Cheddar.
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* Confusion at the NATO summit after President Trump said allies will add billions of dollars to defense spending. But French president Emmanuel Macron rebuffed those claims.
* Stormy Daniels was arrested after an alleged misdemeanor at a Columbus, Ohio, strip club. Her lawyer, Michael Avenatti, has also been working to reunite families at the southern border.
* The U.S. Senate voted yesterday on a non-binding resolution giving it a say on what tariffs are levied and against whom.
* New evidence prompted the Department of Justice reopened the case of Emmett Till, a 14-year-old boy who was killed in 1955 in Money, Miss.
* John Schnatter, founder and former CEO of Papa John’s, has resigned his chairman role after a racially-charged comment on a conference call.
* Americans made it to both the men’s and women’s Wimbledon semifinals, the first time since 2009.
Cheddar Big News' Jill Wagner tells us the latest.
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The NATO Summit got off to a heated start as President Trump already criticized member countries for not paying their fair share of defense spending.
The Trump administration also missed its promised deadline to reunite dozens of migrant families.
A natural gas leak in Sun Prairie, Wisc., turned deadly when an explosion erupted for several hours.
Brett Kavanaugh, the president's pick for the open Supreme Court seat, met on Capitol Hill with the vice president and senators yesterday.
The NFL Players Association is challenging the anti-kneeling policy, which requires players to remain in the locker room if they choose to protest the national anthem.
Hurricane Chris makes its way up the East Coast, but shouldn't make a major impact on land.
Cheddar Big News' Jill Wagner gives us the details.
France kicked Belgium out of the championship tournament on Tuesday. Some of the team's success so far can be attributed to its coach, Didier Deschamps, who captained the 1998 title-winning team and can convey that experience to his players, says Jeffrey Marcus, publisher of The Banter.
After Croatia's long-fought match against Russia on Saturday, the team may not have the stamina to beat England this week. "Croatia's had to play two very long 120-minute games followed by penalty shootouts," says Mike Murphy, deputy editor at Quartz. "That'll work in England's favor."
With the Golden State Warriors signing its fifth All-Star, some wonder whether the league has forever changed. "I just miss the days when guys would compete against each other ... Now with the world we live in, there's so much pressure on these kids to win," Shaquille O'Neal told Cheddar.
