*By Tracey Cheek*
Devon Still, a former defensive end for the Cincinnati Bengals, is sharing his personal playbook ー "Still in the Game," a self help-style manual for success.
Still, who retired from the NFL in 2017, told Cheddar the new book revisits his most dramatic challenges ー most notably, his daughter's cancer diagnosis.
"I went through a lot of struggles throughout my life ー from the type of environment I grew up in, the six different surgeries I had on my way to the NFL, and of course, my daughter Leah's story with battling cancer," he said.
"I basically taught her my playbook on how she could overcome this disease. I wanted to give people this book basically so they could have a playbook to get off the sidelines if they're facing a struggle in their life and get back into the game of life."
Still's daughter is now eight-years-old and has been in remission for almost four years. But now her father is faced with another set of more traditional difficulties.
"I gotta teach her about boys early on, I see," Still said, adding that Leah recently received her first love letter.
His former team, the Cincinnati Bengals, allowed Still's jersey to be sold off and donated the proceeds to pediatric cancer research. The sale brought in $1.25 million.
"We showed people what it was like for families battling childhood cancer, I think people really came on and supported us," Still said of the effort.
Still created the Still Strong Foundation to help families impacted by childhood cancer cover non-medical bills so they can less time working and devote more hours to fighting the disease alongside their children in the hospital.
For Still, his football career was on the beginning.
"For me it wasn't my destination, but it was my vehicle to help me get to my destination. I feel like I have a lot of stuff ahead of me that's going to trump anything that I ever did on a football field."
"Still in the Game" is available in stores and online.
For full interview [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/former-nfl-player-devon-still-is-still-in-the-game).
Wine manufacturer Yellow Tail can’t buy a national ad during the Super Bowl ー but that won't stop the company from getting its “Tastes like Happy” campaign out to the public in spectacular fashion. To skirt the category exclusivity hold that Anheuser-Busch InBev ($BUD) has on the Big Game, Yellow Tail bought 81 local ads ー which cover about 90 percent of the nation.
Millions of people around the world are getting ready for the Super Bowl on Sunday. And while the day is all fun and games, there's still a serious discussion happening about player safety. Now, two leading sports brands have teamed up to design new, state-of-the-art equipment using 3D printing. Joe DeSimone, co-founder and CEO of Carbon, stopped by Cheddar with more on how technology is making football more safe, head to toe.
Luke Wilson is taking a short break from Hollywood. A commercial break. The "Rushmore" and "Old School" actor is starring in his first Super Bowl commercial, and he says the 30-second Colgate spot will probably get more views than any of his movies. "I think more people will see this than any movie I've ever been in for sure," Wilson told Cheddar on Friday.
Draftkings CEO Jason Robins told Cheddar that New Jersey residents alone could wager as much as $100 million on the Super Bowl, the first time sports betting will be legal there for the big game.
Although it has 3 million customers, home security company SimpliSafe isn’t a household name yet. It’s hoping that will change on Sunday after its first Super Bowl ad airs.“In a market where people are trying to lock you in a contract or harvest your data, we’re trying to keep you safe,” brand creative director Wade Devers told Cheddar. “There aren’t really a lot of places you can reach the number of people you can reach like the Super Bowl.”
These are the headlines you Need 2 Know for Friday, Feb. 1, 2019.
On Super Bowl Sunday, the Hallmark Channel will be home to the sixth annual Kitten Bowl, the annual matchup of cat-letes held to benefit the North Shore Animal League. Beth Stern, host of the Kitten Bowl and spokesperson for North Shore (and wife to Howard), brought a pair of 12-week Siamese kittens to Cheddar Thursday to help promote a new event this year: the first-ever Cat Bowl.
These are the headlines you Need 2 Know for Wednesday, Jan. 30, 2019.
Super Bowl Sunday is the ー well ー Super Bowl of building brand awareness, particularly for food and beverage companies. This year, Pepsi and Frito-Lay, both units of PepsiCO ($PEP), are once again among the snack giants planning to use the 100 million-plus members of the expected television audience to launch new products and elevate brands in their respective portfolios. Frito-Lay CMO Jen Saenz spoke to Cheddar Tuesday alongside Greg Lyons, the CMO for Pepsi, which is known for its Super Bowl ads and social media engagement tied to the Big Game.
Apple is planning a subscription service that would function like Netflix for games, according to people familiar with the matter. The iPhone maker has also discussed partnering with developers as a publisher, which could signal ambitions to assume distribution and marketing costs for games.
